Virtualization & Container Integration Flashcards

What vSphere primitive enables Pure Storage FlashArray to perform array-side copy operations without consuming ESXi host CPU resources?

Answer: VAAI XCOPY (Full Copy) offload

VAAI's XCOPY primitive offloads block-copy operations entirely to the FlashArray, freeing ESXi CPU and reducing network I/O during cloning and migration tasks.

What does enabling Virtual Volumes (VVols) in a Pure Storage and VMware environment allow that traditional VMFS datastores do not?

Answer: Per-VM storage policy enforcement and granular snapshot management at the individual VM object level

VVols map each VM component (vmdk, swap, config) to a native array object, enabling Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM) with per-VM QoS, snapshots, and replication policies.

Which Pure Storage component must be installed in VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) to enable array-based replication and automated failover orchestration?

Answer: Pure Storage Storage Replication Adapter (SRA)

The Pure Storage SRA integrates with VMware SRM to enable non-disruptive failover testing and automated recovery plans using FlashArray replication.

What is the role of the Pure Storage VASA (vSphere APIs for Storage Awareness) Provider in a VMware environment?

Answer: It communicates FlashArray capabilities and storage profiles to vCenter for VVol and SPBM support

The VASA Provider tells vCenter about the array's capabilities (protocols, replication, QoS) so administrators can create and assign VM storage policies through SPBM.

Which connectivity protocols does Pure Storage FlashArray support for VMware ESXi host access?

Answer: Fibre Channel (FC), iSCSI, and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)

FlashArray supports FC, iSCSI, and NVMe-oF (NVMe/FC and NVMe/TCP) for block storage connectivity to VMware ESXi hosts, providing flexibility across data center environments.

What does the Pure Storage Management Pack for VMware vRealize Operations (vROps) primarily provide?

Answer: FlashArray performance metrics, capacity analytics, and storage health dashboards integrated into the vROps console

The Pure Storage Management Pack feeds FlashArray I/O metrics, latency, capacity, and health data into vROps dashboards, enabling correlated VM-to-storage troubleshooting.

When using Pure Storage VVols with VMware, what is a Protocol Endpoint (PE)?

Answer: A single access point on the FlashArray through which the ESXi host communicates with all VVol objects

Protocol Endpoints serve as I/O proxies on the FlashArray; ESXi hosts connect through PEs to reach individual VVol objects without requiring a separate LUN per VM.