CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST | REAL EXAM
2026/2027 | QUESTIONS AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS | NEWLY
UPDATED
1. What is the primary storage media used in a Pure Storage FlashArray?
A. Hybrid SSD/HDD tiered arrays
B. Standard SAS SSDs from third-party vendors
C. 7200 RPM SATA hard drives
D. DirectFlash Modules (DFMs) ANSWER
2. What operating environment runs on every FlashArray controller?
A. Purity//FA ANSWER
B. Purity//FB
C. Data ONTAP Select
D. ONTAP
3. In a FlashArray//X or //XL chassis, how many controllers are present in a
standard high-availability configuration?
A. Four
B. One
C. Three
D. Two ANSWER
4. What is the purpose of NVRAM in a FlashArray controller?
A. To store the Purity operating system image
B. To protect in-flight writes against power loss before they are committed
to flash ANSWER
C. To hold firmware update packages
D. To cache read-only metadata for Pure1
5. Which FlashArray model line is purpose-built for higher-capacity, cost-
optimized workloads using QLC flash?
A. FlashArray//C ANSWER
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
B. FlashArray//X
C. FlashArray//XL
D. FlashArray//M
6. What connects the two controllers in a FlashArray chassis for coordination and
mirroring of NVRAM writes?
A. A dedicated inter-controller link (mirrored bus) ANSWER
B. The customer's iSCSI SAN
C. A standard Ethernet management cable only
D. A USB-C tether
7. What happens to host I/O when one controller in a FlashArray fails?
A. The surviving controller transparently takes over ownership with no
disruption to connected hosts using multipathing ANSWER
B. All volumes go offline until the failed controller is replaced
C. The array reboots both controllers simultaneously
D. Hosts must be manually failed over to the surviving controller
8. What is a DirectFlash Shelf used for?
A. Housing spare Ethernet switches
B. Providing a backup power source for the array
C. Expanding raw flash capacity of an existing FlashArray without adding
controllers ANSWER
D. Adding additional controller compute to a FlashArray
9. Which FlashArray model is designed for the largest scale, highest performance
workloads with expanded NVRAM and DirectMemory Cache?
A. FlashArray//M10
B. FlashArray//X10
C. FlashArray//C
D. FlashArray//XL ANSWER
10. What is DirectMemory Cache used for on supported FlashArray models?
A. Storing the array's configuration backup
B. Accelerating read performance by caching hot data in a faster memory
tier above flash ANSWER
C. Replacing NVRAM for write protection
D. Running the Pure1 management agent
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
11. How does Purity abstract the physical DirectFlash Modules from the Purity
software?
A. Flash management is entirely delegated to a third-party hypervisor
B. Each DFM runs its own independent RAID controller firmware
C. Purity directly manages flash translation layer functions instead of
relying on drive-based FTL ANSWER
D. DFMs use a standard SATA controller with no custom firmware
12. What is the benefit of Pure Storage's DirectFlash architecture compared to
traditional SSDs?
A. It requires more onboard DRAM per drive than standard SSDs
B. It only works with SATA-based flash
C. It removes redundant flash translation layers, improving performance
and endurance visibility ANSWER
D. It eliminates the need for any RAID protection
13. Which RAID-like data protection scheme does Purity use across DirectFlash
Modules?
A. No parity protection, mirroring only
B. RAID-HA (a Pure Storage variant providing double-parity-like
protection) ANSWER
C. Traditional RAID 5 only
D. RAID 0 striping without redundancy
14. What is required before physically racking a FlashArray chassis, according to
standard implementation practice?
A. Formatting all DirectFlash Modules manually
B. Configuring iSCSI targets before power-on
C. Verifying rack power, cooling, and weight load requirements against the
installation guide ANSWER
D. Installing a third-party hypervisor on the controllers
15. What is the role of the 'chassis' term in FlashArray terminology?
A. A synonym for a protection group
B. The physical enclosure housing controllers and/or drives ANSWER
C. A logical grouping of volumes
D. A term used only for FlashBlade
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
16. On a FlashArray//X, where do the DirectFlash Modules reside?
A. On a compute node separate from the array
B. In a third-party disk array
C. Only in a separate network-attached JBOD
D. Directly in the controller chassis and/or expansion shelves ANSWER
17. What best describes 'Evergreen Architecture' as it relates to FlashArray
hardware?
A. A requirement to replace the entire array every three years
B. A model allowing controller and media upgrades over time without data
migration or downtime ANSWER
C. A synonym for RAID protection
D. A hardware-only feature unrelated to software upgrades
18. Which port types are commonly found on the back of a FlashArray controller
for front-end host connectivity?
A. Fibre Channel, iSCSI/Ethernet, and NVMe-oF ports depending on
configuration ANSWER
B. Only Thunderbolt ports
C. Only legacy parallel SCSI ports
D. Only USB 2.0 ports
19. What is the purpose of the dedicated management port on a FlashArray
controller?
A. Serving front-end host I/O for iSCSI
B. Replicating data to a secondary array
C. Powering the DirectFlash Modules
D. Providing out-of-band access for array administration and Pure1
connectivity ANSWER
20. During initial hardware setup, what must be configured before a FlashArray
can phone home to Pure1?
A. Local NTP-only access with no internet requirement
B. A VPN tunnel to every connected host
C. A Fibre Channel zone to Pure1
D. Network connectivity including DNS and outbound internet access on
the management interfaces ANSWER
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CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST | REAL EXAM
2026/2027 | QUESTIONS AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS | NEWLY
UPDATED
1. What is the primary storage media used in a Pure Storage FlashArray?
A. Hybrid SSD/HDD tiered arrays
B. Standard SAS SSDs from third-party vendors
C. 7200 RPM SATA hard drives
D. DirectFlash Modules (DFMs) ANSWER
2. What operating environment runs on every FlashArray controller?
A. Purity//FA ANSWER
B. Purity//FB
C. Data ONTAP Select
D. ONTAP
3. In a FlashArray//X or //XL chassis, how many controllers are present in a
standard high-availability configuration?
A. Four
B. One
C. Three
D. Two ANSWER
4. What is the purpose of NVRAM in a FlashArray controller?
A. To store the Purity operating system image
B. To protect in-flight writes against power loss before they are committed
to flash ANSWER
C. To hold firmware update packages
D. To cache read-only metadata for Pure1
5. Which FlashArray model line is purpose-built for higher-capacity, cost-
optimized workloads using QLC flash?
A. FlashArray//C ANSWER
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
B. FlashArray//X
C. FlashArray//XL
D. FlashArray//M
6. What connects the two controllers in a FlashArray chassis for coordination and
mirroring of NVRAM writes?
A. A dedicated inter-controller link (mirrored bus) ANSWER
B. The customer's iSCSI SAN
C. A standard Ethernet management cable only
D. A USB-C tether
7. What happens to host I/O when one controller in a FlashArray fails?
A. The surviving controller transparently takes over ownership with no
disruption to connected hosts using multipathing ANSWER
B. All volumes go offline until the failed controller is replaced
C. The array reboots both controllers simultaneously
D. Hosts must be manually failed over to the surviving controller
8. What is a DirectFlash Shelf used for?
A. Housing spare Ethernet switches
B. Providing a backup power source for the array
C. Expanding raw flash capacity of an existing FlashArray without adding
controllers ANSWER
D. Adding additional controller compute to a FlashArray
9. Which FlashArray model is designed for the largest scale, highest performance
workloads with expanded NVRAM and DirectMemory Cache?
A. FlashArray//M10
B. FlashArray//X10
C. FlashArray//C
D. FlashArray//XL ANSWER
10. What is DirectMemory Cache used for on supported FlashArray models?
A. Storing the array's configuration backup
B. Accelerating read performance by caching hot data in a faster memory
tier above flash ANSWER
C. Replacing NVRAM for write protection
D. Running the Pure1 management agent
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
11. How does Purity abstract the physical DirectFlash Modules from the Purity
software?
A. Flash management is entirely delegated to a third-party hypervisor
B. Each DFM runs its own independent RAID controller firmware
C. Purity directly manages flash translation layer functions instead of
relying on drive-based FTL ANSWER
D. DFMs use a standard SATA controller with no custom firmware
12. What is the benefit of Pure Storage's DirectFlash architecture compared to
traditional SSDs?
A. It requires more onboard DRAM per drive than standard SSDs
B. It only works with SATA-based flash
C. It removes redundant flash translation layers, improving performance
and endurance visibility ANSWER
D. It eliminates the need for any RAID protection
13. Which RAID-like data protection scheme does Purity use across DirectFlash
Modules?
A. No parity protection, mirroring only
B. RAID-HA (a Pure Storage variant providing double-parity-like
protection) ANSWER
C. Traditional RAID 5 only
D. RAID 0 striping without redundancy
14. What is required before physically racking a FlashArray chassis, according to
standard implementation practice?
A. Formatting all DirectFlash Modules manually
B. Configuring iSCSI targets before power-on
C. Verifying rack power, cooling, and weight load requirements against the
installation guide ANSWER
D. Installing a third-party hypervisor on the controllers
15. What is the role of the 'chassis' term in FlashArray terminology?
A. A synonym for a protection group
B. The physical enclosure housing controllers and/or drives ANSWER
C. A logical grouping of volumes
D. A term used only for FlashBlade
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, CERTIFIED FLASHARRAY IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST
16. On a FlashArray//X, where do the DirectFlash Modules reside?
A. On a compute node separate from the array
B. In a third-party disk array
C. Only in a separate network-attached JBOD
D. Directly in the controller chassis and/or expansion shelves ANSWER
17. What best describes 'Evergreen Architecture' as it relates to FlashArray
hardware?
A. A requirement to replace the entire array every three years
B. A model allowing controller and media upgrades over time without data
migration or downtime ANSWER
C. A synonym for RAID protection
D. A hardware-only feature unrelated to software upgrades
18. Which port types are commonly found on the back of a FlashArray controller
for front-end host connectivity?
A. Fibre Channel, iSCSI/Ethernet, and NVMe-oF ports depending on
configuration ANSWER
B. Only Thunderbolt ports
C. Only legacy parallel SCSI ports
D. Only USB 2.0 ports
19. What is the purpose of the dedicated management port on a FlashArray
controller?
A. Serving front-end host I/O for iSCSI
B. Replicating data to a secondary array
C. Powering the DirectFlash Modules
D. Providing out-of-band access for array administration and Pure1
connectivity ANSWER
20. During initial hardware setup, what must be configured before a FlashArray
can phone home to Pure1?
A. Local NTP-only access with no internet requirement
B. A VPN tunnel to every connected host
C. A Fibre Channel zone to Pure1
D. Network connectivity including DNS and outbound internet access on
the management interfaces ANSWER
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