2026 Pure FlashArray PCFIS Practice Exam, Exams of Nursing

2026 Pure FlashArray PCFIS Practice Exam

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2025/2026

Available from 02/24/2026

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Pure Certified Flash Array Implementation Specialist Practice
Exam 2026
The Pure Certified Flash Array Implementation Specialist (FAIS) exam validates an
engineer’s proficiency in the end-to-end deployment of Flash Array systems, from physical
racking to initial software initialization. This certification emphasizes hands-on mastery of
the Purity CLI, requiring candidates to demonstrate expertise in configuring high-availability
networking, performing non-disruptive upgrades, and verifying Pure1 connectivity. By
passing this exam, professionals prove they can reliably implement mission-critical storage
infrastructure while adhering to Pure Storage’s best practices for data resiliency and
performance.
1. What is the standard rack unit (RU) height of a FlashArray//XL chassis?
1. A) 2 RU
2. B) 3 RU
3. C) 4 RU
4. D) 5 RU
5. Rationale: The //XL is Pure’s high-performance/high-capacity model and
requires 5 RU to accommodate its larger controllers and power
requirements.
2. Which command is used to initialize a brand new FlashArray during the
"Day 1" setup?
1. A) purearray init
2. B) puresetup start
3. C) puresetup newarray
4. Rationale: The puresetup newarray command launches the interactive
script that configures the array name, management IP, and initial settings.
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Pure Certified Flash Array Implementation Specialist Practice

Exam 2026

The Pure Certified Flash Array Implementation Specialist (FAIS) exam validates an engineer’s proficiency in the end-to-end deployment of Flash Array systems, from physical racking to initial software initialization. This certification emphasizes hands-on mastery of the Purity CLI , requiring candidates to demonstrate expertise in configuring high-availability networking, performing non-disruptive upgrades, and verifying Pure 1 connectivity. By passing this exam, professionals prove they can reliably implement mission-critical storage infrastructure while adhering to Pure Storage’s best practices for data resiliency and performance.

  1. What is the standard rack unit (RU) height of a FlashArray//XL chassis?
    1. A) 2 RU
    2. B) 3 RU
    3. C) 4 RU
    4. D) 5 RU
    5. Rationale: The //XL is Pure’s high-performance/high-capacity model and requires 5 RU to accommodate its larger controllers and power requirements.
  2. Which command is used to initialize a brand new FlashArray during the "Day 1" setup? 1. A) purearray init 2. B) puresetup start 3. C) puresetup newarray 4. Rationale: The puresetup newarray command launches the interactive script that configures the array name, management IP, and initial settings.
  1. In a FlashArray//X, which controller is traditionally configured first to establish the management stack? 1. A) Controller 1 (CT1) 2. B) Controller 0 (CT0) 3. C) The secondary controller 4. D) Both simultaneously 5. Rationale: Standard implementation procedure dictates starting with CT to establish the primary management interface before the secondary joins the cluster.
  2. Which PCIe slot on a FlashArray//XL is specifically designated for 4-port Fibre Channel cards? 1. A) Slot 1 2. B) Slot 3 3. C) Slot 6 4. D) Slot 8 5. Rationale: Hardware specifications for the //XL model reserve Slot 8 for high-density 4-port FC connectivity.
  3. A customer wants to migrate data from a SAS-based shelf to an NVMe- based system. What hardware is used as a temporary bridge? 1. A) DirectFlash Shelf 2. B) DFM Swing Shelf 3. C) SAS Expansion Bridge 4. D) NVMe-oF Gateway 5. Rationale: A Swing Shelf is a loaner piece of hardware used to facilitate the evacuation of data from older SAS disks to new NVMe modules during an upgrade.
  4. What is the power redundancy configuration for a FlashArray//X70?
  1. C) SNMP Traps
  2. D) Syslog
  3. Rationale: Remote Assist creates a secure outbound SSH tunnel that allows Pure Support to access the array’s backend.
  4. What is the maximum Round Trip Time (RTT) latency allowed for ActiveCluster synchronous replication?
  5. A) 5ms
  6. B) 11ms
  7. C) 20ms
  8. D) 50ms
  9. Rationale: To maintain synchronous write performance without timing out, ActiveCluster requires a low-latency link of 11ms or less.
  10. Which port is used by Pure1 to receive telemetry and "Phonehome" data from the array?
  11. A) Port 22 (SSH)
  12. B) Port 80 (HTTP)
  13. C) Port 443 (HTTPS)
  14. Rationale: Pure Storage arrays use secure outbound HTTPS traffic to send health data to the Pure1 cloud platform.
  15. After physically inserting a new DirectFlash Module (DFM), what is its initial state in the CLI?
  16. A) Healthy
  17. B) Evacuating
  18. C) Unadmitted
  19. Rationale: New drives must be recognized by the OS and then "admitted" to the storage pool using the puredrive admit command.
  1. During a Non-Disruptive Upgrade (NDU), which controller should be replaced or upgraded first?
    1. A) The Primary Controller
    2. B) The Secondary Controller
    3. C) The controller with the highest serial number
    4. D) Whichever is easiest to reach
    5. Rationale: Upgrading the secondary controller first ensures that the current primary can continue to serve IO without interruption until the new controller is ready.
  2. What is the default MTU setting for FlashArray iSCSI ports?
    1. A) 1500
    2. B) 9000
    3. C) 4096
    4. D) 149 2
    5. Rationale: 1500 is the standard Ethernet MTU. While 9000 (Jumbo Frames) is recommended for iSCSI, it must be manually configured.
  3. Which command provides the real-time IOPS and bandwidth consumption of the array?
    1. A) purevol list
    2. B) purehw list
    3. C) purearray monitor
    4. Rationale: The monitor subcommand is used specifically for live performance tracking across the array, volumes, or hosts.
  4. How many rack units (RU) does a DirectFlash Shelf (DFS) occupy?
    1. A) 2 RU
    2. B) 3 RU
  1. B) purearray setattr --maintenance-mode-timeout
  2. C) purehw silence
  3. D) puresetup maintenance
  4. Rationale: Setting a maintenance timeout prevents "Phonehome" alerts from being treated as critical errors during scheduled work.
  5. In a 3 RU chassis, how many DFM slots are available on the front?
  6. A) 10
  7. B) 15
  8. C) 20
  9. D) 24
  10. Rationale: The standard 3 RU FlashArray chassis contains 20 vertical slots for DirectFlash Modules.
  11. What is the purpose of the purehw locate command?
  12. A) To find the GPS coordinates of the array
  13. B) To map the logical volume to a physical drive
  14. C) To blink the LED on a specific physical component
  15. Rationale: This is used by onsite technicians to ensure they are pulling the correct drive or controller in a crowded data center.
  16. Which PCIe slot is used for the management mezzanine card on an //XR controller?
  17. A) Slot 0
  18. B) Slot 2
  19. C) Slot 4
  20. D) Slot 9
  21. Rationale: Slot 0 is the dedicated location for the internal management mezzanine in the //XR3 architecture.
  1. What type of cable is required for a 100GbE DirectFlash Shelf connection?
    1. A) Twinax SFP+
    2. B) Cat6a
    3. C) QSFP
    4. Rationale: 100GbE connections require QSFP28 (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable) cables for the necessary bandwidth.
  2. Before performing a controller swap, what state must the array be in?
    1. A) Maintenance Mode
    2. B) Single-controller mode
    3. C) Fully Redundant
    4. Rationale: You must never remove a controller unless the array reports it is healthy and redundant, otherwise data loss or outage will occur.
  3. Which command allows you to see the WWNs of the Fibre Channel ports?
    1. A) purefc list
    2. B) pureport list
    3. C) purenetwork list
    4. D) purearray list --wwn
    5. Rationale: pureport list displays all physical and logical port information, including WWNs for FC and IQNs for iSCSI.
  4. What is the maximum number of expansion shelves supported on a FlashArray //X90?
    1. A) 1
    2. B) 2
    3. C) 4
    4. D) 10
  1. C) purededup status
  2. D) purearray monitor
  3. Rationale: The --space flag on purearray list provides the summary of total data reduction and capacity usage.
  4. When cabling a DirectFlash Shelf, which ports on the controller are used?
  5. A) MGMT ports
  6. B) SAS or High-speed Ethernet (RoCE) ports
  7. C) Console ports
  8. D) USB ports
  9. Rationale: Expansion shelves connect to the dedicated backend storage ports on the controllers.
  10. What happens to the data on a DFM when it is evacuated?
  11. A) It is deleted permanently
  12. B) It is moved to other available DFMs in the array
  13. C) It is backed up to Pure
  14. D) It is compressed into NVRAM
  15. Rationale: Evacuation is the process of redistributing data from a specific drive to others so that the drive can be safely removed.
  16. Which command is used to add a new host initiator to a host object?
  17. A) purehost add
  18. B) purehost setattr --addwwnlist (or --addiqnlist )
  19. C) purehost create
  20. D) pureport host add
  21. Rationale: Once a host object is created, initiators are added using the setattr command.
  1. What is the primary benefit of "DirectFlash" technology compared to traditional SSDs?
    1. A) It uses cheaper memory
    2. B) The Purity OS manages the flash directly, reducing latency and wear
    3. C) It allows the use of SATA drives
    4. D) It eliminates the need for power supplies
    5. Rationale: By removing the SSD controller, Purity eliminates "garbage collection" spikes and improves global wear leveling.
  2. What is the default login for a brand new FlashArray via the serial console?
    1. A) admin / admin
    2. B) root / purestorage
    3. C) pureuser / [no password or pureuser] (Depending on Purity version)
    4. Rationale: pureuser is the default administrative account for all Pure Storage CLI and GUI interactions.
  3. What is the purpose of the "Evergreen" program?
    1. A) To plant trees for every TB sold
    2. B) To provide non-disruptive hardware refreshes every 3 years
    3. C) To provide free cloud backup
    4. D) To offer 24/7 onsite support
    5. Rationale: Evergreen ensures customers get new controllers without needing to re-purchase software or perform data migrations.
  4. Which tool is used for "Pre-Installation" site readiness checks?
    1. A) Pure1 Analyzer
    2. B) CloudCheck
    3. C) Purity Run
  1. B) Check the controller rear slots 0/
  2. C) Check the management cables
  3. D) Check the PSU
  4. Rationale: NVRAM modules are located in specific slots at the rear of the controllers; they must be fully seated to be recognized.
  5. Which command is used to create a protection group for snapshots?
  6. A) purevol pgroup create
  7. B) purepgroup create
  8. C) puresnap create
  9. D) purearray pgroup
  10. Rationale: purepgroup is the base command for managing groups of volumes that share a snapshot schedule.
  11. What is the required power voltage for most FlashArray controller chassis?
  12. A) 110V only
  13. B) 200V - 240V
  14. C) 48V DC
  15. D) 12V DC
  16. Rationale: While some smaller models can run on 110V, enterprise data center best practice and high-end models require 200-240V.
  17. What does the "SafeMode" feature protect against?
  18. A) Accidental power loss
  19. B) Ransomware/Malicious deletion of snapshots
  20. C) Over-provisioning
  21. D) Hardware failure
  1. Rationale: SafeMode prevents snapshots from being deleted, even by an administrator, for a set period.
  2. How is a "Purity" software update typically performed?
  3. A) The customer downloads it to a USB stick
  4. B) Pure Support pushes it via Pure1/Remote Assist
  5. C) The array automatically updates at 2 AM
  6. D) It requires a technician to swap the boot drive
  7. Rationale: Most Purity updates are managed by Pure Support to ensure the health checks pass and the upgrade is non-disruptive.
  8. Which command allows you to view the API Token for a specific user?
  9. A) pureadmin list --api-token
  10. B) pureuser show token
  11. C) purearray list --token
  12. D) pureconfig api
  13. Rationale: This is necessary for automation scripts or 3rd-party integrations using the REST API.
  14. When replacing a failed controller, what must you do with the "mezzanine" cards?
  15. A) Throw them away
  16. B) Transfer them from the old controller to the new one
  17. C) Leave them in the chassis
  18. D) They are built-in and cannot be moved
  19. Rationale: Spare controllers usually ship "naked"; the implementation specialist must move the host IO cards and mezzanine cards to the new unit.
  20. What is the purpose of the "DirectFlash Fabric"?

2. B) 4

3. C) 8

4. D) 1

  1. Rationale: To maintain full redundancy, each controller connects to both I/O modules on the shelf, requiring 4 cables total (2 per controller).
  2. Which command is used to display the temperature of individual FlashArray components?
  3. A) purehw temp
  4. B) purehw list --all
  5. C) purearray monitor --env
  6. D) puresetup status
  7. Rationale: The --all flag on purehw list is the master command for environmental data, including thermal readings for sensors across the chassis.
  8. In an ActiveCluster environment, what happens if the management network to the Pure1 Mediator is lost at both sites?
  9. A) The array stops serving I/O
  10. B) The pods go into a "Stalled" state to prevent data divergence
  11. C) The secondary site automatically takes over
  12. D) Data is deleted
  13. Rationale: Without the Mediator to act as a tie-breaker, the arrays cannot safely determine which site should remain active, pausing I/O to ensure data integrity.
  14. What is the purpose of the purevol snap command?
  15. A) To delete a volume
  16. B) To create a point-in-time, read-only copy of a volume
  1. C) To resize a volume
  2. D) To move a volume to a different shelf
  3. Rationale: purevol snap is the CLI trigger for creating an instantaneous snapshot of a specific volume.
  4. When upgrading a FlashArray//M to a FlashArray//X, what must be done with the existing NVRAM?
  5. A) Move them to the new controllers
  6. B) Replace them with the specific NVRAM modules included in the upgrade kit
  7. C) Discard them; they aren't needed for //X
  8. D) Use them as extra DFMs
  9. Rationale: FlashArray//X controllers require higher-performance NVRAM modules that are physically and logically different from the //M series.
  10. Which Purity feature allows a volume to be accessible and writable at two sites simultaneously?
  11. A) ActiveDR
  12. B) ActiveCluster
  13. C) Async Replication
  14. D) Snap-to-NFS
  15. Rationale: ActiveCluster provides "Active-Active" synchronous replication, presenting the same volume via a shared "Pod" across two arrays.
  16. What is the maximum MTU size supported for DirectFlash Fabric (RoCE) ports?
  17. A) 1500
  18. B) 4096
  19. C) 9000
  1. Rationale: You must verify via CLI that Purity has finished protecting the data on that drive before physical removal.
  2. Which command is used to configure a VLAN ID on a management interface?
  3. A) purenetwork vlan
  4. B) purenetwork eth setattr --vlan [ID] [interface]
  5. C) puresetup vlan
  6. D) purearray vlan
  7. Rationale: VLAN tagging is managed at the interface level using the purenetwork eth setattr command.
  8. What does the "Data Reduction" number in Purity include?
  9. A) Thin provisioning only
  10. B) Deduplication and Compression
  11. C) Snapshot space only
  12. D) RAID overhead
  13. Rationale: Pure's data reduction ratio specifically tracks the efficiency of its inline deduplication and compression engines.
  14. When performing a "Controller Evacuation" (Handover), how long does the I/O pause typically last?
  15. A) 5 minutes
  16. B) 30 seconds
  17. C) Less than 1 second (sub-second)
  18. Rationale: Purity is designed for sub-second failover during an NDU, which is transparent to almost all host operating systems.
  19. Which cable is used to connect the "Serial Console" for initial configuration?

1. A) USB-C

2. B) HDMI

  1. C) Micro-USB or RJ45-to-DB9 (model dependent)
  2. D) VGA
  3. Rationale: Most modern Pure controllers use a Micro-USB port or a standard RJ45 serial port for local terminal access.
  4. What is the command to create a new "Pod" for ActiveCluster?
  5. A) purepod create [name]
  6. B) purecluster create
  7. C) purevol pod create
  8. D) purearray pod
  9. Rationale: A "Pod" is the management container for ActiveCluster, created using the purepod command.
  10. In an //XR3, what is the purpose of the "Internal Interconnect"?
  11. A) To connect to the internet
  12. B) To allow the two controllers to mirror write cache (NVRAM) data
  13. C) To connect to the DirectFlash Shelf
  14. D) To charge the batteries
  15. Rationale: The high-speed internal midplane allows the active controller to mirror writes to the standby controller's NVRAM.
  16. Which command allows an engineer to view the "Alert History" of the array?
  17. A) purealert list
  18. B) purealert list --all
  19. C) purelog list