What does it cost?
The NCA-AIIO exam costs $125.
Exam fee
$125
Source: NVIDIA exam page
NVIDIA exam
NCA-AIIO Exam facts
NVIDIA-Certified Associate: AI Infrastructure and Operations
- Questions
- 50
- Minutes
- 60
- Exam fee
- $125
Independent: not affiliated with NVIDIA. These exam facts are free; the study bundle adds a study guide and two practice exams.
Short answer
NCA-AIIO is the exam for the NVIDIA-Certified Associate: AI Infrastructure and Operations certification, for infrastructure and operations staff new to AI. The exam has 50 questions in 60 minutes and costs $125.
Sources: exam page, exam guide (PDF)
Published NVIDIA facts for NCA-AIIO on one page. Last updated
Study bundle
Prepare for NCA-AIIO
$19
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Your receipt has a license key. Enter it at overqual.com/download for the three PDFs, stamped with your email and order number. They are yours to keep.
Try 5 free sample questions first See 3 pages inside
- A 56-page study guide: every exam domain, weighted like the exam
- Two practice exams: 100 original questions, every answer explained
- Every bundle includes 6 months of access: download the PDFs, and any new editions, until 6 months after your purchase date.
Edition 1.0, October 2026
How many questions and how long?
The NCA-AIIO exam has 50 questions in 60 minutes.
Source: NVIDIA exam page
The exam
- Questions
- 50
- Time
- 60 minutes
- Languages
- English
What score do you need to pass?
NVIDIA does not publish a passing score for NCA-AIIO.
Source: NVIDIA exam page
What does the exam cover?
The NCA-AIIO exam covers three domains, weighted 38% / 40% / 22%.
Source: NVIDIA exam guide (PDF)
D138%
Essential AI Knowledge
D240%
AI Infrastructure
D322%
AI Operations
Essential AI Knowledge
- 1.1The NVIDIA software stack
- 1.2Training versus inference requirements
- 1.3AI, ML and DL
- 1.4Why AI improved so fast
- 1.5Use cases and industries
- 1.6What NVIDIA's solutions are for
- 1.7Software across the development and deployment life cycle
- 1.8GPU versus CPU architecture
AI Infrastructure
- 2.1Hardware for training use cases
- 2.2Scaling GPU infrastructure
- 2.3Power and cooling concepts and specifications
- 2.4On-premises versus cloud
- 2.5Components of an accelerated cluster
- 2.6Facility requirements
- 2.7Networking requirements for AI
- 2.8Data center protocols and concepts
- 2.9High-speed network options
- 2.10What a DPU is for
AI Operations
- 3.1Data center management and monitoring
- 3.2Cluster orchestration and job scheduling
- 3.3Measures and criteria for monitoring GPUs
- 3.4Considerations for virtualizing accelerated infrastructure
Inside the study bundle
Study guide chapters
Nine chapters. Chapters 3 to 6 cover the three exam domains, weighted like the exam.
- 01 What the exam is p. 3
- 02 The NVIDIA infrastructure stack: a map of the layers p. 8
- 03 Essential AI knowledge: workloads, GPUs and the software stack p. 14
- 04 AI infrastructure: GPUs, systems, scaling, power and facilities p. 21
- 05 AI infrastructure: networking, DPUs and storage p. 29
- 06 AI operations: management, monitoring, scheduling and virtualization p. 36
- 07 Final review p. 47
- 08 Sources p. 54
- 09 Edition and updates p. 56
Look inside the study guide
Three pages of the Edition 1.0 study guide: the contents, the first page of a domain chapter and a page further into it.
What is free here, and what is in the bundle?
The exam facts and 5 sample questions are free on this site. The study guide chapters and the two practice exams are in the bundle.
| Item | Free on this site | In the bundle |
|---|---|---|
| Exam facts and change log | Yes, with links to the NVIDIA sources | Chapter 1 of the study guide sums up the exam's format and scoring. |
| 5 sample questions | Yes | No. None of the 5 appear in the practice exams. |
| Domain chapters and final review | No | Yes, in the study guide |
| Two practice exams with answer keys | No | Yes, 100 questions with an explanation for every answer |
Questions before you buy
Is this official?
No, the NCA-AIIO bundle is not official. Overqual is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by NVIDIA.
Does it include real exam questions?
No, the NCA-AIIO bundle contains no exam questions, and every practice question is original.
How is the NCA-AIIO bundle different from NVIDIA's free materials?
NVIDIA's free pages set out what the NCA-AIIO exam covers. The NCA-AIIO bundle adds a 56-page study guide that covers every exam domain, and two practice exams with 100 original questions, every answer explained. When NVIDIA revises the exam, a new edition follows if the changes warrant it, included while your access lasts.
How do I get updates?
Updates to the NCA-AIIO bundle arrive as new editions. Every bundle includes 6 months of access: download the PDFs, and any new editions, until 6 months after your purchase date. Download each new edition at overqual.com/download with the license key from your receipt email. The change log on the exam facts page says what changed.
Can I get a refund?
No. Sales of the NCA-AIIO bundle are final, because downloaded PDFs cannot be returned. Read the free exam facts and try the 5 free sample questions first. If a download fails or you paid twice by mistake, contact Overqual to have the download fixed or the second payment refunded.
What score do you need to pass NCA-AIIO?
NCA-AIIO is scored pass/fail, and NVIDIA publishes no passing score: the certification hub's FAQ says "NVIDIA certification exams are pass/fail. You won't receive a score." For most NVIDIA exams, the hub adds, results appear on screen at the end of the exam and by email within 24 hours, and the digital badge is accepted in Credly. Source: NVIDIA certification hub.
Do you have to take NVIDIA's course before NCA-AIIO?
No, NCA-AIIO requires no course: its only stated prerequisite is "a basic understanding of data center infrastructure." The exam page's certification learning path is one self-paced course, AI Infrastructure and Operations Fundamentals, with a typical completion time of seven hours, and NVIDIA's study guide labels it "Recommended Training (Optional)" and lists the course units for each domain. Sources: NVIDIA exam page, NVIDIA study guide (PDF).
How does NCA-AIIO differ from the NCP-AII and NCP-AIO professional exams?
NCA-AIIO is the associate exam, one hour long, and in NVIDIA's words "an entry-level credential that validates the foundational concepts of AI computing related to infrastructure and operations." NVIDIA's certification hub lists it under AI Infrastructure with four professional exams of two hours each: NCP-AII, AI Infrastructure, to "deploy, configure, and validate advanced NVIDIA AI infrastructure"; NCP-AIO, AI Operations, to "monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize NVIDIA AI infrastructure"; NCP-AIN, AI Networking; and NCP-ARI, AI Rack and Interconnect. The hub states no prerequisite between the associate and professional exams. Sources: NVIDIA exam page, NVIDIA certification hub.
Ready for NCA-AIIO?
Three PDFs, 96 pages: the study guide and two practice exams.
Which NVIDIA products and technologies does NVIDIA's NCA-AIIO study guide name?
The 22 NCA-AIIO objectives name no individual NVIDIA product: they refer to the NVIDIA software stack (1.1), NVIDIA solutions (1.6) and DPUs (2.10). The products and technologies below are the ones NVIDIA's study guide names in its suggested readings and trademark notice. Objective 1.6 asks you to explain the purpose and use case of various NVIDIA solutions, so know what each one is for.
Systems and interconnect
- DGX H100 system
- DGX SuperPOD
- NVLink and NVSwitch
Networking
- InfiniBand
- BlueField DPU
Software stack
- TensorRT
- GPU Operator
- Base Command
- DCGM
- Multi-Instance GPU (MIG)
Orchestration
- Kubernetes
- Slurm
- Containers
Kubernetes and containers are not NVIDIA products. Slurm is open-source software; NVIDIA acquired its lead developer, SchedMD, in December 2025. NVIDIA's study guide lists the Kubernetes documentation, SchedMD's Slurm overview and Docker's container page as suggested reading.
How is it delivered?
The NCA-AIIO exam is online with remote proctoring, through a Certiverse account.
- Delivery
- Online with remote proctoring, through a Certiverse account
- Languages
- English
- Prerequisites
- A basic understanding of data center infrastructure
- Validity
- Two years from issuance; recertification by retaking the exam
- Retakes
- 14-day waiting period; no more than five attempts per exam per year (12 months)
- Test aids
- No books, bags or electronic devices within reach during the exam
Source: NVIDIA exam page
Fact sheet
Show the 20 factsHide the facts
- Questions
- 50 Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Time
- 60 minutes Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Fee
- $125 Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Languages
- English Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Delivery
- Online with remote proctoring, through a Certiverse account Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Validity
- Two years from issuance; recertification by retaking the exam Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Prerequisites
- A basic understanding of data center infrastructure Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Retakes
- 14-day waiting period; no more than five attempts per exam per year (12 months) Source: NVIDIA page
- Test aids
- No books, bags or electronic devices within reach during the exam Source: NVIDIA page
- Domain weights
- D1 38% / D2 40% / D3 22% Source: NVIDIA exam guide (PDF)
- Objectives
- 22 numbered objectives: 1.1-1.8, 2.1-2.10 and 3.1-3.4 Source: NVIDIA exam guide (PDF)
- Scoring
- Pass/fail; no score is reported Source: NVIDIA page
- Results and badge
- For most exams, results on screen at the end of the exam and by email within 24 hours; the digital badge is accepted in Credly Source: NVIDIA page
- Scheduling
- Book up to 60 days ahead; cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours before the session Source: NVIDIA page
- Breaks
- No breaks during remotely proctored exams Source: NVIDIA page
- Proctoring
- A secure browser from the testing partner; your face, desk, workspace and voice are monitored and recorded; the name on your government-issued photo ID must match your registration Source: NVIDIA page
- Recommended training
- AI Infrastructure and Operations Fundamentals, self-paced, typical completion time seven hours Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Practice questions
- Practice questions in Learning Mode on the exam page, with immediate feedback: the correct answer, an explanation and a link to learn more Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Who NVIDIA lists
- Business-line owners, data center technicians, delivery and professional services engineers, DevOps engineers, IT managers, networking engineers, sales representatives, systems administration staff, solution architects, system architects Source: NVIDIA exam page
- Level
- Certification level: Associate; 'an entry-level credential that validates the foundational concepts of AI computing related to infrastructure and operations' Source: NVIDIA exam page
What has changed, and when?
No changes to the exam yet. New ones are listed here with their NVIDIA source.
To watch NVIDIA directly, check the exam page.