VCP-DCV Configure and Manage vSphere Storage Practice Question
A vSphere administrator is deploying VMs on a vSAN cluster with 6 hosts. Each host has two disk groups, each with one cache SSD and four capacity SSDs. The administrator applies a storage policy using RAID 5 erasure coding with Number of failures to tolerate set to 1. After some time, the administrator notices that several VMs are showing compliance status as 'Non-compliant'. Investigating further, the administrator finds that on one host, the cache SSD of the first disk group has failed. The capacity SSDs in that disk group are still functional. The vSAN cluster still has sufficient overall capacity and the health service shows no other issues. What is the most likely reason for the VMs' non-compliance?
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
✓
The failed cache device makes the entire disk group unavailable, so components on that disk group are inaccessible.
A failed cache device renders the entire disk group non-operational; any VM components on that disk group become inaccessible, causing non-compliance. Option A is incorrect because cache capacity is not a compliance factor. Option B is incorrect because loss of a single cache device does not remove a fault domain. Option C is incorrect because the number of hosts with cache devices is still sufficient.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The failed cache device reduces the overall cache capacity, causing the policy to be violated.
Why it's wrong here
Cache capacity is not a policy compliance criterion; RAID 5 compliance depends on placing components across enough fault domains. It is tempting because a failed cache device does reduce read/write cache, but the policy violation stems from the disk group's capacity devices becoming unavailable, not from reduced caching.
- ✗
The vSAN cluster has lost a fault domain due to the failed cache device.
Why it's wrong here
A fault domain is a host, and the host itself remains online; only one of its two disk groups failed, so no fault domain is lost. It is tempting because cache failure can remove a host from contributing storage, but vSAN still counts that host through its surviving disk group.
- ✗
The RAID 5 policy requires a minimum of 4 hosts with cache devices, and now only 5 are available.
Why it's wrong here
RAID 5 in vSAN requires a minimum of four hosts contributing capacity, and five remain available, so this threshold is still satisfied. It is tempting because host-count minimums genuinely govern erasure coding, but the actual trigger here is the lost disk group, not insufficient participating hosts.
- ✓
The failed cache device makes the entire disk group unavailable, so components on that disk group are inaccessible.
Why this is correct
In vSAN, the cache tier is a single point of failure for its disk group. Losing the cache SSD renders the whole disk group inaccessible, so components stored on its capacity SSDs become absent, driving VMs non-compliant despite the cluster retaining sufficient capacity elsewhere.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware 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 VCP-DCV exam.