VCP-DCV Configure and Manage vSphere Storage Practice Question
An administrator is configuring a vSAN cluster with all-flash capacity. The cluster uses RAID-5 erasure coding with a policy of 'Number of failures to tolerate = 1' (PFTT=1). The administrator wants to minimize storage overhead while ensuring availability. Which vSAN storage policy setting should be used?
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
✓
Set 'Primary level of failures to tolerate' to 1 and 'Primary level of failures to tolerate method' to 'RAID-5 (Erasure Coding)'
For all-flash vSAN, RAID-5/6 erasure coding is recommended. With PFTT=1, RAID-5 requires only 1 parity component, minimizing overhead. Option C is correct. Option A (RAID-1 mirroring) would use more capacity. Option B (RAID-6) is for PFTT=2 and adds more overhead. Option D (no redundancy) is not fault tolerant.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set 'Primary level of failures to tolerate' to 1 and 'Primary level of failures to tolerate method' to 'RAID-1 (Mirroring)'
Why it's wrong here
Mirroring uses more capacity than erasure coding.
- ✗
Set 'Primary level of failures to tolerate' to 2 and 'Primary level of failures to tolerate method' to 'RAID-6 (Erasure Coding)'
Why it's wrong here
RAID-6 provides higher tolerance but more overhead, not minimal for PFTT=1.
- ✓
Set 'Primary level of failures to tolerate' to 1 and 'Primary level of failures to tolerate method' to 'RAID-5 (Erasure Coding)'
Why this is correct
RAID-5 with PFTT=1 provides efficient capacity usage and fault tolerance.
- ✗
Set 'Primary level of failures to tolerate' to 0
Why it's wrong here
No redundancy means no protection against failures.
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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JA
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.