350-601 Compute Practice Question
In a Cisco HyperFlex cluster, the management plane uses vCenter, but the data plane uses which protocol to replicate data across nodes?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between the management plane (vCenter) and the data plane (HX Data Platform), and the trap here is that candidates may confuse the data replication protocol with common storage protocols like NFS or iSCSI, which are used for external storage access but not for HyperFlex's internal replication.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
HX Data Platform
In a Cisco HyperFlex cluster, the data plane replication across nodes is handled by the HX Data Platform, which is a distributed, log-structured file system that synchronously replicates data at the hypervisor level. This platform manages all I/O operations and ensures data consistency across the cluster without relying on external storage protocols like Fibre Channel or iSCSI.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Fibre Channel
Why it's wrong here
FC is not used in HyperFlex data path.
- ✓
HX Data Platform
Why this is correct
HyperFlex uses its own HX Data Platform protocol for data replication and distribution.
- ✗
NFS
Why it's wrong here
NFS is used for file sharing, not HyperFlex data replication.
- ✗
iSCSI
Why it's wrong here
iSCSI is block storage protocol, not used for replication in HyperFlex.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-601 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 350-601 exam.