When following best practices, what must the solution architect consider when sizing an upgrade for an existing ECS cluster without adding additional nodes?

Question

Options

• AOnly add drives of the same capacity within the node.
• BReplace all the drives with higher capacity drives.
• CAdd different capacity drives within the node.
• DDisable data replication to free up storage space.

• A
  89% (50)
• B
  7% (4)
• C
  2% (1)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

Option A is correct because Dell EMC ECS (Elastic Cloud Storage) uses erasure coding and distributed storage algorithms that require drive uniformity within a node. Adding drives of the same capacity ensures balanced data distribution, predictable storage calculations, and optimal performance - all key best practices for a same-node upgrade.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (Replace all drives with higher capacity): Replacing existing drives is disruptive, costly, and requires data migration - far more invasive than a sizing upgrade and not "adding capacity without adding nodes."
• C (Add different capacity drives): Mixed drive capacities within a node cause uneven data distribution and storage inefficiency; ECS cannot fully utilize the larger drives when paired with smaller ones.
• D (Disable data replication): Disabling replication sacrifices fault tolerance and data protection - never a recommended best practice in any storage architecture.

Memory tip: Think "match the stack" - in distributed object storage, consistency within a node is king. If you can't remember which option is right, ask yourself: what causes the least disruption and maintains uniformity? That's always going to be same-size drives.

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