What background do I need to take the NCP-DB exam?

Nutanix recommends approximately 1 to 2 years of database management experience, plus at least 6 months of hands-on experience with Nutanix Database Service or Nutanix Era. You should be able to provision, patch, protect, and clone databases. There are no formal prerequisites, but solid knowledge of relational databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle plus MongoDB is expected.

How long is the NCP-DB exam and how many questions?

The exam is 120 minutes long and contains 75 multiple-choice questions. You need to manage your time across the exam content areas including NDB deployment, configuration, monitoring, operations, and administration.

What is the passing score for NCP-DB?

The passing score is 3000 out of 6000 on a scaled scoring system. This translates to approximately 50 percent, but the scaled scoring accounts for question difficulty variation.

What does the NCP-DB exam cost and where do I register?

The exam costs USD 199 through PSI, which is Nutanix's certification exam delivery partner. You schedule your exam through your Nutanix University account dashboard. Plan at least 24 hours ahead and note that there is a 24-hour window to reschedule or cancel.

Can I take the NCP-DB exam online or do I have to go to a test centre?

You can choose either online proctored delivery or take the exam at a PSI test centre. Both options are available when you schedule through Nutanix University.

What if I fail the NCP-DB exam? How soon can I retake it?

You can retake the exam after a 7-day waiting period. Each retake costs USD 199. Exam results appear on screen immediately after you finish.

Which objective area is hardest on the NCP-DB exam and how should I study it?

The Time Machine and cloning workflows tend to challenge candidates because they involve understanding snapshot scheduling, log catchup frequency, retention buckets, and point-in-time recovery. Get hands-on time with NDB provisioning, Time Machine SLAs, cloning, refresh, and patching in a test lab or community environment to build the muscle memory the exam expects.

How long does NCP-DB certification stay valid and what do I need to do to renew it?

To maintain your certification, you must pass the latest version of the NCP-DB exam before your certification expires. Stay subscribed to Nutanix University updates to know when new versions are released and plan your recertification accordingly.

What training course does Nutanix recommend to prepare for NCP-DB?

Nutanix recommends taking the Nutanix Database Management and Automation (NDMA) course as preparation. The course covers NDB concepts, deployment, configuration, Time Machine, cloning, patching, RBAC, and REST API automation across PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB.

What job role is the NCP-DB certification for?

The certification is designed for database administrators, Nutanix technical employees, Nutanix channel partners, and Nutanix customers who need to deploy, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot database workloads on the Nutanix platform using Nutanix Database Service.

NCP-DB Practice Questions with Explained Answers

5 Free Questions · Last reviewed: September 1, 2026 · Prepared & Reviewed by the ValidExamDumps Editorial Team

95 Practice Questions (Our Bank)

120 minutes Exam Duration

3000 out of 6000 Passing Score

USD 199 Exam Fee

Exam Code: NCP-DB
Full Name: Nutanix Certified Professional - Database Automation (NCP-DB)
Issuing Body: Nutanix
Question Format (Our Bank): Multiple Choice
Delivery: Online proctored through PSI or at PSI test centres
Eligibility: Approximately 1-2 years of database management experience and at least 6 months of Nutanix Database Service or Nutanix Era experience recommended. No formal prerequisites required.

Question 1 Domain 1Deploy and Configure an NDB Solution

Refer to the exhibit.

An administrator tried to provision Nutanix Database Service (NDB) from Prism Central Marketplace and is getting the error shown in the exhibit.

Which action would have prevented this issue?

AProvide a subnet with IP Address Management.

BRegister NDB using the correct IP address.

CImport the proper image in the Prism Central.

DConfigure an IP address when deploying the application.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation NDB requires a subnet with IPAM (IP Address Management) configured to automatically allocate IP addresses during provisioning from Prism Central Marketplace. Without IPAM enabled on the subnet, NDB cannot obtain the necessary IP addresses for the service VMs, causing the provisioning error. The administrator would have avoided this issue by ensuring the selected subnet had IPAM properly configured before attempting to provision NDB.

Question 2 Domain 3Operate and Maintain an NDB Environment

An administrator needs to restore databases provisioned with a shared disk configuration on Windows Storage Spaces.

What happens when NDB runs the restore operation?

ANDB restores the disks that are associated with the database.

BNDB copies the DB files to be restored to the source volume.

CNDB replaces the source volume with the snapshot volume.

DNDB performs Tail Log backup to backup any remaining logs.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation When restoring databases with shared disk configurations on Windows Storage Spaces, NDB restores all disks associated with that database to maintain data integrity and consistency. Shared disk setups require multiple disks to work together, so NDB must restore every disk in the configuration. Restoring only individual volumes or partial configurations would leave the database in an inconsistent state and unable to function properly.

Question 3 Domain 4Administer an NDB Environment

When the NDB upgrade includes updates to the out-of-the-box (OOB) software profiles, what happens to older OOB software profile versions when upgrading NDB?

AIf the database VMs are not using the base version of the software profile NDB deletes all versions of the profiles from the metadata and protection domains.

BIf the database VM's using the software profiles are using Time Machines and have had a successful snapshot in the last 24 hours before the patch.

CIf the database VM using the software profiles are shutdown, NDB deletes all versions of the profiles from the metadata and protection domains.

DIf the software profiles are not in use, NDB deletes all versions of the profiles from the metadata and protection domains.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation During NDB upgrades, older versions of out-of-the-box software profiles are deleted only if they are not currently in use by any databases. This prevents storage waste while protecting active configurations. If an older profile version is still assigned to running databases, NDB keeps it available to avoid disrupting those instances. Once all databases migrate to newer profile versions, NDB can safely remove the unused older versions.

Question 4 Domain 4Administer an NDB Environment

An administrator enables NDB Multi-cluster.

Which NDB Service component is deployed on a dedicated VM?

AAPI VM

BHAProxy

CRepository DB

DAgent VM

Correct Answer: D

Explanation When NDB Multi-cluster is enabled, an Agent VM is deployed on a dedicated virtual machine within the environment. This Agent VM handles communication and coordination between the primary NDB instance and remote Nutanix clusters. Deploying it on a dedicated VM ensures it has sufficient resources and isolation to manage multi-cluster operations reliably without competing for resources with other NDB components.

Question 5 Domain 3Operate and Maintain an NDB Environment

A user wants to apply the latest OS security patches on a Windows server.

How should the user accomplish this task?

AUpdate the database.

BCreate and apply a Maintenance Plan in NDB.

CUse update functionality directly on the VM.

DReboot the system.

Correct Answer: C

Domain 1: Deploy and Configure an NDB Solution

Deploy an NDB VM by provisioning the instance on a Nutanix cluster. Configure an NDB instance with required parameters and profiles. Deploy and configure NDB High Availability for production environments.

Sample question from this domain above: Q1

Domain 2: Monitor Alerts and Storage Usage within an NDB Implementation

Manage alerts through notification policies and channels. Monitor and manage storage usage across NDB-managed databases and take action on usage trends.

Domain 3: Operate and Maintain an NDB Environment

Register database server VMs and databases into NDB. Provision databases using profiles and templates. Patch NDB-managed entities including OS and database software. Troubleshoot NDB operations by diagnosing issues in the database service. Clone databases for development and testing. Restore source databases from Time Machine snapshots. Manage Time Machine backup schedules and recovery objectives.

Sample questions from this domain above: Q2 Q5

Domain 4: Administer an NDB Environment

Manage NDB profiles including software, compute, network, and parameter profiles. Perform NDB software upgrades on the Database Service instance. Add Nutanix clusters to NDB for database provisioning. Manage networks in NDB by configuring network connectivity. Manage access controls using role-based access control and database credentials. Use NDB APIs and REST clients for automation.

Sample questions from this domain above: Q3 Q4

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