Sample Exam Questions for Platform Architect Expert Certification

Question 1: An enterprise runs 12 FlashArrays, two FlashBlades, and several Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) instances across three regions. The team wants to replace runbooks with SLA-driven provisioning, enforce policies consistently, reduce risk, and initiate orchestration from any site. How does Everpure Fusion address this requirement?
A. Everpure Fusion is built into Purity and creates a distributed control plane that federates FlashArray, FlashBlade, and PSC Dedicated into one fleet. Architects define workload presets in a fleet catalog for performance, protection, and placement, and operations can be initiated from any array without extra licensing or control planes.
B. Everpure Fusion centralizes management in a cloud-hosted control plane. Arrays send telemetry for visibility, but provisioning requires the SaaS endpoint, an additional subscription, and orchestration tied to a single master.
C. Everpure Fusion provides local automation through per-array templates. Templates standardize some settings, but do NOT federate arrays, enable policy-driven placement, or allow orchestration from any array.

Question 1: An enterprise runs 12 FlashArrays, two FlashBlades, and several Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) instances across three regions. The team wants to replace runbooks with SLA-driven provisioning, enforce policies consistently, reduce risk, and initiate orchestration from any site.

How does Everpure Fusion address this requirement?

A. Everpure Fusion is built into Purity and creates a distributed control plane that federates FlashArray, FlashBlade, and PSC Dedicated into one fleet. Architects define workload presets in a fleet catalog for performance, protection, and placement, and operations can be initiated from any array without extra licensing or control planes.

B. Everpure Fusion centralizes management in a cloud-hosted control plane. Arrays send telemetry for visibility, but provisioning requires the SaaS endpoint, an additional subscription, and orchestration tied to a single master.

C. Everpure Fusion provides local automation through per-array templates. Templates standardize some settings, but do NOT federate arrays, enable policy-driven placement, or allow orchestration from any array.

Question 2: An Architect is designing a solution for a critical trading environment, which will require 10 new database hosts and 1000 TB of storage capacity. The Architect has estimated I/O profiles from the customer. How should the Architect establish whether a storage uplift of the current FlashArray//XL130 R5 is required?
A. Simulate adding the I/O profile to the Pure1 Planning tool to ensure this new load profile can be met.
B. Check if the array GUI free capacity can take another 1000 TB.
C. Advise the customer the array will automatically perform array wide thin provisioning, therefore the new volumes will NOT use any more space on the array

Question 2: An Architect is designing a solution for a critical trading environment, which will require 10 new database hosts and 1000 TB of storage capacity. The Architect has estimated I/O profiles from the customer.

How should the Architect establish whether a storage uplift of the current FlashArray//XL130 R5 is required?

A. Simulate adding the I/O profile to the Pure1 Planning tool to ensure this new load profile can be met.

B. Check if the array GUI free capacity can take another 1000 TB.

C. Advise the customer the array will automatically perform array wide thin provisioning, therefore the new volumes will NOT use any more space on the array

Question 3: A network administrator has completed the replacement of a network switch and cabling that was connected to a FlashBlade. Unfortunately, the previous switch configuration was lost. The links to the FlashBlade are unhealthy, reporting No Link, and are NOT passing traffic. The environment is configured using passive copper direct attached cables to connect the FlashBlade to a Cisco Nexus switch. The virtual port channel (vPC) is configured correctly, the ports are in the port-channel and vPC, and the correct VLANs are trunked. What is the recommended configuration to restore the links?
A. Set the LACP hashing protocol to `src-dsc-mac`.
B. Disable the auto speed negotiation and set speeds to the correct value for the transceiver used.
C. Use Fiber Optic transceivers because passive direct attached cables are NOT supported in FlashBlade.

Question 3: A network administrator has completed the replacement of a network switch and cabling that was connected to a FlashBlade. Unfortunately, the previous switch configuration was lost. The links to the FlashBlade are unhealthy, reporting No Link, and are NOT passing traffic. The environment is configured using passive copper direct attached cables to connect the FlashBlade to a Cisco Nexus switch. The virtual port channel (vPC) is configured correctly, the ports are in the port-channel and vPC, and the correct VLANs are trunked.

What is the recommended configuration to restore the links?

A. Set the LACP hashing protocol to src-dsc-mac.

B. Disable the auto speed negotiation and set speeds to the correct value for the transceiver used.

C. Use Fiber Optic transceivers because passive direct attached cables are NOT supported in FlashBlade.

Question 4: An organization has purchased a new DirectFlash shelf to expand the capacity of their FlashArray//X70R3 array. After performing an initial analysis of the site, an Architect identifies that there is NO available space in the rack that the FlashArray is currently located in. However, there is 20RU of space in a second rack located 7M away. Which design option is an approved Pure solution to install the DirectFlash shelf?
A. Install the DirectFlash shelf into the 2nd rack and use 10M active direct attached cables to connect to the FlashArray.
B. Remove some equipment from the rack to make space for the new DirectFlash shelf.
C. Install the DirectFlash shelf into the 2nd rack and install SFP transceivers into the expansion ports. Run fiber cables between the racks to connect the DirectFlash self to the FlashArray.

Question 4: An organization has purchased a new DirectFlash shelf to expand the capacity of their FlashArray//X70R3 array. After performing an initial analysis of the site, an Architect identifies that there is NO available space in the rack that the FlashArray is currently located in. However, there is 20RU of space in a second rack located 7M away.

Which design option is an approved Pure solution to install the DirectFlash shelf?

A. Install the DirectFlash shelf into the 2nd rack and use 10M active direct attached cables to connect to the FlashArray.

B. Remove some equipment from the rack to make space for the new DirectFlash shelf.

C. Install the DirectFlash shelf into the 2nd rack and install SFP transceivers into the expansion ports. Run fiber cables between the racks to connect the DirectFlash self to the FlashArray.

Question 5: An Architect is designing the network for a new AI training environment with 32 GPU nodes, a scale-out storage system, and a separate management stack. How should the network be designed to balance physical topology and logical segmentation for performance, resiliency, and security?
A. Deploy a single 100 GbE leaf–spine fabric carrying both RDMA collectives and NFS in one VLAN, maintain MTU at 1500 for simplicity, and connect out-of-band management to the same switches with ACL restrictions.
B. Provide a dedicated compute fabric (InfiniBand or RoCE with lossless features such as PFC/ECN) and a separate Ethernet fabric for storage and control with jumbo MTU; use VLANs/VRFs to segment storage, control, and user ingress; keep out-of-band management physically isolated.
C. Converge all traffic on a single Ethernet fabric with LACP trunks, allow user ingress on the compute VLAN, and rely on security groups for isolation; run BMC/IPMI as IPMI over LAN on the production VLAN.

Question 5: An Architect is designing the network for a new AI training environment with 32 GPU nodes, a scale-out storage system, and a separate management stack.

How should the network be designed to balance physical topology and logical segmentation for performance, resiliency, and security?

A. Deploy a single 100 GbE leaf–spine fabric carrying both RDMA collectives and NFS in one VLAN, maintain MTU at 1500 for simplicity, and connect out-of-band management to the same switches with ACL restrictions.

B. Provide a dedicated compute fabric (InfiniBand or RoCE with lossless features such as PFC/ECN) and a separate Ethernet fabric for storage and control with jumbo MTU; use VLANs/VRFs to segment storage, control, and user ingress; keep out-of-band management physically isolated.

C. Converge all traffic on a single Ethernet fabric with LACP trunks, allow user ingress on the compute VLAN, and rely on security groups for isolation; run BMC/IPMI as IPMI over LAN on the production VLAN.

Question 6: A customer runs Kubernetes across two availability zones with RWX workloads and wants Portworx to provision storage on FlashBlade using Direct Access (PVCs dynamically create NFS file systems). The customer agrees to the following parameters: Use NFSv3/v4.1 with optional Kerberos Open NFS ports and enable rpcbind Provide FlashBlade API tokens and NFS endpoints labeled for topology-aware placement How should the Architect assess whether Portworx is a suitable fit for this design?
A. Portworx on FlashBlade is a good fit if Direct Access is used, NFS ports are opened, and endpoints are provided through `px-pure-secret`.
B. Portworx on FlashBlade is NOT a fit for this scenario.
C. Portworx on FlashBlade is only a fit if multi-AZ deployments are avoided.

Question 6: A customer runs Kubernetes across two availability zones with RWX workloads and wants Portworx to provision storage on FlashBlade using Direct Access (PVCs dynamically create NFS file systems).

The customer agrees to the following parameters:

Use NFSv3/v4.1 with optional Kerberos
Open NFS ports and enable rpcbind
Provide FlashBlade API tokens and NFS endpoints labeled for topology-aware placement

How should the Architect assess whether Portworx is a suitable fit for this design?

A. Portworx on FlashBlade is a good fit if Direct Access is used, NFS ports are opened, and endpoints are provided through px-pure-secret.

B. Portworx on FlashBlade is NOT a fit for this scenario.

C. Portworx on FlashBlade is only a fit if multi-AZ deployments are avoided.

Question 7: An organization is considering a Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) array in AWS, attached to EC2 server instances, to replicate the on-prem environment. Their current operations, including DR orchestration with ActiveDR and dev/test copy workflows, are automated using FlashArray Purity CLI scripts. What should the Architect explain about PSC Dedicated functionality in this scenario?
A. The Purity CLI command syntax is the same on a FlashArray as it is on a PSC Dedicated array.
B. The Purity CLI command syntax on the array is different due to being cloud-based and will need to be updated accordingly.
C. REST API must be used to the cloud provider due to the Purity CLI being unavailable.

Question 7: An organization is considering a Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) array in AWS, attached to EC2 server instances, to replicate the on-prem environment.

Their current operations, including DR orchestration with ActiveDR and dev/test copy workflows, are automated using FlashArray Purity CLI scripts.

What should the Architect explain about PSC Dedicated functionality in this scenario?

A. The Purity CLI command syntax is the same on a FlashArray as it is on a PSC Dedicated array.

B. The Purity CLI command syntax on the array is different due to being cloud-based and will need to be updated accordingly.

C. REST API must be used to the cloud provider due to the Purity CLI being unavailable.

Question 8: An Architect is designing a solution to enhance security measures for a company's storage system. The company is concerned about threats such as Privilege Escalation attacks, In-Band attacks, and Out-of-Band attacks. Which security measures should the architect recommend?
A. SafeMode, Rapid Data Locking, and LDAP Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)
B. Rapid Data Locking, AES-256, and FIPS 140-2
C. Infrastructure Encryption, End-to-End Encryption, and Principle of Least Privilege

Question 8: An Architect is designing a solution to enhance security measures for a company's storage system. The company is concerned about threats such as Privilege Escalation attacks, In-Band attacks, and Out-of-Band attacks.

Which security measures should the architect recommend?

A. SafeMode, Rapid Data Locking, and LDAP Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)

B. Rapid Data Locking, AES-256, and FIPS 140-2

C. Infrastructure Encryption, End-to-End Encryption, and Principle of Least Privilege

Question 9: A customer wants to migrate from NetApp to Everpure to avoid upcoming hardware and software maintenance costs. The current NetApp uses multi-tenancy with 15 SVMs and SnapMirror async replication. What solution should the Architect recommend?
A. Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) using Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveDR; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers
B. FlashArray with Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveCluster; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers
C. FlashArray with Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveDR; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers

Question 9: A customer wants to migrate from NetApp to Everpure to avoid upcoming hardware and software maintenance costs. The current NetApp uses multi-tenancy with 15 SVMs and SnapMirror async replication.

What solution should the Architect recommend?

A. Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated) using Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveDR; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers

B. FlashArray with Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveCluster; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers

C. FlashArray with Multi-Server File Services and per-domain configuration, using ActiveDR; maximum of 20 Multi-Servers

Question 10: An organization would like to use Purity File Services, using LACP, to increase bandwidth and availability. The organization has the following setup: FlashArray Four Ethernet ports free per controller Network switches configured for LACP How should an Architect configure the file interface?
A. Create 2 LACP bonds: 1 with all physical ports from CT0, 1 with all physical ports from CT1.
B. Create 1 LACP bond: using all physical ports from both controllers.
C. Create 2 LACP bonds: 1 with 2 physical ports from CT0 and CT1 and the other with 2 physical ports from CT0 and CT1.

Question 10: An organization would like to use Purity File Services, using LACP, to increase bandwidth and availability.

The organization has the following setup:

FlashArray
Four Ethernet ports free per controller
Network switches configured for LACP

How should an Architect configure the file interface?

A. Create 2 LACP bonds: 1 with all physical ports from CT0, 1 with all physical ports from CT1.

B. Create 1 LACP bond: using all physical ports from both controllers.

C. Create 2 LACP bonds: 1 with 2 physical ports from CT0 and CT1 and the other with 2 physical ports from CT0 and CT1.

Question 11: An Architect is planning a migration by performing Storage vMotion for a group of VMs replicated in an ActiveCluster relationship.The target VMFS datastore is also replicated, but is residing in a different pod. Performance of the Storage vMotion is taking considerably longer than Storage vMotion between two VMs across non-replicated datastores. What could be causing the performance degradation?
A. VMware VAAI copy offload (XCOPY) works only between volumes in the same pod.
B. VMware VAAI copy offload (XCOPY) works only between local volumes.
C. VMware VAAI copy (XCOPY) does NOT work as part of the Storage vMotion process.

Question 11: An Architect is planning a migration by performing Storage vMotion for a group of VMs replicated in an ActiveCluster relationship.The target VMFS datastore is also replicated, but is residing in a different pod.

Performance of the Storage vMotion is taking considerably longer than Storage vMotion between two VMs across non-replicated datastores.

What could be causing the performance degradation?

A. VMware VAAI copy offload (XCOPY) works only between volumes in the same pod.

B. VMware VAAI copy offload (XCOPY) works only between local volumes.

C. VMware VAAI copy (XCOPY) does NOT work as part of the Storage vMotion process.

Question 12: An Architect is implementing a FlashStack environment for a company and wants to automate the deployment process. Which tool should the Architect use to automate this deployment?
A. AutoStack
B. SmartConfig
C. FlashIT

Question 12: An Architect is implementing a FlashStack environment for a company and wants to automate the deployment process.

Which tool should the Architect use to automate this deployment?

A. AutoStack

B. SmartConfig

C. FlashIT

Question 13: A customer requires all FlashBlade administrators to log in with public key authentication instead of passwords. Refer to the following requirements for the solution: Identify past logins that were performed using passwords Continuously monitor the array on a daily basis Generate a report showing any users who are still logging in with passwords How should the Architect achieve this?
A. Use the /usage/users REST API and filter the data based on action and session.
B. Use the /audits REST API and filter the data based on login and type.
C. Use the /sessions REST API and filter the data based on event and method.

Question 13: A customer requires all FlashBlade administrators to log in with public key authentication instead of passwords.

Refer to the following requirements for the solution:

Identify past logins that were performed using passwords
Continuously monitor the array on a daily basis
Generate a report showing any users who are still logging in with passwords

How should the Architect achieve this?

A. Use the /usage/users REST API and filter the data based on action and session.

B. Use the /audits REST API and filter the data based on login and type.

C. Use the /sessions REST API and filter the data based on event and method.

Question 14: An organization has a large Everpure estate with two FlashArrays and two FlashBlades. They would like to implement a new archiving solution with the following requirements: S3 Object Access Copies of the data in two separate locations Which platform and replication transport should an Architect use for the new solution?
A. FlashArray / CloudSnap
B. FlashBlade / S3 Object asynchronous replication to a different FlashBlade or to Amazon S3
C. FlashBlade / S3 Object synchronous replication to a different FlashBlade or to Amazon S3

Question 14: An organization has a large Everpure estate with two FlashArrays and two FlashBlades.

They would like to implement a new archiving solution with the following requirements:

S3 Object Access
Copies of the data in two separate locations

Which platform and replication transport should an Architect use for the new solution?

A. FlashArray / CloudSnap

B. FlashBlade / S3 Object asynchronous replication to a different FlashBlade or to Amazon S3

C. FlashBlade / S3 Object synchronous replication to a different FlashBlade or to Amazon S3

Question 15: What are the key networking prerequisites for Azure VMware Solution (AVS) with Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated)?
A. Use a Microsoft VNet for Azure Cloud Deploy an AVS Cluster within Azure Cloud Go to Azure Marketplace and select PSC Dedicated for AVS Deploy PSC Dedicated
B. Create two new resource groups Implement multiple VNets for each of the subnets required, allocating the required VNets to each resource group Deploy AVS into one of the resource groups Create VNet peering between the resource groups to obtain connectivity between VM
C. Use ExpressRoute to connect the AVS private cloud to the Azure VNet hosting PSC Dedicated, forming the data path between AVS and storage Ensure the AVS resource and the are in the same Azure region, Availability Zone, and subscription for reliability and performance Enable the External Storage Address Block on the AVS resource to add VMkernel ports and optimize the external storage data path

Question 15: What are the key networking prerequisites for Azure VMware Solution (AVS) with Everpure Cloud Dedicated (PSC Dedicated)?

A.

Use a Microsoft VNet for Azure Cloud
Deploy an AVS Cluster within Azure Cloud
Go to Azure Marketplace and select PSC Dedicated for AVS
Deploy PSC Dedicated

B.

Create two new resource groups
Implement multiple VNets for each of the subnets required, allocating the required VNets to each resource group
Deploy AVS into one of the resource groups
Create VNet peering between the resource groups to obtain connectivity between VM

C.

Use ExpressRoute to connect the AVS private cloud to the Azure VNet hosting PSC Dedicated, forming the data path between AVS and storage
Ensure the AVS resource and the are in the same Azure region, Availability Zone, and subscription for reliability and performance
Enable the External Storage Address Block on the AVS resource to add VMkernel ports and optimize the external storage data path

Question 16: An Architect is implementing enhanced security with NFS 4.1 and NFS Datastores. Please refer to the following configuration: FlashArray File Services Enabled vSphere 8.0 Which resources should the Architect use to confirm the configuration is supported?
A. Purity Release Notes
B. FlashArray Compatibility Matrix
C. VMware Compatibility Guide

Question 16: An Architect is implementing enhanced security with NFS 4.1 and NFS Datastores.

Please refer to the following configuration:

FlashArray
File Services Enabled
vSphere 8.0

Which resources should the Architect use to confirm the configuration is supported?

A. Purity Release Notes

B. FlashArray Compatibility Matrix

C. VMware Compatibility Guide

Question 17: A large enterprise has a FlashBlade//S. The organization needs to prevent objects from being deleted from a bucket and enable SafeMode due to regulatory compliance requirements. The organization will also replicate the bucket to a secondary FlashBlade//S as an added safeguard. What should the Architect be aware of when designing this solution?
A. When replication is enabled, Object Lock can only be configured on the source bucket.
B. SafeMode Retention Lock can only be disabled by first deleting all objects in the bucket, then destroying and eradicating the bucket.
C. System-wide Object SafeMode can only be enabled after enabling Object Lock.

Question 17: A large enterprise has a FlashBlade//S. The organization needs to prevent objects from being deleted from a bucket and enable SafeMode due to regulatory compliance requirements. The organization will also replicate the bucket to a secondary FlashBlade//S as an added safeguard.

What should the Architect be aware of when designing this solution?

A. When replication is enabled, Object Lock can only be configured on the source bucket.

B. SafeMode Retention Lock can only be disabled by first deleting all objects in the bucket, then destroying and eradicating the bucket.

C. System-wide Object SafeMode can only be enabled after enabling Object Lock.

Question 18: When connecting FlashArray volumes to ESXi hosts, which multipathing policy should the Architect select?
A. Round Robin Path Selection Policy for FlashArray volumes
B. Most Recently Used Policy for FlashArray volumes
C. Fixed Path Selection Policy for FlashArray volumes

Question 19: An organization in a large metropolitan area utilizes ActiveCluster over Fibre Channel between a pair of FlashArray arrays located in adjacent data centers, called PUREPROD and PUREDR. The second data center needs to undergo critical maintenance and is projected to be offline for at least a week. In order to maintain disaster recovery standards, PUREDR is being relocated overnight to a third data center. What is the first step an Architect must take to ensure that the replication connection functions smoothly following the move?
A. Disconnect the hosts from all pod volumes on PUREPROD.
B. Unstretch the pod connecting PUREPROD and PUREDR.
C. Disconnect the hosts from all pod volumes on PUREDR.

Question 19: An organization in a large metropolitan area utilizes ActiveCluster over Fibre Channel between a pair of FlashArray arrays located in adjacent data centers, called PUREPROD and PUREDR. The second data center needs to undergo critical maintenance and is projected to be offline for at least a week. In order to maintain disaster recovery standards, PUREDR is being relocated overnight to a third data center.

What is the first step an Architect must take to ensure that the replication connection functions smoothly following the move?

A. Disconnect the hosts from all pod volumes on PUREPROD.

B. Unstretch the pod connecting PUREPROD and PUREDR.

C. Disconnect the hosts from all pod volumes on PUREDR.

Question 20: An Architect is designing a Portworx solution and wants to use their FlashArray in the environment. The company has already enabled the CSI for Portworx and has the FlashArray visible to the hosts in the Kubernetes cluster via their Fibre Channel SAN. What should the Architect recommend that will allow Portworx to see the FlashArray?
A. Create a JSON file that contains the FlashArray management endpoint and the FlashArray API token.
B. Create a Pure secret in the admin namespace after installing Portworx.
C. Install Portworx, as the Portworx CSI will automatically recognize and enable the FlashArray for use.

Question 20: An Architect is designing a Portworx solution and wants to use their FlashArray in the environment. The company has already enabled the CSI for Portworx and has the FlashArray visible to the hosts in the Kubernetes cluster via their Fibre Channel SAN.

What should the Architect recommend that will allow Portworx to see the FlashArray?

A. Create a JSON file that contains the FlashArray management endpoint and the FlashArray API token.

B. Create a Pure secret in the admin namespace after installing Portworx.

C. Install Portworx, as the Portworx CSI will automatically recognize and enable the FlashArray for use.