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Exam Information
Official specifications published by NetApp
Exam Format
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Skills this practice test covers
- Create SVMs, aggregates and FlexVol or FlexGroup volumes, and apply storage efficiency to them.
- Configure LIFs, broadcast domains and IPspaces, and fix network faults that cut clients off.
- Serve LUNs over iSCSI, FC or NVMe and shares over NFS and SMB, and repair access when it breaks.
- Configure ONTAP S3 buckets and the users who can reach them.
- Protect volumes with Snapshot copies, SnapMirror and SnapVault, and repair a lagging relationship.
- Harden a cluster with multi-admin verification, encryption and Autonomous Ransomware Protection.
Explore related topics
NS0-165 exam content
8 domains · 24 topics · 150 of 486 questions are written for NS0-165
Storage Platforms19 questions
This domain covers where ONTAP runs: AFF, ASA and FAS hardware, ONTAP Select, Cloud Volumes ONTAP and Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP. It also covers how a cluster grows, through software upgrades and new nodes.
Skills tested
- Tell AFF, ASA and FAS systems apart, and identify shelves, drives and other cluster hardware.
- Compare ONTAP Select, Cloud Volumes ONTAP and Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP for a given site.
- Plan an ONTAP software upgrade and the steps to add nodes to a cluster.
Questions by topic
- Physical storage systems6
- Software-defined on-premises or cloud storage systems7
- Upgrading or scaling ONTAP clusters6
Core ONTAP20 questions
Core ONTAP is the daily administration of a cluster. Candidates manage it from System Manager and the ONTAP CLI, explain how HA pairs keep data online, and create the SVMs that serve data to clients.
Skills tested
- Carry out the same administrative task in System Manager and in the ONTAP CLI.
- Explain storage failover in an HA pair, including takeover and giveback.
- Create a Storage Virtual Machine and delegate its administration for multi-tenancy.
- Give each administrator only the access the job needs, with roles and RBAC.
Questions by topic
- High availability concepts7
- ONTAP system management7
- Storage Virtual Machine management6
ONTAP Storage13 questions
This domain is about the logical layers that hold data: aggregates, volumes, qtrees and quotas. It also covers the efficiency features that store more data in less space.
Skills tested
- Create aggregates and choose between FlexVol and FlexGroup volumes for a workload.
- Divide a volume with qtrees and limit usage with quotas.
- Explain how deduplication, compression and compaction save space.
- Use thin provisioning, and watch for the risk of running out of physical space.
Questions by topic
- Logical storage features7
- NetApp storage efficiency features6
Networking12 questions
ONTAP has its own network layers between the physical ports and client traffic. Candidates configure those layers and fix them when clients lose their connection.
Skills tested
- Build the path from physical ports and ifgrps through broadcast domains to LIFs.
- Keep tenants' networks apart with IPspaces, and assign addresses from subnets.
- Fix a LIF that fails over to the wrong port or cannot migrate.
- Find a network configuration error with connectivity diagnostics.
Questions by topic
- Network components7
- Troubleshoot network components5
Storage Protocols and Connectivity32 questions
This domain has the most topics on NetApp's exam page. Candidates give hosts block storage over FC, iSCSI or NVMe, share files over NFS and SMB, serve objects over S3, and fix each kind of access when it breaks.
Skills tested
- Create a LUN, map it to an igroup, and check that the host sees every path through ALUA.
- Export a volume over NFS with export policy rules, and share it over SMB.
- Mount volumes into the SVM namespace with junction paths.
- Fix a share that refuses access because of permissions or name services.
- Create an S3 bucket in ONTAP and give an S3 user access to it.
Questions by topic
- SAN solutions6
- Troubleshoot SAN solutions5
- NAS solutions7
- Troubleshoot NAS solutions7
- ONTAP S3 solutions7
Data Protection18 questions
Data Protection covers copies of data, on the same system and on another one. Candidates choose the right Snapshot or SnapMirror feature and keep replication relationships healthy.
Skills tested
- Restore files from Snapshot copies, and revert a whole volume with SnapRestore.
- Set up SnapMirror for disaster recovery and SnapVault for long-term backup.
- Explain how MetroCluster and SnapMirror active sync keep applications running through a site failure.
- Diagnose a replication relationship with lag or failed transfers, and resync it.
Questions by topic
- ONTAP data protection solutions7
- ONTAP business continuity concepts6
- Troubleshoot DP solutions5
Security25 questions
Only Storage Protocols and Connectivity lists more topics than Security. Candidates secure client protocols and administrator access, encrypt data in flight and at rest, and defend data against ransomware.
Skills tested
- Secure NFS with Kerberos and export policies, and SMB with signing and encryption.
- Make risky commands wait for a second administrator with multi-admin verification.
- Choose between NetApp Volume Encryption, NetApp Aggregate Encryption and NSE self-encrypting drives.
- Turn on Autonomous Ransomware Protection and keep tamper-proof Snapshot copies.
- Lock files against change or deletion with SnapLock.
Questions by topic
- Anti-ransomware concepts7
- Security hardening6
- Inflight or at rest encryption7
- Protocol security5
Performance11 questions
The last domain asks how fast the system serves data and why it slows down. Candidates read latency, IOPS and throughput, and they limit noisy workloads with QoS.
Skills tested
- Set QoS policies that cap a workload's throughput or reserve a minimum for it.
- Track latency, IOPS and throughput in Active IQ Unified Manager and with ONTAP counters.
- Work out whether a slowdown comes from the disks, the network, the controller or one workload.
Questions by topic
- ONTAP performance monitoring7
- Troubleshoot storage system performance4
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: anyone can book the exam.
- Recommended: between six months and a year of hands-on ONTAP administration.
- Recommended: working knowledge of networking, virtualization, SAN and NAS concepts, and Windows or Linux hosts.
About the NS0-165 exam
NS0-165 measures how well a storage administrator runs NetApp ONTAP 9.18.1 day to day: building storage, serving it to hosts over SAN, NAS and S3, and keeping it protected, secure and fast. Passing it earns the NetApp Certified Data Administrator (NCDA), ONTAP certification at NetApp's professional level. The NCDA is also the prerequisite for NetApp's SAN Specialist, ONTAP certification.
Troubleshooting runs through four domains of this exam, from SAN paths and NAS permissions to lagging replication. Every explanation in the PlanetCert practice test says why the right answer works and why each other option fails. Study mode suits Storage Protocols and Connectivity and Security, which list the most topics. Flashcard mode helps with the many features whose names start with Snap. Good questions for Brainy AI Assistant include how a LIF fails over and how SnapMirror differs from SnapVault.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- NetApp Certified Data Administrator (NCDA), ONTAPProfessional
The NCDA stays active for two years. Passing the current NCDA exam renews it, and so does earning a linked NCIE specialist certification before it expires.
- After
- NS0-522 NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer - SAN Specialist, ONTAP
The specialist exam for SAN on ONTAP. The NCDA is its prerequisite.
- NS0-522 NetApp Certified Implementation Engineer - SAN Specialist, ONTAP
How to prepare for NS0-165
- 1
Get hands on a lab cluster
Practise on a test cluster, such as an ONTAP Select evaluation or a spare system at work. Do every task twice, once in System Manager and once in the ONTAP CLI.
- 2
Build an SVM from the ground up
Create an aggregate, an SVM, its LIFs, a volume and a junction path, then serve the volume over NFS and SMB. The protocol questions build on this chain.
- 3
Break and repair client access
Map a LUN to the wrong igroup, remove a client from an export policy rule, and change a share permission. Then fix each one, and note which command or setting showed the fault.
- 4
Put protocols and security first
Storage Protocols and Connectivity and Security list the most topics on NetApp's exam page. Learn each Snap feature by what it protects against: Snapshot copies, SnapRestore, SnapMirror, SnapVault and SnapLock.
- 5
End with full practice runs
Work through the NS0-165 practice test one domain at a time in study mode, then take timed runs. Use flashcard mode for the feature names that look alike.
Start a timed NS0-165run
NetApp's official preparation is the ONTAP Administrator Learning Path, which starts with the ONTAP Cluster Administration course. Its other courses cover data protection, NFS, SMB, SAN and performance analysis.
Who NS0-165 is for
- Storage administrators who run NetApp ONTAP clusters for their organization.
- Systems and virtualization administrators who provide SAN or NAS storage to servers.
- Engineers at NetApp partners who install and support ONTAP for customers.
- Administrators of Cloud Volumes ONTAP or Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP.
Typical job titles: Storage administrator · Storage engineer · Systems administrator · Data center engineer · Backup and recovery engineer
NS0-165 glossary
17 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- Aggregate
- A pool of physical drives that ONTAP protects with RAID. Volumes are created on top of it.
- ALUA
- Asymmetric Logical Unit Access: the multipathing standard that tells a host which paths to a LUN are best.
- Autonomous Ransomware Protection (ARP)
- An ONTAP feature that learns normal file activity, flags activity that looks like ransomware and takes a Snapshot copy.
- Export policy rules
- Rules that decide which NFS clients may access a volume, and with what rights.
- FlexGroup
- An ONTAP volume that spreads one namespace across many member volumes and nodes, for very large or busy file workloads.
- HA pair
- Two ONTAP controllers joined so that each can take over the other's storage when one fails, then give it back.
- Initiator group (igroup)
- A list of host initiators, by iSCSI name or FC address, that are allowed to see the LUNs mapped to it.
- IPspace
- A separate IP address space in ONTAP, so tenants can use overlapping addresses without conflict.
- Junction path
- The point in an SVM's namespace where a volume is mounted, so NAS clients see it as a folder.
- Logical interface (LIF)
- A network address that an SVM uses to serve data or to be managed. It can move between physical ports.
- Multi-admin verification (MAV)
- An ONTAP setting that makes chosen risky commands wait for approval from a second administrator.
- Qtree
- A subdivision of a volume, with its own security style and quota limits.
- SnapLock
- An ONTAP feature that stores files so that no one can change or delete them before a set retention date.
- SnapMirror
- ONTAP replication that copies volumes to another system, most often for disaster recovery.
- SnapVault
- ONTAP backup that keeps a long history of Snapshot copies on a second system.
- Storage Virtual Machine (SVM)
- A virtual storage server inside an ONTAP cluster, with its own volumes, network addresses and administrators.
- Thin provisioning
- Giving a volume or LUN more space than is set aside on disk, so physical space is used only as data is written.
Related practice tests
- NS0-177Cisco and NetApp Certified FlexPod Design Specialist
- NS0-176Cisco and NetApp FlexPod Implementation and Administration
- NS0-604Hybrid Cloud - Architect
- NS0-701NetApp Certified Cloud and Storage Services Engineer Professional
- NS0-404NetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud - Implementation Engineer