An administrator wishes to perform LCM updates as quickly as possible due to time constraints with maintenance windows.
Which action should the administrator take, prior to beginning an LCM update, to minimize delays?
An administrator wishes to perform LCM updates as quickly as possible due to time constraints with maintenance windows.
Which action should the administrator take, prior to beginning an LCM update, to minimize delays?
To minimize delays during LCM (Life Cycle Manager) updates, the administrator should disable any VM affinity rules. VM affinity rules dictate how virtual machines (VMs) are placed within a cluster, restricting their migration across nodes. During LCM updates, these restrictions can cause delays as the system may need to wait for specific nodes to become available for updates. By disabling these rules, VMs can migrate more freely, allowing for a quicker and more efficient update process. Once the update is complete, the VM affinity rules can be re-enabled if necessary.
D: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Life-Cycle-Manager-Guide-v2_4:top-lcm-update-t.html
Option D (Disable VM affinity rules) ensures smoother LCM updates without VM placement restrictions.
As a VMware/DRS guy still don't understand why there is no Nutanix "should" affinity rule just only "must".
When LCM takes down a node prior to performing an update, AOS uses the Acropolis dynamic server (ADS) to migrate virtual machines to other nodes in the cluster. If you have VM affinity rules configured on your cluster, particularly affinity rules that restrict which nodes the VM can migrate to, then LCM can run slowly while waiting for ADS to migrate the VMs. If you have configured affinity rules that do not allow VMs to migrate, then the LCM precheck test_esx_entering_mm_pinned_vms fails and LCM updates cannot continue. To avoid update failures or delays due to affinity rules, disable any VM affinity rules before beginning an LCM update and re-enable the rules after performing the update.
A, as it keeps you from having to perform the NCC updates during the maintenance windows (it's the only thing that can be automatically updated per https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Life-Cycle-Manager-Guide-v2_4:top-lcm-auto-update-t.html) B isn't practical for most environments, but also doesn't necessarily save time, as all the VMs will have to migrate to update that host C isn't going to accomplish anything D won't necessarily save time unless there's a so many rules that it limits migration options
NCC updates are not part of LCM process & require no downtime. Migrating all VMs to a single host is not practical. VM vCPUs have no positive impact on LCM processes. D appears to be the only logical solution. Having VM affinity rules in place could require manual intervention during an LCM process. Disabling all rules could save time.
B. Manually migrate VMs to a single host By manually migrating VMs to a single host before starting the LCM update, the administrator can concentrate the VMs on a specific host, allowing for more efficient updates on the other hosts in the cluster. This can help in minimizing the impact on VMs and reducing the overall time required for the LCM update process.
"This can help in minimizing the impact on VMs..." It would almost certainly make them perform like crap (and unless you disable ADS, they'll probably get migrated off that host anyway). I really think this user's posts are just ChatGPT nonsense.
While A would also speed things up I think this is actually D. From the link that Aybul posted: "Affinity rules When LCM takes down a node prior to performing an update, AOS uses the Acropolis dynamic server (ADS) to migrate virtual machines to other nodes in the cluster. If you have VM affinity rules configured on your cluster, particularly affinity rules that restrict which nodes the VM can migrate to, then LCM can run slowly while waiting for ADS to migrate the VMs. If you have configured affinity rules that do not allow VMs to migrate, then the LCM precheck test_esx_entering_mm_pinned_vms fails and LCM updates cannot continue. To avoid update failures or delays due to affinity rules, disable any VM affinity rules before beginning an LCM update and re-enable the rules after performing the update." https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Life-Cycle-Manager-Guide-v2_4:top-lcm-update-t.html
I agree with your logic and believe this is the right answer, however, I would NEVER recommend that anyone actually do this. Instead, proper planning is the right answer. But for the test, the article plainly says its D.
co-pilot thinks it's "D" :) Given the time constraints with maintenance windows, the most efficient action to minimize delays during Life Cycle Manager (LCM) updates is Option D: Disable any VM affinity rules. Here’s why: VM Affinity Rules: Definition: VM affinity rules dictate how VMs should be placed in the cluster (e.g., keeping VMs together or apart). Impact on LCM Updates: VM affinity rules can restrict VM migrations during LCM updates. If VMs are bound by affinity rules, LCM may need to wait for specific hosts to become available, causing delays. Disabling Affinity Rules: By disabling VM affinity rules temporarily, LCM can freely migrate VMs to optimize resource utilization during updates. After LCM completes, you can re-enable affinity rules if needed1. Therefore, Option D (Disable VM affinity rules) ensures smoother LCM updates without VM placement restrictions. Remember to re-enable affinity rules afterward if they are essential for your environment