Data locality is the capability of storing VM data on the node where the VM is running and ensuring that the read I/O does not have to traverse the network. Data locality is a unique feature of Nutanix that provides high performance and low latency for VMs by minimizing network traffic and crosstalk. Data locality works by writing one copy of the data local to the VM and the other copy (or copies) on other nodes. When a VM migrates to another node, Nutanix also moves its data to the new node and serves all I/O requests locally. Data locality also adapts to changing workloads and access patterns by dynamically moving data to where it is needed most1.

Configure VM-Host affinity for the nodes that meet the application's GPU requirement. This is because VM-Host affinity allows the administrator to specify which nodes a VM can run on or must not run on1. By creating a VM-Host affinity rule that binds the application VM to the three nodes that have the physical GPU, the administrator can ensure that the VM will always run on a node that meets its requirement, regardless of any HA or migration events. This also allows the other nodes in the cluster to host other VMs without any restrictions.

The node is automatically re-imaged using the software currently running in the cluster. This is because Nutanix supports a feature called Auto Re-Image that allows adding nodes with different AOS versions to an existing cluster without manual intervention. The Auto Re-Image feature detects the AOS version mismatch and automatically downloads and installs the same AOS version as the cluster on the new node. This ensures that the cluster remains in a consistent state and avoids any compatibility issues.

Virtual NIC receive packet dropped is the most useful VM metric for isolating the cause of users being disconnected from remote desktop sessions to a specific VM. This metric shows the number of packets that are dropped by the virtual NIC of the VM due to insufficient buffer space or other reasons. Packet drops can indicate network congestion, misconfiguration, or performance issues that can affect the quality and availability of remote desktop sessions. Packet drops can also cause retransmissions, delays, and errors in TCP-based protocols such as RDP2. To view this metric in Prism, go to Entities > Compute & Storage > VMs > Summary View and select a VM. Then, in the Details View, go to Metrics > Performance and select Virtual NIC receive packet dropped from the drop-down menu3.