Which subnet is reserved for internal connectivity within a Nutanix Cluster?

Nutanix clusters reserve the 192.168.5.0/24 subnet for a private, internal-only network. This network facilitates communication between the Controller VM (CVM) and the hypervisor on the same node. The hypervisor is typically assigned 192.168.5.1, and the CVM is assigned 192.168.5.2. This backplane network is created automatically during the foundation imaging process and is crucial for cluster operations, such as storage I/O redirection. It is isolated and should not be used for any other purpose or routed on the external network.

B. The 192.168.254.0/24 subnet is not the standard reserved internal network for Nutanix CVM-to-hypervisor communication.
C. The /23 CIDR block represents a larger subnet (512 addresses) and is not the specific, reserved /24 network used for this internal purpose.
D. The /26 CIDR block represents a smaller subnet (64 addresses) and is not the correct size for the reserved internal network.

1. Nutanix. (2023). Nutanix Security Guide. Section: "Network Security," Sub-section: "Host and Controller VM Network." This guide explicitly states, "The host and the CVM use a private 192.168.5.0/24 network on a dedicated virtual switch for storage communication."

2. Nutanix University. (2023). Nutanix Hybrid Cloud Fundamentals Courseware. Module: "Nutanix Networking." The course material details the internal networking architecture, identifying the 192.168.5.0/24 network as the CVM-hypervisor backplane.