VCP-DCV vSphere Architecture, Products and Solutions Practice Question
An administrator is planning a new vSphere deployment for a small branch office. The branch has only three ESXi hosts and no shared storage array. The administrator wants to aggregate the local disks from all three hosts into a single distributed datastore that provides policy-based, software-defined storage. Which vSphere solution should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any storage feature can aggregate local disks, when only vSAN provides software-defined shared storage from host-local devices.
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
✓
VMware vSAN
vSAN is the only listed solution that takes the local disks already present in the three ESXi hosts and presents them as one distributed, policy-driven datastore without requiring an external array or file server. The other choices either depend on external storage hardware or represent a retired product.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
VMware vSAN
Why this is correct
vSAN pools the local disks of ESXi hosts in the same cluster into a single distributed datastore managed through storage policies. It requires no external shared storage array, making it ideal for the three-host branch office. The administrator can define policies for capacity, performance, and availability, and vSAN handles placement and protection at the object level.
- ✗
NFS datastore mounted from a Linux server
Why it's wrong here
An NFS datastore requires a separate server to export the share, which becomes a single point of failure and an additional component to manage. The scenario states there is no shared storage array, and adding an NFS server would not aggregate the hosts' local disks. It also does not provide policy-based, software-defined storage.
- ✗
VMware vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA)
Why it's wrong here
VSA was a discontinued product that aggregated local storage in small clusters, but it is no longer supported in current vSphere releases. Recommending it would leave the branch office on an unsupported platform. vSAN is the supported successor for pooling local disks into a distributed datastore without a shared storage array.
- ✗
VMware Virtual Volumes (vVols)
Why it's wrong here
vVols is a storage integration framework that maps VM operations to individual storage containers on an external array. It still requires a supported physical storage array to provide the backing capacity. Because the branch office has no shared storage array, vVols cannot provide the distributed datastore the administrator needs from local disks alone.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official VMware exam blueprint
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.