Exam Objectives and Commonly Referenced Documentation for Data Storage Associate Certification

Certifications
Audience
Public
Product
FlashBlade
FlashArray
FlashStack
Evergreen
Pure1
Portworx
Source Type
Documentation

The following tables list the Data Storage Associate exam objectives and how these objectives align to the corresponding commonly referenced product documentation and resources. Candidates are encouraged to review the applicable topics as part of their preparation for the exam.

Exam Domain 1: Networking (Weightage 20%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

1.01 - Recognize Fibre Channel use cases

Objective Subtopics:

  • Identify scenarios where Fibre Channel provides benefits over other technologies

  • Understand the performance implications of using Fibre Channel

  • Recognize the common industries and applications that leverage Fibre Channel

  • Explain the role of Fibre Channel in high- availability environments

  1. What is a Storage Area Network?

1.02 - Differentiate Fibre Channel from Ethernet

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare and contrast the speed capabilities of Fibre Channel and Ethernet

  • Understand the differences in data integrity and reliability

  • Identify use cases where one technology is preferred over the other

  • Explain the management and troubleshooting differences between the two technologies

  1. Storage Networking Basics Understanding Fibre Channel

  2. Storage Protocols

  3. Fibre Channel

1.03 - Identify switch types, cables, and connector options

Objective Subtopics:

  • Recognize the different types of Fibre Channel switches (e.g., director-class vs. edge)

  • Identify the various types of cables used in Fibre Channel and Ethernet environments

  • Understand the different connector types and their appropriate applications

  • Describe the process of selecting the appropriate switch, cable, and connector for a specific network setup

  • Distinguish between single-mode and multi-mode Fibre Channel cabling

  1. What is an Ethernet Switch?

  2. iSCSI vs. FC vs. FCoE: Choosing the Right Storage Protocol for Your Business

  3. Multimode Fibre

1.04 - Explain Fibre Channel concepts

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the structure and function of a Fibre Channel fabric

  • Understand the role of WWNs (World Wide Names) in Fibre Channel networks

  • Explain zoning and its importance in Fibre Channel environments

  • Identify the various classes of service in Fibre Channel

  • Describe the Fibre Channel protocol stack

  1. Configuring and Managing Zones

  2. FCP (Fibre Channel Protocol)

  3. Zoning

  4. Zone Objects

  5. FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)

1.05 - Recognize different load balancing algorithms like ECMP, FSPF

Objective Subtopics:

  • Define Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) and its use in networking

  • Explain Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) and how it applies to Fibre Channel networks

  • Compare the effectiveness of various load balancing algorithms in different scenarios

  • Describe how load balancing algorithms improve network performance and reliability

  1. Link Aggregation Control Protocol

  2. What is Load Balancing?

1.06 - Understand multipathing and how to efficiently use multiple paths

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain the concept of multipathing and its benefits for redundancy and performance

  • Identify the common multipathing software solutions

  • Understanding how to configure and manage multipathing in storage networks

  • Explain the failover mechanisms in multipathing

  1. Setting The MPIO Policy

  2. What Is MPIO?

1.07 - Define different technologies for maximizing throughput across Fibre Channel and Ethernet networks

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare technologies like Jumbo Frames, QoS (Quality of Service), and link aggregation

  • Understand how to implement these technologies to optimize network performance

  • Identify potential pitfalls and best practices in maximizing throughput

  • Describe the impact of network congestion on throughput and how to mitigate it

  1. What Is MTU Size and How Do You Calculate It?

  2. What Are Link Aggregation and LACP and How Can I Use Them In My Network

1.08 - Explain iSCSI concepts

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the architecture of an iSCSI network

  • Explain the initiator-target relationship in iSCSI

  • Identify the advantages and disadvantages of using iSCSI

  • Compare iSCSI with other block storage protocols

  1. Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) Naming and Discovery (RFC 3721)

  2. iSCSI Storage A Beginners Guide

  3. What Is iSCSI?

1.09 - Explain Ethernet concepts

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand the OSI model and where Ethernet fits within it

  • Explain the differences between various Ethernet standards (e.g., 10GbE, 40GbE, 100GbE)

  • Identify the role of VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) in Ethernet networking

  • Describe the process of configuring and managing Ethernet networks, including subnetting

  1. Configuring VLANs

  2. Using the IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation MIB

  3. Difference Between Static and Dynamic Routing

  4. The Impact Of Hardware Firewalls On Network Performance

  5. Finding The Subnet Id

Exam Domain 2: Virtualization and Containers (Weightage 10%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

2.01 - Identify difference between bare metal and virtualized service storage and use cases

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain the performance implications of bare metal vs. virtualized environments

  • Identify scenarios where bare metal is preferred over virtualized environments

  • Recognize the benefits and limitations of virtualized storage solutions

  • Describe the management and operational differences between bare metal and virtualized environments

  1. What's the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Hypervisors?

2.02 - Recognize impact of oversubscription

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand what oversubscription is and how it affects resource allocation

  • Explain the potential performance issues caused by CPU and memory oversubscription

  • Identify best practices to manage and mitigate oversubscription in virtualized environments

  • Describe tools and techniques for monitoring and managing oversubscription

  1. vSAN Networking - Network Oversubscription

  2. Oversubscription In Networking

  3. Introduction to vCloud Architecture Toolkit for Service Providers

  4. Data Deduplication

2.03 - Identify different types of containers and orchestration

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain the differences between containers and virtual machines

  • Identify popular container orchestration platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker Swarm)

  • Understand the benefits of using containers for application deployment and management

  • Describe the process of deploying and managing containers in a production environment

  1. Deployment

  2. What is Containerization?

  3. Use Containerization

  4. Container Deployment

Exam Domain 3: Storage (Weightage 30%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

3.01 - Describe different storage access protocols (FC, iSCSI, NVMEoF)

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the performance characteristics of each protocol

  • Identify the appropriate use cases for each protocol

  • Explain how each protocol handles data transfer and connectivity

  • Describe the security implications of each storage access protocol

  • Differentiate between file-level, block-level, and object-level network protocols and their use cases.

  1. iSCSI FAQ

  2. What Is NVMe?

  3. Advantages Of NVMe Features For Industrial Storage

3.02 - Define the different networking topologies for various storage types

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the network topologies used in SAN, NAS, and DAS

  • Understand the role of network interfaces in storage connectivity

  • Compare the bandwidth and latency requirements for different storage types

  • Explain the impact of network infrastructure on storage performance

  1. iSCSI vs. FC vs. FCoE: Choosing the Right Storage Protocol for Your Business

  2. What Is Storage Area Network?

3.03 - Explain the storage access layer for block storage

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe how block storage operates at a low level

  • Explain the benefits of block storage for database and transactional workloads

  • Identify the challenges associated with managing block storage

  • Describe the process of provisioning and managing block storage

  1. What Is NVMe Over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)?

  2. Logical Block Addressing

3.04 - Recognize use cases for DAS, SAN, and NAS

Objective Subtopics:

  • Identify the benefits of Direct Attached Storage (DAS) for small environments

  • Explain the scalability and performance advantages of Storage Area Networks (SAN)

  • Describe the flexibility and simplicity of Network Attached Storage (NAS) for file sharing

  • Compare the cost implications of DAS, SAN, and NAS

  1. File Block Object Storage

  2. Why Do We Use SAN Storage?

  3. What Is NAS?

3.05 - Recognize different data protection schemes such as RAID, erasure coding

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain how RAID levels provide redundancy and performance improvements

  • Describe the principles of erasure coding and its benefits over traditional RAID

  • Identify use cases for different data protection schemes

  • Compare the cost and performance trade-offs of various data protection schemes

  1. NAS Raid Levels Explained Choosing The Right Level To Protect Your NAS Data

  2. Erasure Coding

3.06 - Differentiate between disc, flash, RAM

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the performance characteristics of disk, flash, and RAM storage

  • Identify the common multipathing software solutions

  • Identify scenarios where each storage type is most appropriate

  • Describe the longevity and durability differences between storage types

  1. Is RAM Volatile?

  2. What Is Write Amplification?

  3. Flash Memory

  4. 10 Ways Pure Helps You Uncomplicate Storage, Forever

3.07 - Recognize use cases for different storage types

Objective Subtopics:

  • Identify the best storage solutions for high-performance applications

  • Explain the advantages of using flash storage for latency-sensitive workloads

  • Describe the benefits of disk storage for archival and backup purposes

  • Recognize the trade-offs between cost, performance, and capacity for different storage types

  1. A Everpure Engineer Explains FlashArray//X

  2. What's the Difference Between Block, File, and Object Storage?

  3. SAN vs. NAS vs. DAS: What's the Difference?

3.08 - Indicate architectural advantages of scale up vs scale out

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the scalability of scale-up and scale-out architectures

  • Explain the benefits of scale-out storage for large, distributed environments

  • Identify the limitations of scale-up storage solutions

  • Describe the management and operational differences between scale-up and scale-out architectures

  1. Scale-Out vs. Scale-Up: What's the Difference?

  2. What Is Scale Out Storage?

3.09 - Identify architectural advantages of active-active vs active-passive

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the high availability benefits of active-active storage architectures

  • Explain how active-passive architectures provide failover capabilities

  • Compare the performance implications of active-active and active-passive configurations

  • Identify the cost and complexity differences between active-active and active-passive architectures

  1. Active Active vs Active Passive Architecture

  2. Active-Active vs. Active-Passive: Decoding High-Availability Configurations for Massive Data Networks

  3. What Are Non Disruptive Upgrades?

  4. What Is Active Active?

  5. What Is Storage Controller?

Exam Domain 4: Cloud (Weightage 5%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

4.01 - Recognize benefits of public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the cost implications of public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments

  • Explain the security and compliance considerations for each cloud model

  • Identify the scalability and flexibility benefits of hybrid cloud solutions, including cost models

  • Describe the management and operational differences between cloud models

  • Understanding HA planning with cloud models, availability zones, regions, and potential egress

  1. Storage Files Introduction

  2. What is Amazon S3?

  3. What is Amazon EBS?

  4. What's the Difference Between Block, File, and Object Storage?

  5. What are Private, Public, and Hybrid Clouds?

4.02 - Identify when to apply file, block, object storage types to cloud deployments

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the benefits of object storage for unstructured data in the cloud

  • Explain the use cases for block storage in cloud environments

  • Identify the advantages of file storage for collaboration and sharing in the cloud

  • Compare the cost and performance trade-offs of different cloud storage types

  1. Synchronous Replication vs. Asynchronous Replication

  2. Buckets

Exam Domain 5: Data Protection (Weightage 20%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

5.01 - Recognize benefits of different replication technologies like sync, async, nearsync

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain how synchronous replication ensures data consistency

  • Describe the benefits and aspects of asynchronous replication for disaster recovery

  • Compare the bandwidth and latency requirements for different replication technologies

  • Identify use cases for near-synchronous replication in relation to RPO objectives and the increased benefit of synchronous replication

  1. Synchronous Replication vs. Asynchronous Replication

5.02 - Recognize impact of different requirements for disaster recovery like recovery point objective, recovery time objective, and fault domains

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain the importance of Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in disaster recovery planning

  • Describe how Recovery Time Objective (RTO) affects business continuity

  • Identify the role of fault domains in ensuring high availability and disaster recovery

  • Describe the process of developing and testing a disaster recovery plan

  1. The Essential Guide To Disaster Recovery Building Resilience For Your Enterprise

  2. What Is Recovery Time Objective Definitions and Related Faqs

5.03 - Identify different backup solutions

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the features of traditional backup solutions vs. modern backup technologies

  • Explain the benefits of incremental and differential backups

  • Identify the advantages of cloud-based backup solutions

  • Describe the best practices for implementing and managing backup solutions

  1. Differential Backups SQL Server

  2. Hot Backup

  3. Why Should Backup Be Stored Off-Site?

  4. Snapshots vs Backups

5.04 - Describe snapshot technology and its benefits

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain how snapshots provide point-in-time recovery options

  • Describe the performance impact of taking snapshots

  • Identify use cases for snapshot technology in data protection strategies

  • Compare the differences between hardware-based and software-based snapshot solutions

  1. Snapshot 101: Copy On Write vs Redirect On Write

5.05 - Explain differences between application consistency and crash consistency and its use cases

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe how application-consistent snapshots ensure data integrity

  • Explain the limitations of crash-consistent snapshots

  • Identify scenarios where each type of snapshot is most appropriate

  • Describe the process of creating and managing application-consistent snapshots and crash-consistent snapshots

  1. Azure Backup Glossary

  2. Using FlashArray Snapshots with Microsoft SQL Server

  3. Storage 101: Crash Consistent vs Application Consistent Snapshots

  4. Crash Consistent vs Application Consistent Backup

5.06 - Define security domains like authentication, authorization, and accountability

Objective Subtopics:

  • Understand what different aspects of the CIA Triad and Security domains (AAA) purposes are

  • Identify what threats and/or vulnerabilities are important to consider

  • Explain the principle of least privilege and why it is important in storage environments

  1. Compare TACACS + and RADIUS

  2. Introduction to Information Security

  3. What Is A DDoS Attack?

  4. CIA Triad

  5. Information Security: The Ultimate Guide

5.07 - Explain benefits of encryption and what data should be encrypted

Objective Subtopics:

  • Describe the advantages of encrypting data at rest and in transit

  • Explain how encryption protects sensitive information from unauthorized access

  • Identify the types of data that should always be encrypted

  • Describe best practices for managing encryption keys

  1. Data Security In Transit

  2. How To Manage Encryption Keys

  3. Data At Rest

5.08 - Recognize how to prevent and mitigate ransomware attacks

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain best practices for preventing ransomware infections

  • Describe the role of regular backups in mitigating ransomware impact

  • Identify tools and technologies that can detect and respond to ransomware threats

  • Correlate RPO/RTO expectations after ransomware infestation

  1. Synchronous Replication vs. Asynchronous Replication

  2. Anomalous Drops in Data Reduction Ratios

Exam Domain 6: Hosts and Why Customers Have Them (Weightage 15%)

Exam Objectives

Applicable Documentation and Resources

6.01 - Explain basic data center technologies especially related to storage

Objective Subtopics:

  • Explain the functionality of hosts in a storage environment

  • Describe the benefits of host operating systems in managing storage

  • Explain multipath I/O (MPIO) and available MPIO rule options

  • Identify high availability (HA) and redundancy requirements for enterprise hosts

  • Describe host virtualization and its impact on storage environments

  1. What Is the NAS Protocol?

  2. Time Synchronization In Data Centres

  3. Caching Method

6.02 - Recognize different types of servers and clients that might access storage

Objective Subtopics:

  • Compare the characteristics of blade servers, rack servers, and tower servers

  • Explain how different server types interact with storage networks with the conceptual understanding that a host (or compute entity) can include a variety of devices in the Data center such as routers, switches, firewalls

  • Identify the best server types for specific storage-intensive applications

  • Describe the scalability and performance implications of different server types

  • Explain file security/access protocols (NFS, SMB)

  1. Using Multipathing for Efficient Storage

  2. Blade Server vs. Rack Server vs. Tower Server

  3. Blade Server vs Rack Server: GPU Server Guide and Tower Comparison