The Nutanix Certified Associate (NCA) 7.5 is the entry credential in the Nutanix certification track. It checks whether you can recognize what Nutanix products do and perform basic tasks in the Prism interface, such as working with virtual machines, networks, storage and cluster health. It suits new IT staff, administrators, Tier 1 support personnel and STEM students who work with Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure or plan to.
NCA is an awareness exam. Nutanix describes it as measuring your ability to understand the purpose and use cases of Nutanix products and services. It also measures whether you can navigate the Prism UI, read information from it and use it for basic operational tasks. It does not expect you to design clusters or troubleshoot complex failures. Those skills belong to the professional tier, which includes NCP-MCI.
The current version is 7.5, built around AOS 7.5, AHV 11.0 and Prism Central pc7.5. Earlier versions such as 6.10 and 6.5 have appeared in older study material. Check the version listed on the Nutanix certification page before you buy a study resource, because objectives shift between releases.
Nutanix lists no formal prerequisite for sitting the exam. It does describe a typical successful candidate: roughly three to six months of IT infrastructure experience and equivalent time with Nutanix technology. Nutanix also notes that candidates have most likely completed a course such as Nutanix Hybrid Cloud Fundamentals (NHCF). Nutanix offers an NCA exam prep course that builds on NHCF, so check its current catalog if you want guided study.
You do not need NCA before an NCP exam. It is recommended as a starting point but not required, so confirm in the blueprint guide of the exam you are targeting.
The exam has 50 questions, a mix of multiple choice and multiple response. You get 90 minutes. Scoring is scaled, with a reported maximum of 6000 points and a passing score of 3000. Questions carry different weights, so answering half of them correctly does not guarantee a pass.
Nutanix has offered the exam through remote proctoring or in person at select test centers. Language availability has included English and Japanese in recent versions, so confirm the languages offered for 7.5 when you register. The fee has been $100 USD per attempt for recent versions, after earlier versions were priced at $99.
Nutanix organizes the NCA objectives into four sections:
Recognize Nutanix solutions and tools. Know the purpose, use cases and features of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure technologies, related portfolio products and Nutanix tools.
Describe Nutanix platform administration. Cover virtual machine tasks, virtual networking, storage operations and licensing concepts.
Describe cluster configuration and maintenance. Understand valid cluster options and routine upkeep, including Life Cycle Management (LCM) for software and firmware updates.
Demonstrate understanding of platform health and monitoring. Interpret alerts, events and performance information in Prism.
Because this is an awareness exam, breadth matters more than depth. Read the official Exam Blueprint Guide for the exact objectives under each section and the way questions are allocated to them.
Registration runs through Nutanix University, the provider’s training and certification portal. In general you create or sign in to your account, select the NCA exam version, choose remote proctoring or a test center, pay the fee and book a time slot. Exact steps, ID rules, system checks for remote delivery and rescheduling terms can change, so follow the instructions on the official Nutanix certification page and in the blueprint guide.
NCA signals that you can find your way around a Nutanix environment. That is useful if your employer runs Nutanix clusters and you are moving into an operations or support role, since you can show familiarity with Prism Central, Prism Element, VM lifecycle tasks and LCM. It carries the most weight for junior administrators, support engineers and students entering infrastructure work.
Passing earns you the use of the NCA logo and a digital badge through Credly. It also gives you a clear path into NCP level exams, and NCP-MCI 7.5 is the usual next step for people who administer Nutanix clusters daily.
Practice questions help most when you use them to find gaps in the four domains rather than to memorize answers. AllExamQuestions.com offers free NCA practice tests that you can use to check your timing against the 90 minute limit and see which sections need more review. Pair them with the official blueprint and, if you can, a lab such as Nutanix Community Edition so the Prism screens are familiar before exam day.
Last updated on Oct, 22 2026
