COHESITY DATA PROTECTION ASSOCIATE - PRACTICE EXAM
1. What is Cohesity's primary value proposition?
A) Standalone backup appliance
B) Hyperconverged secondary storage platform consolidating backup, archive, file, and
object services
C) Primary storage virtualization
D) Network security appliance
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity provides a hyperconverged, web-scale platform that consolidates
multiple secondary storage workloads (backup, archive, file/object serving, dev/test) on a
single, software-defined platform.
2. Cohesity's architecture is built on a foundation of:
A) Proprietary hardware
B) Distributed file system (SpanFS) and a distributed metadata store
C) Traditional RAID arrays
D) Public cloud APIs only
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity's core is its distributed, scale-out file system (SpanFS) and a
distributed metadata store that enables global deduplication, scalability, and resilience.
3. What does "hyperconverged" mean in the context of Cohesity?
A) Converges primary and secondary storage
B) Integrates compute, storage, and data services (like backup, replication, search) in a
single, scalable software layer
C) Only converges backup and archive
D) A type of hypervisor
,Answer: B
Explanation: Hyperconvergence combines core storage, compute, and advanced data
services into a single, software-defined system that scales by adding nodes.
4. The Cohesity platform is managed primarily through:
A) Command-line interface (CLI) only
B) A web-based UI called Helios and a local cluster UI
C) Windows-based management console
D) Mobile app only
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity provides two main interfaces: the local cluster web UI (for day-to-
day ops) and Helios, the SaaS-based multi-cluster management and analytics portal.
5. Helios is Cohesity's:
A) On-premises backup software
B) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) management plane offering a global view of all Cohesity
clusters
C) Hypervisor
D) Data archiving service
Answer: B
Explanation: Helios is a cloud-based, centralized management and analytics platform that
provides a single pane of glass for managing, monitoring, and protecting data across all
Cohesity clusters globally.
6. A Cohesity cluster is comprised of one or more:
A) Virtual machines
B) Physical or virtual nodes
,C) LUNs from a SAN
D) Public cloud buckets
Answer: B
Explanation: A cluster is formed by grouping Cohesity nodes (physical appliances or virtual
editions installed on hardware/VMs). A single-node cluster is also possible for smaller
deployments.
7. The Cohesity DataPlatform software can run on:
A) Only Cohesity-branded hardware
B) Cohesity hardware, qualified third-party hardware, and as a Virtual Edition (VE) on
VMware or Hyper-V
C) Any x86 server without qualification
D) Only in the public cloud
Answer: B
Explanation: The software is hardware-agnostic. It is offered as an appliance, as software
for qualified hardware (Cisco, HPE, etc.), and as a Virtual Edition.
8. What is the primary function of the Cohesity DataProtect application?
A) File and object services
C) Backup and recovery
D) Data analytics
Answer: C
Explanation: DataProtect is the integrated backup and recovery application within the
Cohesity platform, providing source-side deduplication, policy-based management, and
instant recovery.
9. The Cohesity DataPlatform uses a scale-out architecture, meaning:
A) You must replace nodes to get more capacity
, B) You can add nodes non-disruptively to increase capacity and performance linearly
C) It only scales up by adding drives
D) Scaling requires downtime
Answer: B
Explanation: A key benefit is linear scalability. Adding a node to the cluster automatically
distributes data and metadata, increasing total capacity, performance, and resilience
without downtime.
10. Which statement about Cohesity's global deduplication is true?
A) Deduplication occurs only within a single backup job
B) It provides global, variable-length deduplication and compression across all data
ingested into the cluster
C) Deduplication is not available
D) It requires a separate appliance
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity performs inline, variable-length, global deduplication and
compression. This means duplicate blocks are eliminated across all protected workloads,
sources, and retention periods, maximizing storage efficiency.
11. What is a "Protection Group" in Cohesity DataProtect?
A) A group of Cohesity clusters
B) A collection of objects (VMs, databases, files) protected by a single policy
C) A security setting for user access
D) A physical grouping of nodes
Answer: B
Explanation: A Protection Group is a logical container that defines what to protect (e.g., a
list of VMs, SQL instances, NAS shares) and associates it with a Policy that defines how to
protect it (schedule, retention, SLA).
1. What is Cohesity's primary value proposition?
A) Standalone backup appliance
B) Hyperconverged secondary storage platform consolidating backup, archive, file, and
object services
C) Primary storage virtualization
D) Network security appliance
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity provides a hyperconverged, web-scale platform that consolidates
multiple secondary storage workloads (backup, archive, file/object serving, dev/test) on a
single, software-defined platform.
2. Cohesity's architecture is built on a foundation of:
A) Proprietary hardware
B) Distributed file system (SpanFS) and a distributed metadata store
C) Traditional RAID arrays
D) Public cloud APIs only
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity's core is its distributed, scale-out file system (SpanFS) and a
distributed metadata store that enables global deduplication, scalability, and resilience.
3. What does "hyperconverged" mean in the context of Cohesity?
A) Converges primary and secondary storage
B) Integrates compute, storage, and data services (like backup, replication, search) in a
single, scalable software layer
C) Only converges backup and archive
D) A type of hypervisor
,Answer: B
Explanation: Hyperconvergence combines core storage, compute, and advanced data
services into a single, software-defined system that scales by adding nodes.
4. The Cohesity platform is managed primarily through:
A) Command-line interface (CLI) only
B) A web-based UI called Helios and a local cluster UI
C) Windows-based management console
D) Mobile app only
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity provides two main interfaces: the local cluster web UI (for day-to-
day ops) and Helios, the SaaS-based multi-cluster management and analytics portal.
5. Helios is Cohesity's:
A) On-premises backup software
B) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) management plane offering a global view of all Cohesity
clusters
C) Hypervisor
D) Data archiving service
Answer: B
Explanation: Helios is a cloud-based, centralized management and analytics platform that
provides a single pane of glass for managing, monitoring, and protecting data across all
Cohesity clusters globally.
6. A Cohesity cluster is comprised of one or more:
A) Virtual machines
B) Physical or virtual nodes
,C) LUNs from a SAN
D) Public cloud buckets
Answer: B
Explanation: A cluster is formed by grouping Cohesity nodes (physical appliances or virtual
editions installed on hardware/VMs). A single-node cluster is also possible for smaller
deployments.
7. The Cohesity DataPlatform software can run on:
A) Only Cohesity-branded hardware
B) Cohesity hardware, qualified third-party hardware, and as a Virtual Edition (VE) on
VMware or Hyper-V
C) Any x86 server without qualification
D) Only in the public cloud
Answer: B
Explanation: The software is hardware-agnostic. It is offered as an appliance, as software
for qualified hardware (Cisco, HPE, etc.), and as a Virtual Edition.
8. What is the primary function of the Cohesity DataProtect application?
A) File and object services
C) Backup and recovery
D) Data analytics
Answer: C
Explanation: DataProtect is the integrated backup and recovery application within the
Cohesity platform, providing source-side deduplication, policy-based management, and
instant recovery.
9. The Cohesity DataPlatform uses a scale-out architecture, meaning:
A) You must replace nodes to get more capacity
, B) You can add nodes non-disruptively to increase capacity and performance linearly
C) It only scales up by adding drives
D) Scaling requires downtime
Answer: B
Explanation: A key benefit is linear scalability. Adding a node to the cluster automatically
distributes data and metadata, increasing total capacity, performance, and resilience
without downtime.
10. Which statement about Cohesity's global deduplication is true?
A) Deduplication occurs only within a single backup job
B) It provides global, variable-length deduplication and compression across all data
ingested into the cluster
C) Deduplication is not available
D) It requires a separate appliance
Answer: B
Explanation: Cohesity performs inline, variable-length, global deduplication and
compression. This means duplicate blocks are eliminated across all protected workloads,
sources, and retention periods, maximizing storage efficiency.
11. What is a "Protection Group" in Cohesity DataProtect?
A) A group of Cohesity clusters
B) A collection of objects (VMs, databases, files) protected by a single policy
C) A security setting for user access
D) A physical grouping of nodes
Answer: B
Explanation: A Protection Group is a logical container that defines what to protect (e.g., a
list of VMs, SQL instances, NAS shares) and associates it with a Policy that defines how to
protect it (schedule, retention, SLA).
