Pass the HP HPE Technical Certification HPE2-K45 Questions and answers with CertsForce

According to the HPE SimpliVity Stretched Cluster Technical Overview1, one of the configuration requirements for implementing a stretched cluster is that the storage network in each physical location must use the same subnet. This ensures that the HPE OmniStack System can communicate with each other across the sites and maintain data synchronization and availability. The other options are not correct because:

The arbiter must be located in a third site that is independent from the two stretched cluster sites1.

The round trip latency must be below 5ms, not 50ms, to avoid performance degradation and data inconsistency1.

A direct-connected network configuration is not required, as long as the network supports jumbo frames and VLAN tagging1. References: 1: HPE SimpliVity Stretched Cluster Technical Overview (51462)

HPE SimpliVity provides storage HA by creating two copies of each virtual machine data across different nodes in a cluster. This ensures that the virtual machines can continue to run even if one node fails. However, this also consumes twice the storage capacity for each virtual machine. For development virtual machines that do not require storage HA, the customer can save storage capacity by creating a single-replica datastore for these virtual machines. A single-replica datastore is a datastore that has only one copy of the virtual machine data on one node. This reduces the storage consumption by 50%, but also increases the risk of data loss and unavailability in case of node failure. Therefore, the customer should carefully weigh the trade-offs between storage efficiency and data protection when using a single-replica datastore. References: HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform; HPE SimpliVity User Guide

Compute nodes are x86 servers that run ESXi and consume the HPE SimpliVity datastores for storage. They provide additional CPU and memory resources to the environment without requiring additional SimpliVity licenses. However, they must reside in the same cluster as HPE SimpliVity nodes, as this is a requirement for the SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform (DVP) to function properly. The number of compute nodes that can be connected per SimpliVity node is not limited to 5, but depends on the available network bandwidth and storage capacity. Additional license is not required to connect ESXi nodes to SimpliVity datastores, as this is a native capability of the SimpliVity DVP. Connecting ESXi compute nodes is not possible only when VMFS datastores are configured at SimpliVity Federation level, as this is not a prerequisite for the SimpliVity DVP. References: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide, page 29, section 2.2. Preparing Compute Nodes to Use SimpliVity DVP, section “Preparing Compute Nodes to Use SimpliVity DVP”. HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 Node, section “Features”.

A stretched cluster is a configuration that allows two or more HPE SimpliVity clusters to span across different physical locations, while maintaining a single logical cluster and asingle management interface. A stretched cluster provides high availability, disaster recovery, and workload mobility for the virtual machines (VMs) running on the HPE SimpliVity platform12.

A VDI infrastructure is a virtualization solution that delivers desktops and applications to end users from a centralized data center. VDI infrastructure can use different types of VMs, such as linked clones or full clones, to provide the desktops and applications to the end users. Linked clones are VMs that share a common base image and consume less storage space, while full clones are VMs that have their own independent copies of the base image and consume more storage space34.

According to the HPE Reference Architecture for VMware Horizon on HPE SimpliVity document, both linked clones and full clones are supported on a stretched cluster. The document states that "HPE SimpliVity supports both linked clones and full clones on a stretched cluster. Linked clones are recommended for better storage efficiency and performance. Full clones can be used for persistent desktops that require more customization and personalization."5 The document also provides the design considerations and best practices for deploying VDI infrastructure on HPE SimpliVity stretched cluster, such as the network requirements, the VM placement, the backup and restore policies, and the failover and failback scenarios.

References:

1: HPE SimpliVity Stretched Cluster Guide 2: HPE SimpliVity Stretched Cluster 3: What is VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)? - VMware 4: What is a Linked Clone? - Definition from Techopedia 5: HPE Reference Architecture for VMware Horizon on HPE SimpliVity : [HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform] : [HPE SimpliVity Intelligent Workload Optimizer] : [HPE SimpliVity Federation Design and Scaling Guide]

To use this option, you need to select the backup from which you want to restore the files, then click Backup Actions > Restore Files. You will be prompted to enter the following information:

The name of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files

The path of the folder where you want to restore the files

The path of the folder that you want to restore from the backup

The credentials of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files

After you enter the required information, click OK to start the restore process3.

HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Administration Guide, page 97

HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Best Practices Guide, page 20

Restore files from a backup - techhub.hpe.com

You can apply a backup policy at the datastore level, as this is the level at which HPE SimpliVity manages the virtual machines and their backups1. A backup policy consists of one or more rules that specify the destination, frequency, and retention of the backups. You can assign a backup policy to a datastore, and all the virtual machines in that datastore will inherit the backup policy. You can also override the backup policy for individual virtual machines, if needed2. Applying a backup policy at the cluster level (option A), the datacenter level (option B), or the vCenter Server level (option C) is not possible, as these are not the levels at which HPE SimpliVity manages the virtual machines and their backups. These levels are used for organizing and managing the ESXi hosts and the HPE SimpliVity nodes, but not for applying backup policies. References:

1: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 28.

2: HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide 4.2.0, HPE, 2021, p. 8.

According to the HPE SimpliVity Administration Guide1, the file level restore option allows you to recover individual files or folders from a backup of a virtual machine. Thisoption is useful when you need to restore a specific file that was accidentally deleted or corrupted, without affecting the rest of the virtual machine. The file level restore option supports both Windows and Linux based virtual machines, and can be performed using the HPE SimpliVity plugin in the vSphere Web Client. The file level restore option creates a temporary virtual machine from the backup, mounts the virtual disks, and copies the selected files or folders to a destination of your choice. The temporary virtual machine is then deleted automatically.

The other options are not suitable for recovering a single file from a Linux based virtual machine. Restoring a virtual machine from the backup would overwrite the entire virtual machine with the backup data, which may not be desirable or necessary. Moving a virtual machine from DR site to the primary site would not help if the file was deleted from both sites. Reverting to the SimpliVity snapshot would also overwrite the entire virtual machine with the snapshot data, which may not be the latest or the most relevant version. References:

1: HPE SimpliVity Administration Guide, https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=sf000062138en_us &docLocale=en_US, page 76-78

The best way to migrate virtual machines from the existing infrastructure to HPE SimpliVity is to share HPE SimpliVity datastores with standard ESXi hosts, and migrate the virtual machines using VMware vSphere® Storage vMotion®1. This method allows the virtual machines to be moved to the HPE SimpliVity datastores without any downtime or impact on the performance. The HPE SimpliVity datastores are automatically created and managed by the HPE SimpliVity Virtual Controller, and they can be shared with any ESXi host that is in the same vCenter Server® as the HPE SimpliVity cluster2. Connecting VMFS datastores holding the virtual machine files to HPE SimpliVity nodes, and migrating the virtual machines (option A) is not a supported method, as the HPE SimpliVity nodes do not have direct access to the VMFS datastores, and they can only use the HPE SimpliVity datastores3. Mapping VMFS datastores holding the virtual machine files as an RDM to HPE SimpliVity nodes, and migrating the virtual machines (option C) is not a supported method, as the HPE SimpliVity nodes do not support RDM devices, and they can only use the HPE SimpliVity datastores4. Adding ESXi system to the HPE SimpliVity cluster, and migrating the virtual machines to HPE SimpliVity datastores (option D) is not a recommended method, as it requires the ESXi system to be converted to an HPE SimpliVity node, which involves installing the HPE OmniStack software and the HPE SimpliVity Virtual Controller, and reconfiguring the network settings. This method may cause downtime and data loss, and it is only advised for specific scenarios, such as replacing a failed node or expanding the cluster. References:

1: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 29.

2: HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide 4.2.0, HPE, 2021, p. 8.

3: HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 Node Data sheet, HPE, 2019, p. 5.

4: HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide 4.2.0, HPE, 2021, p. 9.

[5]: HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 Node Installation and Startup Service, HPE, 2019, p. 3.

HPE SimpliVity is a hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines compute, storage, networking, and data services in a single platform. HPE SimpliVity integrates with HPE StoreOnce, a disk-based backup appliance, to provide efficient and reliable data protection and disaster recovery for distributed edge sites12.

HPE SimpliVity uses HPE StoreOnce Catalyst, a deduplication protocol, to replicate data from HPE SimpliVity clusters to HPE StoreOnce appliances. HPE SimpliVity leverages its global deduplication and compression capabilities to send only the unique data blocks to HPE StoreOnce, reducing the bandwidth and storage requirements34.

To optimize the replication performance, the design aspects that need to be evaluated are the number of the HPE SimpliVity clusters and Catalyst stores used. According to the HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture document, the following best practices are recommended:

Use one Catalyst store per HPE SimpliVity cluster. This simplifies the configuration and management, and avoids potential performance issues due to contention or fragmentation.

Use one Catalyst store per HPE StoreOnce appliance. This ensures optimal deduplication ratios and avoids unnecessary data movement across appliances.

Use one HPE StoreOnce appliance per HPE SimpliVity federation. This minimizes the network hops and latency, and maximizes the throughput and efficiency.

Use dedicated network interfaces and VLANs for the replication traffic. This isolates the replication traffic from the production traffic, and provides better security and performance.

The other options are not relevant for optimizing the replication performance. The performance optimization features provided by VMFS datastores compared to NFS datastores are not applicable for HPE SimpliVity, as it uses its own file system and data virtualization platform. The intelligent workload optimizer settings are not related to the replication performance, but to the VM placement and load balancing within the HPE SimpliVity cluster. The HPE SimpliVity model used does not affect the replication performance, as long as it meets the minimum requirements for the HPE StoreOnce integration.

References:

1: SimpliVity Hyperconverged | HPE 2: Expand backups to secondary storage with HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure and HPE StoreOnce 3: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce 4: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce: A better together story : [HPE SimpliVitywith HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture] : [HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform] : [HPE SimpliVity Intelligent Workload Optimizer]