HPE7-J02 Advanced HPE Storage Integrator Solutions Written Exam Questions and Answers

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

In an HPE Peer Persistence configuration (supported on HPE Alletra MP, Primera, and 3PAR), hosts see volumes presented from arrays at both sites. For optimal load balancing and transparent failover, the local array paths are shown as “Active Optimized” while the remote array paths are marked “Active Non-optimized”. The “Non-optimized” label indicates these paths are functional but involve remote access with higher latency. This design ensures automatic transparent failover if the local site becomes unavailable.

Distractors:

A: “Active Optimized” applies only to local array paths, not remote ones.

B: Passive paths are typical of ALUA implementations without Peer Persistence, not here.

D: “Standby” is not the term used in Peer Persistence multipathing.

Key Concept: MPIO with Peer Persistence (ALUA Active/Active configuration).

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

The exhibit shows the use of 32Gb FC HBAs and 100GbE switches (Aruba 100G). However, the customer specifically requires 25GbE top-of-rack switches. Therefore, the configuration needs to be corrected to 25GbE networking. The HPE Alletra MP B10000 guarantees 100% data availability SLA, so the primary correction is networking alignment, not drives or financial model.

Distractors:

B: Reducing drives reduces raw capacity below 80TB requirement.

C: GreenLake is a consumption model but not the technical correction required.

D: Aruba 8325 is a core switch option; customer only asked for ToR 25GbE.

Key Concept: Networking alignment with requirements.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

In the exhibit, several paths show “Standby” and some appear “Dead”, while only a subset is Active (0). This typically indicates that one storage controller may be missing or offline, which reduces redundancy and can cause performance degradation. In a healthy Peer Persistence environment, both controllers should present active and non-optimized paths.

Distractors:

A & B: Having multiple active paths does not inherently reduce performance; in fact, MPIO load balances traffic. The issue here is path failures, not excessive active paths.

Key Concept: MPIO pathing in HPE Peer Persistence and controller health.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

The SAF (Storage Assessment Framework) requires engineers to manually email the collected assessment data to HPE for processing. This is different from fully automated tools like CloudPhysics or Backup assessments that integrate directly with portals. This distinction is important for new engineers performing customer assessments.

Distractors:

A: Backup assessments are usually tool-driven (StoreOnce, RMC, etc.) and automated.

C: Non-HPE assessments are outside scope and not part of HPE standard process.

D: CloudPhysics is fully automated and cloud-based — no manual email required.

Key Concept: SAF = requires manual email submission to HPE.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

HPE SimpliVity RapidDR simplifies and automates DR failover processes, but execution requires an authorized operator to trigger a pre-configured recovery plan. This balances automation with compliance and security requirements (important for healthcare). It does not guarantee zero RTO, but it does minimize RTO through automation.

Distractors:

A: RTO of 0 is not possible; RapidDR reduces but does not eliminate recovery time.

B: Domain admin credentials for re-IP are not required; automation handles reconfiguration.

C: Auto-commit/rollback require administrator validation; no “silent” automation is allowed for compliance.

Key Concept: RapidDR = automation of failover/failback but requires authorized trigger.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

A Capital Lease (also known as a finance lease) spreads costs over time like OpEx, while giving the customer the ability to own the equipment at the end of the lease term. This matches the desire for predictable payments, eventual ownership, and full control.

Distractors:

A (Consumption model): GreenLake provides OpEx flexibility but does not lead to ownership.

B (Operating lease): Pure rental; equipment must be returned, no ownership.

C (Capital purchase): Requires large upfront payment, which the customer wants to avoid.

Key Concept: Capital Lease = predictable payments + ownership path.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

HPE Alletra with InfoSight provides end-to-end visibility from infrastructure through to virtual machines and applications. It offers prescriptive, AI-driven recommendations to simplify management — a key differentiator for startups with small IT staff. Pure arrays do not offer the same level of integrated, cross-stack predictive analytics.

Distractors:

B: “ActiveWorkload” is not an HPE feature — HPE uses Peer Persistence for stretch clusters.

C: Garbage collection is managed automatically in HPE arrays; disabling it is not supported.

D: Data tiering is not natively provided as “software-only” — HPE uses GreenLake and Alletra services.

Key Concept: InfoSight = predictive analytics and app-to-infra visibility differentiator.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Option A is correct because Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is designed for large enterprise environments that already have Fibre Channel (FC) infrastructures but want to simplify cabling and reduce hardware by converging LAN and SAN traffic over a single Ethernet fabric. FCoE retains the efficiency, low latency, and reliability of Fibre Channel while leveraging Ethernet to minimize physical infrastructure costs. This aligns with HPE’s best practices for environments using HPE Alletra 9000/Primera or HPE Nimble arrays connected to converged networks where cost reduction and high performance are equally important.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

B: Real-time replication across WANs requires protocols like HPE 3PAR/Alletra Remote Copy, asynchronous/synchronous replication, or HPE Peer Persistence. FCoE is not suited for high-latency WANs because it is a LAN protocol designed for short distances within a data center.

C: For inter-data center SAN unification, FCIP (Fibre Channel over IP) or iSCSI are more suitable. FCoE does not handle long-distance high-latency links effectively.

D: A startup building AI applications with cloud workloads typically benefits from object storage (HPE Scality RING, HPE GreenLake for File and Object) or direct cloud-native APIs (S3/Blob). FCoE is irrelevant in this use case since it is on-prem and infrastructure-focused.

Key Concept:

The question is testing knowledge of FCoE and its appropriate deployment scenarios — specifically, its role in consolidating storage and network traffic inside enterprise data centers while preserving Fibre Channel protocol advantages.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Alletra 6000 expansion shelves connect via 24G SAS back-end connectivity. The BOM must include the required SAS cables to properly attach the shelf. If only the shelf is listed, it’s incomplete — SAS connectivity accessories must be added.

Distractors:

B: The supported max capacity is higher than 138TB + 46TB, so it won’t exceed limits.

C: Expansion shelves don’t use OCP adapters; they rely on SAS backend ports.

D: QSFP+ DACs are used for front-end networking (iSCSI/FC), not SAS shelf expansion.

Key Concept: Alletra 6000 expansions require 24G SAS cables included in the BOM.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

Option B (All) is correct because in an Active Peer Persistence deployment where both arrays and hosts are in close proximity (metro or campus cluster scenario), the hosts should be configured with Host Proximity = All. This ensures that the host (ESX31) can access both arrays symmetrically and concurrently, enabling active-active paths. This is essential to deliver seamless failover and load balancing across the arrays in an HPE Alletra MP Peer Persistence environment.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A (Secondary): This is used for hosts located closer to the secondary array, to bias access toward it in asymmetric deployments. Not applicable here since the hosts are near both arrays.

C (Exclusive): This option assigns the host to a single array exclusively, preventing dual-active access. This would defeat the purpose of symmetric Peer Persistence.

D (Primary): Similar to Secondary, this biases access to only the primary array, which is not correct when arrays and hosts are in the same site for active-active.

Key Concept:

This question focuses on Host Proximity parameters in HPE Peer Persistence.

Primary/Secondary = asymmetric designs (hosts closer to one array).

All = symmetric design (hosts equidistant to both arrays, enabling active-active).

Exclusive = restricts access to one array only.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

From the exhibit, the system shows maximum estimated IOPS performance (over 250K IOPS read, 115K IOPS mixed, 62K write). These values align with HPE’s published performance specifications for this model with full cores enabled. The network interface count and disk count are balanced relative to controller capability. Therefore, no further upgrades are required to achieve maximum performance.

Distractors:

A: Adding NICs/HBAs may improve throughput but will not exceed controller-bound IOPS.

B: Adding disks increases capacity, not peak IOPS, as performance is primarily controller-driven.

D: The system already matches controller capability; upgrading cores is not an option in Alletra MP B10000 mid-range systems.

Key Concept: Understanding performance sizing based on controller and architecture limits, not just capacity or NICs.

Detailed Explanation:

Rationale for Correct Answer:

The choice of assessment tool (e.g., HPE CloudPhysics for VMware vs. CloudPhysics.vhdx collector for Hyper-V) depends primarily on the virtualization platform in use. VMware and Hyper-V require different collectors, and this is the deciding factor for tool selection.

Distractors:

A: Public cloud use matters for hybrid sizing but not for tool selection.

C: Expired contracts are unrelated to tool choice.

D: Procurement model (CapEx vs. GreenLake) is separate from sizing assessment.

Key Concept: Assessment tool choice = based on hypervisor platform (VMware vs Hyper-V).