Curious about Actual Pure Storage FlashArray Architect Associate (FAAA_004) Exam Questions?

Correct : C

Pure Storage's Right-Size Guarantee protects the customer for 12 months starting from the date of arrival . This guarantee ensures that if the customer's storage needs grow beyond their initial purchase, they can upgrade to larger capacity shelves or arrays without overpaying for the additional capacity.

Why This Matters:

The 12-month protection period gives customers ample time to assess their storage requirements and make adjustments as needed. This flexibility is particularly valuable for organizations with dynamic or unpredictable growth patterns.

By protecting the customer for a full year, Pure Storage ensures that they can scale their storage infrastructure efficiently without incurring unnecessary costs.

Why Not the Other Options?

A . 30 days starting from the date of arrival:

A 30-day protection period would be insufficient for most customers to evaluate their storage needs and make informed decisions about upgrades.

B . 6 months starting from the date of arrival:

While 6 months is longer than 30 days, it is still shorter than the standard 12-month protection period offered by Pure Storage.

D . Until the Evergreen subscription expires:

The Right-Size Guarantee is not tied to the duration of the Evergreen subscription. It is specifically valid for 12 months from the date of arrival.

Key Points:

12-Month Protection: Provides customers with a full year to assess their storage needs and leverage the Right-Size Guarantee.

Scalability: Ensures customers can upgrade their storage infrastructure cost-effectively as their needs evolve.

Customer-Centric Approach: Reflects Pure Storage's commitment to delivering flexible and future-proof solutions.

Pure Storage Evergreen//Forever Documentation: 'Right-Size Guarantee Terms and Conditions'

Pure Storage Whitepaper: 'Maximizing Value with Evergreen Subscriptions'

Pure Storage Knowledge Base: 'Understanding the Right-Size Guarantee Duration'

Correct : C

For a customer producing video media content and needing a cost-effective solution to replace their multi-rack HDD-based storage array for video archiving, the best choice is FlashArray//C .

Why This Matters:

FlashArray//C is designed for capacity-optimized workloads, making it ideal for use cases like video archiving, backups, and large-scale data repositories.

It offers high-density storage with QLC flash technology, which provides a balance of performance and cost-effectiveness for less performance-intensive workloads.

Compared to HDD-based systems, FlashArray//C delivers faster access times, lower latency, and improved reliability, all at a lower cost per terabyte than higher-performance arrays like FlashArray//X or //XL.

Why Not the Other Options?

A . FlashArray//X:

FlashArray//X is optimized for high-performance workloads, such as databases and mission-critical applications. While it offers exceptional performance, it is more expensive and not the most cost-effective solution for video archiving.

B . FlashArray//XL:

FlashArray//XL is designed for extreme-scale workloads requiring massive performance and capacity. It is overkill for video archiving and would significantly increase costs without providing proportional benefits.

Key Points:

FlashArray//C: Designed for capacity-optimized workloads, offering a cost-effective solution for video archiving.

QLC Flash Technology: Provides high density and reliability at a lower cost per terabyte compared to traditional HDDs or higher-performance flash arrays.

Cost Efficiency: Balances performance and cost, making it ideal for large-scale, less performance-intensive workloads like video media archives.

Pure Storage FlashArray//C Documentation: 'Use Cases for FlashArray//C'

Pure Storage Whitepaper: 'Optimizing Storage Costs with FlashArray//C'

Pure Storage Knowledge Base: 'Choosing the Right FlashArray Model for Your Workload'

Correct : A

A protection group in a stretched pod should be used for integrating ActiveCluster with asynchronous snapshot replication . This combination allows for synchronous replication within the stretched pod (using ActiveCluster) while also enabling asynchronous replication to a third site for additional disaster recovery protection.

Why This Matters:

ActiveCluster: Provides synchronous replication between two sites within a stretched pod, ensuring zero RPO and near-zero RTO for high availability.

Async Snapshot Replication: Extends the disaster recovery strategy by replicating snapshots asynchronously to a third site, providing an additional layer of protection against regional failures.

Combining these features ensures both local high availability and remote disaster recovery.

Why Not the Other Options?

B . Using CloudSnap to offload to a third-site target:

CloudSnap is used to offload snapshots to cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3 or Azure Blob). While it is useful for backup purposes, it does not integrate with ActiveCluster for synchronous replication.

C . Initiating ActiveDR failover/failback in a test scenario:

ActiveDR is designed for asynchronous replication and failover/failback scenarios but does not integrate with ActiveCluster in a stretched pod configuration.

D . Configuring fan-out async snapshot replication:

Fan-out replication involves sending snapshots to multiple targets asynchronously. However, this does not align with the use case of integrating ActiveCluster with async replication for a stretched pod.

Key Points:

Stretched Pod: Enables synchronous replication across two sites using ActiveCluster.

Async Replication: Adds a third-site replication target for comprehensive disaster recovery.

Integrated Protection: Combines high availability and disaster recovery into a single solution.

Pure Storage FlashArray Documentation: 'ActiveCluster with Async Replication'

Pure Storage Whitepaper: 'Disaster Recovery Strategies with FlashArray'

Pure Storage Knowledge Base: 'Using Protection Groups in Stretched Pods'

Correct : A

During a controller upgrade of a Pure Storage FlashArray, the active/active controller architecture ensures there will be no tangible impact on performance. This design allows both controllers to handle I/O operations simultaneously, so even if one controller is being upgraded, the other can continue processing workloads without interruption.

Why This Matters:

Active/Active Architecture: In an active/active design, both controllers share the workload equally. If one controller is taken offline for maintenance or upgrades, the remaining controller seamlessly handles all I/O operations.

This ensures continuous availability and consistent performance during upgrades, minimizing downtime and user impact.

Why Not the Other Options?

B . Stateful controller architecture:

While stateful architectures maintain session information, they do not inherently ensure no performance impact during upgrades. The key factor here is the active/active design.

C . Active/passive controller front-end ports:

In an active/passive design, only one controller is actively handling I/O at any given time. If the active controller is upgraded, the passive controller must take over, which can lead to temporary performance degradation.

D . Primary/secondary controller architecture:

Similar to active/passive, this design relies on a primary controller for all operations, making it less resilient during upgrades compared to active/active.

Key Points:

Active/Active Design: Ensures continuous I/O processing during upgrades.

Seamless Upgrades: Minimizes performance impact and downtime for users.

High Availability: Maintains consistent performance and reliability throughout the upgrade process.

Pure Storage FlashArray Documentation: 'Controller Upgrade Process and Best Practices'

Pure Storage Whitepaper: 'Active/Active Controller Architecture'

Pure Storage Knowledge Base: 'Minimizing Impact During Controller Upgrades'

Correct : B

Given that the two FlashArrays are located in different data centers with a network link latency of 35 ms , the best Purity feature to provide protection against a site failure with the lowest recovery point is ActiveDR .

Why This Matters:

ActiveDR:

ActiveDR is an asynchronous replication solution designed for disaster recovery scenarios where the secondary site may be geographically distant (e.g., >10 ms latency).

It provides low RPOs (typically seconds to minutes) and supports fast failover and failback capabilities, ensuring minimal data loss and downtime.

With a 35 ms latency between sites, synchronous replication (e.g., ActiveCluster) is not feasible due to the high latency impacting performance.

Why Not the Other Options?

A . ActiveCluster:

ActiveCluster requires synchronous replication, which is only suitable for sites within a low-latency range (<10 ms). At 35 ms latency, ActiveCluster would cause significant performance degradation.

C . Snapshot replication:

Snapshot replication is asynchronous but does not provide the same level of failover and failback capabilities as ActiveDR. It is better suited for backup purposes rather than disaster recovery with low RPOs.

D . Local snapshots:

Local snapshots are useful for point-in-time recovery within a single array but do not protect against site failures.

Key Points:

ActiveDR: Ideal for asynchronous replication with low RPOs and fast failover/failback.

Latency Considerations: ActiveDR supports higher latencies (e.g., 35 ms) compared to synchronous solutions like ActiveCluster.

Disaster Recovery: Ensures protection against site failures with minimal data loss and downtime.

Pure Storage FlashArray Documentation: 'ActiveDR for Disaster Recovery'

Pure Storage Whitepaper: 'Meeting RPO and RTO Requirements with FlashArray'

Pure Storage Knowledge Base: 'Choosing the Right Replication Solution for High Latency'