Exam comparison
NCA
Nutanix Certified Associate (NCA)
NCP-MCI
Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Infrastructure (NCP-MCI)
NCA vs NCP-MCI: Associate or Professional path?
Associate or Professional? Start your Nutanix certification path
Nutanix Certified Associate (NCA) and Nutanix Certified Professional – Multicloud Infrastructure (NCP-MCI) target different roles and experience levels. NCA is designed for professionals new to Nutanix, validating foundational knowledge of hybrid cloud infrastructure and core platform concepts. NCP-MCI targets IT staff, including administrators, engineers, and operators, as well as Tier 1 or 2 support personnel, who deploy, configure, migrate, troubleshoot, expand, and manage within a Nutanix multicloud platform environment.
In short: Start with NCA if you are new to Nutanix. Pursue NCP-MCI if you already manage Nutanix infrastructure and need to validate multicloud operations expertise.
Exam format and structure
| NCA | NCP-MCI | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam code | NCA | NCP-MCI |
| Certification name | Nutanix Certified Associate | Nutanix Certified Professional – Multicloud Infrastructure |
| Version | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Exam duration | 90 minutes | 120 minutes per test |
| Questions per test | 50 | 75 |
| Passing score | 3000 (scale 1000–6000) | 3000 (scale 1000–6000) |
| Question types | Multiple-choice, multiple-response | Multiple-choice, multiple-response |
| Languages | English, Japanese | English, Japanese |
| Prerequisite | None | Recommended: hands-on Nutanix experience |
| Delivery | Remote or in-person proctoring | Remote or in-person proctoring |
Exam domains and content areas
NCA
- Section 1 – Recognize Nutanix Solutions and Tools
- Section 2 – Describe Nutanix Platform Administration
- Section 3 – Describe Cluster Configuration and Maintenance
- Section 4 – Demonstrate and Understand of Platform Health and Monitoring
NCP-MCI
- Manage Clusters in a Multicloud Environment
- Manage Workloads in a Multicloud Environment
- Perform DR and Data Protection in a Multicloud Environment
- Perform Operations and Monitoring in a Multicloud Environment
Key differences
NCA focuses on foundational Nutanix knowledge: a single cluster, Prism, VM lifecycle, storage tiers, and basic operations. NCP-MCI targets around 1+ years of IT infrastructure experience and covers managing clusters and workloads, DR and data protection, and operations and monitoring in a multicloud environment.
Which certification should you pursue?
Choose NCA if…
- You are new to Nutanix or have limited hands-on experience.
- Your role is single-site cluster management.
- You need a foundational credential before advancing.
- You are a junior system administrator or new to the platform.
Choose NCP-MCI if…
- You operate Nutanix in production environments.
- You design or manage multicloud and hybrid infrastructure.
- You handle DR, replication, or cross-site operations.
- You are an administrator, engineer, or operator, or Tier 1 or 2 support personnel.
Study resources
- Visit the Nutanix Training and Certification portal to register and access official exam pages.
- Download the study guides (PDFs published by Nutanix for each certification).
- Nutanix provides training that covers the exam objectives: Nutanix Hybrid Cloud Fundamentals (NCA) or Enterprise Cloud Administration (NCP-MCI). Attending a course is not required.
- Practice with our NCA practice exam and NCP-MCI practice exam, then refine weak areas using NCA study mode and NCP-MCI study mode.
Try both, free
Original questions, each answer explained with a link to the documentation. Study mode is free and needs no account.
Practice Exam NCA: Nutanix Certified Associate
25 free questions with explanations
Practice Exam NCP-MCI: Nutanix Certified Professional - Multicloud Infrastructure
25 free questions with explanations