An administrator configures VM Host Affinity for database server VMs on a Nutanix AHV-powered cluster, intending to optimize HA by ensuring that VMs…

Configuring VM Host Affinity in a Nutanix AHV-powered cluster ensures that VMs are placed on

specific hosts to optimize performance or HA. However, after a host failure, if database VMs cluster

on a single remaining host, it indicates that the affinity rules alone are insufficient to maintain high

availability (HA) during failover scenarios. To prevent this, the administrator should configure anti-

affinity rules, which dynamically ensure that VMs (e.g., database server VMs) are spread across

multiple hosts. Anti-affinity rules override default VM placement behavior during failover, reducing

the risk of a single point of failure by keeping VMs separated even after a host outage.

Option A (Assign additional backup VMs on the same host) is incorrect because placing backups on

the same host increases risk rather than mitigating it.

Option B (Increase affinity zones) is incorrect as "affinity zones" is not a standard Nutanix term in this

context, and it does not address dynamic VM separation.

Option C (Configure automatic host failover in Prism Central) is incorrect because while failover is

managed by AHV, it does not inherently prevent VMs from clustering without specific rules.

Option D is correct as anti-affinity rules proactively distribute VMs, enhancing HA in failure scenarios.

This approach leverages Nutanix AHV’s VM placement policies to ensure resilience.

Reference:

Nutanix Database Service (NDB) User Guide, Chapter 3: Configuring an NDB Environment, Section:

Configuring VM Affinity and Anti-Affinity

Nutanix AHV Administration Guide, Section: VM High Availability and Placement Rules

Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB) v6.5 Blueprint, Section 3: Configure

an NDB Environment