Pure Storage FlashArray Architect Associate
(FAAA_005) — 180 Original Practice Questions with
Rationales
Topic Coverage Overview
1. Evergreen Subscription Model (Q1-12)
2. FlashArray Family & Sizing (Q13-28)
3. Purity//FA Core Features (Q29-44)
4. ActiveCluster (Q45-54)
5. ActiveDR (Q55-62)
6. Protocols: FC / iSCSI / NVMe-oF (Q63-76)
7. CloudSnap & Cloud Integration (Q77-86)
8. SafeMode & Ransomware Resilience (Q87-96)
9. Pods, Replication & Topologies (Q97-106)
10. Data Reduction Deep Dive (Q107-116)
11. Sizing Tools, Pure1, Workload Planning (Q117-128)
12. Management, REST API, RBAC, Multi-tenancy (Q129-138)
13. File Services / FlashBlade Context (Q139-148)
14. Support, Licensing, General Architecture (Q149-160)
15. Ecosystem Integrations & Migration (Q161-180)
,Question 1
What is the primary value proposition of the Evergreen//Forever subscription model?
A. Lower upfront hardware cost only
B. Non-disruptive controller and media upgrades without forklift replacement
C. Unlimited free professional services
D. Automatic multi-cloud migration
Answer: B
Evergreen//Forever is built around continuous, non-disruptive upgrades to controllers and media, avoiding
traditional forklift refresh cycles.
Question 2
Which Evergreen tier is entry-level and does not include the ongoing controller upgrade benefit of
Forever?
A. Evergreen//One
B. Evergreen//Forever
C. Evergreen//Foundation
D. Evergreen//Flex
Answer: C
Evergreen//Foundation is the base subscription tier and does not include the continuous controller-upgrade
benefit that Forever provides.
Question 3
A customer wants storage delivered and billed as a service, similar to a cloud consumption model,
without owning the hardware outright. Which offering fits best?
A. Evergreen//Foundation
B. Evergreen//One
C. FlashArray//C base license
D. Pure1 Analytics
Answer: B
Evergreen//One is Pure's Storage-as-a-Service offering with consumption-based billing and managed
capacity.
Question 4
Under Evergreen//Forever, what happens to the original controllers when a customer upgrades to
newer controller hardware?
A. The customer must purchase a new array entirely
B. Controllers are swapped non-disruptively as part of the subscription at no additional hardware cost
C. Only one controller can ever be replaced
D. Controller upgrades require array downtime
Answer: B
Controller upgrades under Evergreen//Forever are performed non-disruptively and are included as part of
the ongoing subscription.
,Question 5
Which statement about Evergreen//One SLA commitments is most accurate?
A. It guarantees a fixed cloud provider
B. It includes commitments such as guaranteed capacity availability and performance
C. It only applies to FlashBlade
D. It eliminates the need for any Pure1 monitoring
Answer: B
Evergreen//One includes service-level commitments around capacity availability and performance as part of
the as-a-service model.
Question 6
What is 'Right-size Guarantee' most closely associated with in the Pure Storage Evergreen
ecosystem?
A. A guarantee that effective capacity ratios will be met, or Pure provides additional capacity
B. A guarantee of a specific number of IOPS regardless of workload
C. A discount on professional services
D. A guarantee of zero support tickets
Answer: A
Right-size guarantees relate to Pure standing behind published data-reduction/effective-capacity ratios for
qualifying workloads.
Question 7
Which of the following best describes 'Evergreen//Flex'?
A. A flexible subscription tier that lets customers adjust capacity and payment terms while
retainingownership options
B. A replacement for Purity//FA
C. A FlashBlade-only offering
D. A one-time perpetual license with no subscription component
Answer: A
Evergreen//Flex is positioned as a flexible middle-ground subscription allowing capacity and term
adjustments.
Question 8
A customer on Evergreen//Forever needs more raw capacity but does not want to buy a new base
chassis. What is the typical mechanism?
A. Add expansion shelves or upgrade to higher-capacity DirectFlash Modules non-disruptively
B. Migrate all data to FlashBlade
C. Purchase an entirely new array and manually migrate data
D. Downgrade to Foundation tier
Answer: A
Capacity is typically expanded non-disruptively by adding shelves or swapping in higher-density DirectFlash
Modules under the subscription.
, Question 9
Which of these is NOT typically included as a benefit of the Evergreen//Forever program?
A. Non-disruptive upgrades
B. Controller technology refresh
C. Free unlimited third-party hardware integration
D. Software feature updates included with support
Answer: C
Evergreen//Forever covers Pure-native hardware/software upgrades, not free integration of arbitrary third-
party hardware.
Question 10
Why might an architect recommend Evergreen//One over Evergreen//Forever for a customer with
highly variable capacity needs?
A. Evergreen//One offers consumption-based elasticity better suited to variable demand
B. Evergreen//One is cheaper in all cases
C. Evergreen//Forever cannot scale at all
D. Evergreen//One requires FlashBlade only
Answer: A
Evergreen//One's as-a-service, consumption-based model is well suited to workloads with variable or
unpredictable capacity needs.
Question 11
Which statement about Upgrade Always (part of Evergreen//Forever) is correct?
A. It only covers software patches
B. It ensures customers can move to new controller technology as it becomes available,non-
disruptively, as part of the subscription
C. It is an optional paid add-on outside the subscription
D. It applies only during the first year
Answer: B
Upgrade Always is a core Evergreen//Forever benefit enabling non-disruptive adoption of new controller
technology over time.
Question 12
From an architect's perspective, what is the main business risk Evergreen subscriptions are designed
to mitigate for customers?
A. Cybersecurity threats generally
B. Technology obsolescence and disruptive forklift upgrades
C. Network latency
D. Application licensing costs
Answer: B
Evergreen is fundamentally designed around avoiding technology obsolescence and disruptive rip-and-
replace refresh cycles.
(FAAA_005) — 180 Original Practice Questions with
Rationales
Topic Coverage Overview
1. Evergreen Subscription Model (Q1-12)
2. FlashArray Family & Sizing (Q13-28)
3. Purity//FA Core Features (Q29-44)
4. ActiveCluster (Q45-54)
5. ActiveDR (Q55-62)
6. Protocols: FC / iSCSI / NVMe-oF (Q63-76)
7. CloudSnap & Cloud Integration (Q77-86)
8. SafeMode & Ransomware Resilience (Q87-96)
9. Pods, Replication & Topologies (Q97-106)
10. Data Reduction Deep Dive (Q107-116)
11. Sizing Tools, Pure1, Workload Planning (Q117-128)
12. Management, REST API, RBAC, Multi-tenancy (Q129-138)
13. File Services / FlashBlade Context (Q139-148)
14. Support, Licensing, General Architecture (Q149-160)
15. Ecosystem Integrations & Migration (Q161-180)
,Question 1
What is the primary value proposition of the Evergreen//Forever subscription model?
A. Lower upfront hardware cost only
B. Non-disruptive controller and media upgrades without forklift replacement
C. Unlimited free professional services
D. Automatic multi-cloud migration
Answer: B
Evergreen//Forever is built around continuous, non-disruptive upgrades to controllers and media, avoiding
traditional forklift refresh cycles.
Question 2
Which Evergreen tier is entry-level and does not include the ongoing controller upgrade benefit of
Forever?
A. Evergreen//One
B. Evergreen//Forever
C. Evergreen//Foundation
D. Evergreen//Flex
Answer: C
Evergreen//Foundation is the base subscription tier and does not include the continuous controller-upgrade
benefit that Forever provides.
Question 3
A customer wants storage delivered and billed as a service, similar to a cloud consumption model,
without owning the hardware outright. Which offering fits best?
A. Evergreen//Foundation
B. Evergreen//One
C. FlashArray//C base license
D. Pure1 Analytics
Answer: B
Evergreen//One is Pure's Storage-as-a-Service offering with consumption-based billing and managed
capacity.
Question 4
Under Evergreen//Forever, what happens to the original controllers when a customer upgrades to
newer controller hardware?
A. The customer must purchase a new array entirely
B. Controllers are swapped non-disruptively as part of the subscription at no additional hardware cost
C. Only one controller can ever be replaced
D. Controller upgrades require array downtime
Answer: B
Controller upgrades under Evergreen//Forever are performed non-disruptively and are included as part of
the ongoing subscription.
,Question 5
Which statement about Evergreen//One SLA commitments is most accurate?
A. It guarantees a fixed cloud provider
B. It includes commitments such as guaranteed capacity availability and performance
C. It only applies to FlashBlade
D. It eliminates the need for any Pure1 monitoring
Answer: B
Evergreen//One includes service-level commitments around capacity availability and performance as part of
the as-a-service model.
Question 6
What is 'Right-size Guarantee' most closely associated with in the Pure Storage Evergreen
ecosystem?
A. A guarantee that effective capacity ratios will be met, or Pure provides additional capacity
B. A guarantee of a specific number of IOPS regardless of workload
C. A discount on professional services
D. A guarantee of zero support tickets
Answer: A
Right-size guarantees relate to Pure standing behind published data-reduction/effective-capacity ratios for
qualifying workloads.
Question 7
Which of the following best describes 'Evergreen//Flex'?
A. A flexible subscription tier that lets customers adjust capacity and payment terms while
retainingownership options
B. A replacement for Purity//FA
C. A FlashBlade-only offering
D. A one-time perpetual license with no subscription component
Answer: A
Evergreen//Flex is positioned as a flexible middle-ground subscription allowing capacity and term
adjustments.
Question 8
A customer on Evergreen//Forever needs more raw capacity but does not want to buy a new base
chassis. What is the typical mechanism?
A. Add expansion shelves or upgrade to higher-capacity DirectFlash Modules non-disruptively
B. Migrate all data to FlashBlade
C. Purchase an entirely new array and manually migrate data
D. Downgrade to Foundation tier
Answer: A
Capacity is typically expanded non-disruptively by adding shelves or swapping in higher-density DirectFlash
Modules under the subscription.
, Question 9
Which of these is NOT typically included as a benefit of the Evergreen//Forever program?
A. Non-disruptive upgrades
B. Controller technology refresh
C. Free unlimited third-party hardware integration
D. Software feature updates included with support
Answer: C
Evergreen//Forever covers Pure-native hardware/software upgrades, not free integration of arbitrary third-
party hardware.
Question 10
Why might an architect recommend Evergreen//One over Evergreen//Forever for a customer with
highly variable capacity needs?
A. Evergreen//One offers consumption-based elasticity better suited to variable demand
B. Evergreen//One is cheaper in all cases
C. Evergreen//Forever cannot scale at all
D. Evergreen//One requires FlashBlade only
Answer: A
Evergreen//One's as-a-service, consumption-based model is well suited to workloads with variable or
unpredictable capacity needs.
Question 11
Which statement about Upgrade Always (part of Evergreen//Forever) is correct?
A. It only covers software patches
B. It ensures customers can move to new controller technology as it becomes available,non-
disruptively, as part of the subscription
C. It is an optional paid add-on outside the subscription
D. It applies only during the first year
Answer: B
Upgrade Always is a core Evergreen//Forever benefit enabling non-disruptive adoption of new controller
technology over time.
Question 12
From an architect's perspective, what is the main business risk Evergreen subscriptions are designed
to mitigate for customers?
A. Cybersecurity threats generally
B. Technology obsolescence and disruptive forklift upgrades
C. Network latency
D. Application licensing costs
Answer: B
Evergreen is fundamentally designed around avoiding technology obsolescence and disruptive rip-and-
replace refresh cycles.
