You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
NETAPPNetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect)
The NetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect) certification validates your ability to design, architect, and manage hybrid cloud data solutions that integrate on-premises and cloud environments. It is intended for experienced architects who design and implement NetApp hybrid cloud architectures. Earning this credential demonstrates your expertise in optimizing data management, availability, and performance across hybrid cloud infrastructures.
Exam formatScenario-based questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions408
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What NetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect) proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
8domains
16objectives
119concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The NetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect) certification is designed for IT professionals who architect and implement hybrid cloud solutions using NetApp technologies. This certification validates your ability to design and manage data storage and cloud integration strategies that meet business requirements for performance, availability, and cost efficiency.
Candidates for this certification are expected to have deep knowledge of NetApp hybrid cloud solutions, including ONTAP, Cloud Volumes, and related technologies. The certification demonstrates your expertise in architecting solutions that span on-premises and cloud environments, ensuring seamless data mobility, protection, and governance.
Who it’s for
This certification is for cloud architects, solutions architects, and IT professionals who design and implement hybrid cloud data architectures using NetApp technologies. It is ideal for those who have experience with NetApp storage systems and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Candidates should be comfortable with designing data storage solutions, integrating on-premises and cloud environments, and understanding data protection and disaster recovery strategies. This certification is for professionals who want to validate their expertise in hybrid cloud architecture and advance their careers.
Recommended experience
NetApp recommends that candidates have six to twelve months of experience with NetApp hybrid cloud solutions and a strong understanding of cloud architecture principles. Experience with NetApp ONTAP and Cloud Volumes; Understanding of hybrid cloud architecture and data management; Knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud; Experience with data protection, disaster recovery, and data migration
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective NetApp measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official NetApp exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Customer Requirements
- Cloud solutions
- Cloud cost management considerations
- NetApp cloud solutions
NetApp Hybrid Cloud Solutions
- NetApp Cloud Storage portfolio
- NetApp Cloud Services portfolio
- NetApp Cloud Controls portfolio
Hybrid Cloud Architecture
- Architectural components
Business Continuity and Data Protection
- Designing for availability
- Designing for durability
Networking
- Networking requirements for NetApp hybrid cloud solutions
- Hybrid cloud network topologies
Sizing and Scale
- Workload characteristics for different business requirements
- NetApp hybrid cloud storage solutions
Security
- NetApp hybrid cloud control planes
- Security considerations for a NetApp hybrid cloud environment
Monitoring
- NetApp hybrid cloud solutions
On the day
The exam itself
Everything NetApp publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationNetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect)
Exam formatScenario-based questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish, Japanese
Certification levelExpert
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path NetApp lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to NetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect)
Credential earnedNetApp Certified Hybrid Cloud Architect Expert (NCHC-Architect) Expert level certification Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. NetApp maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by NetApp
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, NetApp’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official NetApp certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the NCHC-Architect exam relate to other NetApp certifications?
The NCHC-Architect is an Expert-level certification that builds on foundational NetApp knowledge. It is part of NetApp's tiered certification program, and while no specific prerequisite certification is required, it is recommended that candidates have experience with NetApp hybrid cloud solutions.
Is the NCHC-Architect exam available online?
Yes, the NCHC-Architect exam can be taken online through Pearson VUE's OnVUE platform, or at a Pearson VUE test center. Online testing requires a stable internet connection, a webcam, and a distraction-free environment.
What are the online proctoring requirements for the NCHC-Architect exam?
For online testing, you must have a computer with Windows 10 or macOS 14 or higher, a working webcam and microphone, and a stable internet connection. You must also have a private, distraction-free space and present a valid government-issued ID during check-in.
Can I reschedule or cancel my NCHC-Architect exam appointment?
Yes, you can reschedule or cancel your exam appointment through Pearson VUE, but you must do so at least 24 hours before your scheduled appointment to avoid a fee.
What is the retake policy for the NCHC-Architect exam?
If you fail the exam, you must wait a certain period before retaking it. The specific waiting period is not published on the official exam page, but Pearson VUE typically enforces a 14-day waiting period for retakes.
Are there any hands-on labs or performance-based questions in the NCHC-Architect exam?
The NCHC-Architect exam consists of scenario-based questions that test your architectural knowledge and ability to apply NetApp solutions in real-world situations. There are no hands-on labs or performance-based tasks.
What job roles does the NCHC-Architect certification map to?
The NCHC-Architect certification is designed for cloud architects, solutions architects, and IT professionals who design and implement hybrid cloud data architectures using NetApp technologies.
How soon will I receive my exam results for the NCHC-Architect exam?
Exam results are typically available immediately after completing the exam, and you will receive a score report. A detailed score breakdown may be provided, but the official page does not specify the exact format.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 408 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept NetApp measures — each one written out.
8domains
16objectives
119concepts
87free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official NetApp exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Customer Requirements76 questions
2NetApp Hybrid Cloud Solutions71 questions
3Hybrid Cloud Architecture30 questions
4Business Continuity and Data Protection45 questions
5Networking40 questions
6Sizing and Scale53 questions
7Security60 questions
8Monitoring33 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Cloud solutions6 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
30 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
408 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
408questions
87pages
16objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Customer Requirements76 questions
2NetApp Hybrid Cloud Solutions71 questions
3Hybrid Cloud Architecture30 questions
4Business Continuity and Data Protection45 questions
5Networking40 questions
6Sizing and Scale53 questions
7Security60 questions
8Monitoring33 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
119concepts
408free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from NetApp
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
119concepts mapped
The source
NetApp’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official NetApp outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 16 objectives, 119 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When NetApp changes the outline, this page changes with it.
16objectives on the outline→119concepts written→408free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.