- A
Enable the array's QoS policy and configure the datastore for VAAI.
Why wrong: VAAI offloads storage operations but does not address the multipathing configuration issue.
- B
Change the PSP to Most Recently Used (MRU) to reduce path thrashing.
Why wrong: MRU uses a single path and eliminates multipathing benefits, likely worsening performance.
- C
Increase the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000.
Increasing the IOPS limit reduces path switching frequency, optimizing throughput for high-I/O VMs.
- D
Change the SATP to VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA and reconfigure the iSCSI initiator.
Why wrong: The array is active-active, so ALUA is correct; using DEFAULT_AA may lead to path state issues.
Question 347 of 521
Tuning Round Robin IOPS Limit
This VCP-DCV practice question tests your understanding of configure and manage vsphere storage. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 has a vSphere 7.0 cluster with 6 ESXi hosts connected to a Dell EMC PowerStore array using iSCSI. They are using VMFS6 datastores. After a recent firmware upgrade on the array, they notice that performance on one datastore has degraded significantly. The datastore is used by several high-I/O VMs. The administrator runs 'esxcli storage core path list' and sees that all paths to that datastore are active but with varying latency. The PSP is set to Round Robin with IOPS limit of 1000. The SATP is VMW_SATP_ALUA. The storage administrator confirms that the array is in active-active mode. What should the administrator do to improve performance?
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
✓
Increase the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000.
The Round Robin PSP with an IOPS limit of 1000 is causing the ESXi host to switch paths too frequently, which can lead to higher latency due to path thrashing and suboptimal use of the array's active-active ALUA mode. Increasing the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000 reduces the frequency of path switches, allowing each path to handle more I/Os before switching, which improves performance for high-I/O workloads on VMFS6 datastores.
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.
- ✗
Enable the array's QoS policy and configure the datastore for VAAI.
Why it's wrong here
VAAI offloads storage operations but does not address the multipathing configuration issue.
- ✗
Change the PSP to Most Recently Used (MRU) to reduce path thrashing.
Why it's wrong here
MRU uses a single path and eliminates multipathing benefits, likely worsening performance.
- ✓
Increase the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000.
Why this is correct
Increasing the IOPS limit reduces path switching frequency, optimizing throughput for high-I/O VMs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Change the SATP to VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA and reconfigure the iSCSI initiator.
Why it's wrong here
The array is active-active, so ALUA is correct; using DEFAULT_AA may lead to path state issues.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a higher IOPS limit will cause more path switching and latency, when in fact the opposite is true—a low IOPS limit causes thrashing, and increasing it stabilizes performance on active-active arrays.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Round Robin PSP with an IOPS limit determines how many I/Os are sent down a path before switching to the next; a low limit like 1000 can cause excessive path switching, increasing CPU overhead and latency due to queue flushes. In active-active ALUA arrays, both paths are fully optimized, so a higher IOPS limit (e.g., 10000) allows the host to leverage both paths more efficiently without thrashing. The default IOPS limit in vSphere 7.0 is 1000, but for high-performance arrays like PowerStore, increasing it to 10000 or even disabling the limit (setting to 0) is recommended.
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 practitioner preparing for the VCP-DCV exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
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Configure and Manage vSphere Storage — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this VCP-DCV question test?
Configure and Manage vSphere Storage — This question tests Configure and Manage vSphere Storage — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000. — The Round Robin PSP with an IOPS limit of 1000 is causing the ESXi host to switch paths too frequently, which can lead to higher latency due to path thrashing and suboptimal use of the array's active-active ALUA mode. Increasing the Round Robin IOPS limit to 10000 reduces the frequency of path switches, allowing each path to handle more I/Os before switching, which improves performance for high-I/O workloads on VMFS6 datastores.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on VCP-DCV
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs a critical SQL Server VM on vSphere 7.0. The VM has a single 300 GB virtual disk on a VMFS6 datastore backed by a SAN with 8 Gbps Fibre Channel. The VM is configured with 16 vCPUs and 64 GB RAM. Recently, users have reported slow query performance. The administrator checks the datastore performance and sees average latency of 15 ms with peaks of 50 ms during business hours. The storage array has multiple paths to the ESXi host, and the current path policy is Fixed with a single active path. The administrator wants to improve storage performance with minimal cost. Which action should the administrator take first?
medium- ✓ A.Change the path selection policy to Round Robin on the ESXi host.
- B.Add a vSphere Flash Read Cache to the VM.
- C.Upgrade the Fibre Channel infrastructure to 16 Gbps.
- D.Convert the virtual disk to thin provisioning to reduce I/O.
Why A: The current Fixed path policy with a single active path underutilizes the available storage bandwidth, causing high latency during peak I/O. Changing to Round Robin (RR) distributes I/O across all available paths, reducing queue depth on any single path and lowering latency without any hardware cost. This is the most immediate and cost-effective fix for the observed performance issue.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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