Exam Objectives and Commonly Referenced Documentation for FlashBlade Support Specialist Certification

Certifications
Audience
Public
Product
FlashBlade
FlashArray
FlashStack
Evergreen
Pure1
Portworx
Source Type
Documentation

The following tables list the FlashBlade Support Specialist exam objectives and how these objectives align to the corresponding commonly referenced product documentation and resources. Candidates are encouraged to review the applicable topics as part of their preparation for the exam.

Note: For Knowledge Portal documents, be sure to reference all subtopics, PDFs, and/or links that are part of the document link provided.

Exam Domain 1: Hardware (Weightage 15%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

1.01 - Identify Key Hardware Components

Objective Subtopics:

  • Blade: Supercap FRU (1st Gen), Flash, NVRAM

  • Drive: Flash (FB//S//E), NVRAM (FB//S//E)

  • Chassis (FB//E): Control Chassis (EC), Expansion Chassis (EX)

  • Fabric Module (FM): EFM-110, EFM-310, FIOM-1000

  • External Fabric Module (XFM): EFM- 3200E, XFM-8400

  • Networking components: QSFP/MPO transceivers, splitter cables

  1. FlashBlade//S™ Technical Specifications

  2. FPGA CRC Refresh: Explanations and Identifying

1.02 - Perform Hardware Non-Disruptive Upgrades (NDUs)

Objective Subtopics:

  • Add blades and DFMs for capacity expansion (1st Gen / FB//S//E)

  • Upgrade from single-chassis to multi-chassis configuration (S2M)

  • Convert from Norway to Legend architecture (N2L)

  1. First-Generation FlashBlade Non-Disruptive Upgrade to FlashBlade//S System (See "Conversion from First Gen to FlashBlade//S" section)

  2. How to RMA or Re-Add a Blade/DFM and Capacity Add for //S or //E

1.03 - Troubleshoot Hardware Issues

Objective Subtopics:

  • Diagnose DFM drive or blade hardware failures

  • Identify environmental issues such as high temperature, fan, or PSU failures

  • Resolve entry point issues related to XFM/FM components (e.g., BIOS updates)

  • Troubleshoot physical connectivity issues

  1. Staging FBauto Process

Exam Domain 2: Software (Weightage 20%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

2.01 - Identify Key Software Components and Services

Objective Subtopics:

  • Blade/DFM (Data Plane): nfsd, Life of an I/O, multitenancy, garbage collection, compression

  • Entry Point (FM/XFM): switchd, hald, inuk, congo, etcd

  • Operating System: always-on QoS, middleware, tunables

  • Core Services: nfsd

  • Cluster Geometry: bootstrap, fbsetup

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 1 About this Guide

    • See Ch. 5 File Systems Exports Panel

    • See Ch. 10 FlashBlade//S and //E System Resiliency

    • See Ch. 8 Rules: Actions, Resources, and Conditions

2.02 - Use Monitoring Tools and System Diagnostics

Objective Subtopics:

  • Monitoring tools: Pure1, Syslog, SNMP, Phonehome, Remote Assist, SMTP, alerting, auditing

  • Diagnostic tools: fbhealth, fbcatalyst, RapidFile Toolkit (RFT), Fusion

  1. Troubleshooting RA / Phonehome Issues

  2. Requirements for FlashBlade Remote Assist (RA) and Phonehome

  3. Disconnecting the Chassis

  4. FlashBlade Not Phoning Home Because it is Configured for Staging

  5. Purity//FB General Administration

  6. On Box Diagnostics FAQ

  7. Everpure Fusion Best Practices

  8. New Features (See "SMB per File System Stats" section)

2.03 - Perform Management and Configuration Tasks

Objective Subtopics:

  • Log in to the GUI and CLI using appropriate accounts

  • Navigate and locate relevant tabs in the GUI

  • Configure Active Directory for array management

  • Perform fundamental FlashBlade management tasks

  • Configure single sign-on (SSO)

  • Manage multitenancy environments

  • Use the REST API to set and update configuration

  • Create and manage API tokens

  • Bind to directory services

  • Configure LDAP/AD integration: groups, Base DN, and OU components

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6 (See Ch. 8 SSH Certificate Authority Policies)

  2. FlashBlade Multi-tenancy Overview

  3. Getting Started with the Everpure Python Toolkit

2.04 - Troubleshoot Software and Configuration Issues

Objective Subtopics:

  • Diagnose connectivity issues with Active Directory

  • Resolve directory service-related issues (array management and NFS access)

  • Troubleshoot NTP synchronization problems

  1. Directory Services Support for NFS (LDAP)

  2. DMFB DirectoryServices - NFS -NIS

  3. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6 (See Ch. 13 Array Management Directory Service)

  4. FlashBlade Native SMB FAQ

  5. Alert 1019 - NTP Status

  6. Alert 1209 - High Stratum

  7. Joining File Services Users and Groups using Active Directory via the GUI

2.05 - Perform Software Non-Disruptive Upgrades (NDUs)

Objective Subtopics:

  • Identify considerations for upgrading to the target release

  • Complete all prerequisites before upgrade (e.g., preupgrade checks, staging)

  • Follow appropriate upgrade paths and procedures (e.g., Bridgehead method)

  • Confirm upgrade completion (e.g., logs, persistent run files)

  • Conduct post-upgrade health checks

  1. First-Generation FlashBlade Feature Deprecation FAQ

Exam Domain 3: File System and Object Store Access (Weightage 25%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

3.01 - Configure NFS File System Access

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure NFSv3 and NFSv4.1 file shares

  • Set up export rules and policies

  • Apply user and group quotas

  • Integrate directory services for NFS access

  • Enable Fast Remove and Snapshot for NFS shares

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6 (See Ch. 5 Renaming a File System)

  2. FlashBlade Best Practices for NFS (See "Requirements and Caveats" section)

  3. Alert 1101 - File System Space Quota

3.02 - Configure SMB File System Access

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure Active Directory for SMB access

  • Assign user permissions using Active Directory

  • Set up client and share policies

  • Configure user and group quotas

  • Format and assign Security Identifiers (SIDs) to appropriate groups

  • Perform SMB adapter to native SMB conversion

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 13 Choosing an Active Directory Account or Directory Services Configuration

    • See Ch. 13 Minimum Permissions for Joining an Active Directory Domain

  2. Prechecks for Native SMB

  3. FlashBlade SMB Auditing Best Practices

  4. New Features

  5. Security identifiers

  6. FlashBlade Native SMB FAQ

  7. FlashBlade Best Practices for Native SMB

3.03 - Configure S3 Object Store Access

Objective Subtopics:

  • Create accounts, users, access keys, and buckets

  • Enable versioning on buckets

  • Configure lifecycle rules and object retention (Object Lock)

  • Define and apply bucket policies

  • Set up object store access policies

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6 (See Ch. 7 Enabling Bucket Versioning)

3.04 - Troubleshoot File and Object Access Issues

Objective Subtopics:

  • Troubleshoot NFS access issues based on mount options, permissions, export rules, and protocol versions

  • Diagnose NFS client access problems

  • Troubleshoot SMB access issues related to policies, permissions, and protocol versions

  • Diagnose SMB client access problems

  • Resolve S3 access problems or REST API integration failures (AWS CLI, SDK)

  • Troubleshoot SMB and NFS session and lock issues

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 5 Fast Remove

    • See Ch. 5 File Replication Failover, Reprotect, and Failback

  2. FlashBlade CLI Reference 4.5.6 (See Ch. 4 purefs)

  3. FlashBlade Native SMB FAQ

  4. FlashBlade CLI Reference

  5. How to Mount NFS on Windows clients

  6. Native SMB: What minimum permissions are required for Access Based Enumeration (ABE) to work?

  7. Changes to Share Policies

  8. 2.2.35 SMB2 CHANGE_NOTIFY Request

  9. Cross-Protocol File Access on FlashBlade

  10. Fast Remove

  11. Cross-Protocol File Access on FlashBlade

Exam Domain 4: Networking (Weightage 15%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

4.01 - Define Network Protocols

Objective Subtopics:

  • Balance workloads across LACP links

  • Interpret LACP, MLAG, VLAN, and ARP configurations

  • Add physical links to existing LAGs

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6 (See Ch. 5 Creating and Exporting a File System)

4.02 - Configure Network Interfaces and Topology Create Management and Data Network Interfaces

Objective Subtopics:

  • Define and configure subnets

  • Create LAGs for uplinks

  • Setting up multi-chassis cabling

  1. Common Terminology, Specification, and Connector Types

4.03 - Implementation Network Security Features

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure array certificates

  • Configure SSO

  • Enable data encryption

  1. FlashBlade Security Overview

  2. Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program CAVP

  3. FlashBlade Security FAQs

  4. Data-in-Transit

  5. How to Get a Signed CA Certificate on Everpure //FB Arrays

4.04 - Troubleshoot Network Connectivity and Performance

Objective Subtopics:

  • Capture and analyze TCP dumps on both client and FlashBlade sides

  • Identify and interpret port errors in logs and GUI

  • Provide solutions for common port errors

  • Analyze traceroute and ping results

  • Resolve replication, data, and management network connectivity issues

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 9 Viewing Network Connector Statistics

    • See Ch. 11 Downloading Support Logs

    • See Ch. 11 Creating a Subnet

Exam Domain 5: Data Protection (Weightage 20%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

5.01 - Manage Snapshots

Objective Subtopics:

  • Configure snapshot policies for file systems

  • Destroy and eradicate snapshot images

  • Recover data from snapshots

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 6 Snapshots

    • See Ch. 11 Creating a Local User

    • See Ch. 11 Editing a Local User

5.02 - Configure and Manage SafeMode

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand SafeMode functionality and use cases

  • View current SafeMode settings

  • Generate tokens for SafeMode operations

  • Modify SafeMode snapshot retention periods

  • Recover data from SafeMode snapshots

  1. FlashBlade SafeMode

  2. SafeMode for FlashBlade Files (See "Setting SafeMode Global Eradication Timer" section)

5.03 - Configure Replication

Objective Subtopics:

  • Establish replication links between source and target arrays

  • Enable encryption on replication links

  • Set up multi-site replication

  • Configure file and object replication

  • Perform baseline configuration for object replicas

  1. FlashBlade User Guide Version 4.5.6

    • See Ch. 6 Object Replication

    • See Ch. 7 File System Replication Overview

Exam Domain 6: Performance and Capacity (Weightage 10%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

6.01 - Configure Load Balancing

Objective Subtopics:

  • Use multiple TCP ports for client connections

  • Identify when to use nconnect on Linux clients

  • Distribute workloads across FlashBlade for optimal performance

  • Maximize parallelism using physical ports, IP addresses, TCP ports, and NFS sessions

  1. Pure1 Manage FAQ

  2. FlashBlade NFS Performance FAQ

  3. Mounting a File System Using NFS to a Client

6.02 - Monitor System Performance and Capacity

Objective Subtopics:

  • Perform capacity planning based on usage trends

  • Analyze performance metrics (e.g., latency, loading, baselining)

  • Identify load patterns (e.g., IOPS, throughput)

  1. Adjusting the Performance Tables and Graphs

  2. Why Should I Always Use Pure Sizer?

  3. Data Reduction on FlashBlade

6.03 - Troubleshoot Performance Bottlenecks

Objective Subtopics:

  • Identify maximum performance thresholds for single-stream workloads across blade types

  • Diagnose network-related performance issues between client and FlashBlade

  • Resolve high-latency issues in client access

  • Troubleshoot low RPC slot availability for client requests

  1. FlashBlade S3 Performance FAQ

  2. FlashBlade NFS Performance FAQ