Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is built on AOS, the base operating system that packages storage, compute, security, and networking resources. AOS runs as a Controller Virtual Machine (CVM) on top of a hypervisor and provides the data services that make a Nutanix cluster function. The three foundational components of AOS are AOS Storage, the App Mobility Fabric (AMF), and AHV. Each component is designed for a distinct role: AOS Storage handles data services and capacity optimization, AMF enables application and VM mobility across environments, and AHV provides native enterprise-grade virtualization at no additional license cost. Prism serves as the control and management plane for NCI. Prism Element manages a single cluster through the web console and is the interface used for day-to-day tasks such as creating VMs, configuring storage containers, and running health checks. Prism Central is a separate VM that aggregates management across multiple clusters, providing cross-cluster visibility, policy management, and access to advanced features. Life Cycle Manager (LCM) is the dedicated component for firmware and software update management across all NCI entities; it tracks versions, manages dependencies automatically, and supports both connected and dark site upgrade scenarios. Aligning a component with its use case means selecting the right NCI layer for a given task. AOS Storage is the right component when the need involves data services such as deduplication, compression, erasure coding, intelligent tiering, or data protection. AHV is the correct component for virtualization tasks such as VM creation, live migration, high availability, and dynamic scheduling (ADS). Prism Element addresses single-cluster management tasks while Prism Central is used for multi-cluster management and policy enforcement. LCM is the correct component whenever the task involves updating or inventorying firmware or software on cluster nodes.
AOS is the core data plane; it installs as a CVM on each node and provides storage, networking, and compute services to the hypervisor layer.
AHV is the Nutanix native hypervisor based on KVM; its use cases include enterprise VM management, live migration, high availability, dynamic scheduling, and optional Flow networking, all included at no additional license cost.
Prism Element is the per-cluster web console used for single-cluster administration, while Prism Central is a separately deployed VM used for multi-cluster management, policy enforcement, and advanced operations.
Life Cycle Manager (LCM) is the correct component for all firmware and software update tasks; it manages dependency ordering, supports dark site upgrades via DUO, and is accessible from both Prism Element and Prism Central.
The App Mobility Fabric (AMF) is the NCI component that enables VM placement, live migration, cross-hypervisor high availability, and hypervisor conversion use cases.
AOS Storage use cases include intelligent tiering between SSD and HDD tiers, capacity optimization through deduplication and erasure coding, and data protection through snapshot-based replication.