After installing a cluster, changing passwords and performing basic configurations, there are still a few operations to be carried out…

Rename the default container

Connect to a CVM in your cluster and list all the existing containers on the cluster:

nutanix@CVM: ncli container list

All the containers and their associated details will then be displayed. Search the list for the container you want to rename and type the following command (WARNING: do not modify “NutanixManagementShare” or “SelfServiceContainer”):

nutanix@CVM: ncli container edit name=CURRENT_NAME new-name=NEW_NAME

Replace “CURRENT_NAME” with the name automatically generated by the system when creating the container, and NEW_NAME with the name you want to assign to this container, without putting any spaces or special characters other than the – and the _

Then check that your container has been correctly renamed with the command:

nutanix@CVM: ncli container list

Activate the data optimization mechanisms

Go to “Storage”, find the container you just renamed, select it and click on “Update”.

In the window that appears, click on “Advanced settings” and check the “Compression” box.

Click “Save” to validate your changes.

It is not recommended to enable ALL data optimization mechanisms on a single container.

The best practice is to create different containers with data optimization mechanisms adapted to the disks of the VMs that you will position on them.

Compression can be enabled in almost all use cases, except on:

• containers containing encrypted data
• containers containing compressed data

Erasure Coding is recommended in the following use cases:

• Nutanix Object
• Backups
• Archives
• File servers
• Log servers
• Mail servers (depending on usage)

Finally, deduplication should be reserved for the VDI part (virtual desktops).

Official documentation: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/solutions/details?targetId=TN-2032-Data-Efficiency:data-reduction.html

Enable “Rebuild Capacity Reservation”

Enabling this feature allows you to reserve enough storage so that your cluster can continue to operate normally even if a node fails. This automatically excludes clusters of 1 or 2 nodes.

To enable this option, go to “Settings > Rebuild Capacity Reservation” and check the box:

Official documentation : https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v6_8:wc-storage-rebuild-capacity-reserve-wc-c.html