VCP-DCV Configure and Manage vSphere Networking Practice Question
This VCP-DCV practice question tests your understanding of configure and manage vsphere networking. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs a three-tier application on vSphere 7.0. The web tier uses VLAN 100, app tier VLAN 200, and database tier VLAN 300. Each tier is on a separate port group on a vSphere distributed switch. The environment uses Network I/O Control (NIOC) with shares set to: Web (50), App (30), Database (20). The physical uplinks are two 10 GbE NICs in a team. Recently, the database team reports slow performance during peak hours. The network team checks the physical switches and finds no congestion. The ESXi host shows the two uplinks are heavily utilized with many dropped packets on the database port group. The administrator suspects that the database traffic is being starved by other traffic. Which action should the administrator take to resolve the issue?
A. Increase the number of physical uplinks to four 10 GbE NICs.
B. Change the NIOC shares to Web (10), App (30), Database (60).
C. Create a separate vSphere standard switch for the database tier.
D. Enable SR-IOV on the physical NICs and assign virtual functions to database VMs.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change the NIOC shares to Web (10), App (30), Database (60).
Option D is correct because the database traffic is being starved due to low NIOC shares relative to the web and app tiers. By increasing the database shares to 60 and reducing web to 10, the database port group will receive a higher proportion of the available bandwidth during congestion, alleviating the dropped packets and slow performance. NIOC shares are relative and only take effect when there is contention, so adjusting them directly addresses the starvation without requiring additional hardware.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Create a separate vSphere standard switch for the database tier.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary; NIOC applies at the distributed switch level.
✗
Enable SR-IOV on the physical NICs and assign virtual functions to database VMs.
Why it's wrong here
Complex and not for bandwidth prioritization.
✗
Increase the number of physical uplinks to four 10 GbE NICs.
Why it's wrong here
Does not address prioritization; may still result in starvation.
✓
Change the NIOC shares to Web (10), App (30), Database (60).
Why this is correct
Increases database shares, giving it higher priority.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume adding more physical uplinks or isolating traffic on a separate switch will solve performance issues, but they overlook that NIOC shares directly control bandwidth allocation during congestion, and adjusting them is the most efficient and cost-effective solution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NIOC uses a proportional share-based algorithm to allocate bandwidth among network resource pools (e.g., port groups) on a vSphere distributed switch. Shares are relative; with Web (50), App (30), and Database (20), the database tier receives only 20% of the available bandwidth during contention, which can cause packet drops and performance degradation. In a real-world scenario, adjusting shares to prioritize latency-sensitive or high-throughput workloads like databases is a common practice, and the change to Web (10), App (30), Database (60) ensures the database gets 60% of the bandwidth, reducing drops without adding physical NICs.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A help-desk technician troubleshoots why a newly connected PC cannot reach shared printers on the same floor. The cable is good, the switch port is active, but the PC is in VLAN 20 and the printers are in VLAN 10. The uplink trunk only allows VLAN 10. A trunk being up does not mean every VLAN crosses it.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Configure and Manage vSphere Networking — This question tests Configure and Manage vSphere Networking — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change the NIOC shares to Web (10), App (30), Database (60). — Option D is correct because the database traffic is being starved due to low NIOC shares relative to the web and app tiers. By increasing the database shares to 60 and reducing web to 10, the database port group will receive a higher proportion of the available bandwidth during congestion, alleviating the dropped packets and slow performance. NIOC shares are relative and only take effect when there is contention, so adjusting them directly addresses the starvation without requiring additional hardware.
What should I do if I get this VCP-DCV question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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