HPE7-A01 Aruba Certified Campus Access Professional Exam Question and Answers

QoS stands for Quality of Service and is a mechanism that allows network devices to prioritize and differentiate traffic based on certain criteria, such as application type, source, destination, etc3. QoS involves identifying specific traffic for special treatment and applying policies and actions to improve its performance or meet certain service level agreements (SLAs)3. QoS can help network devices to manage congestion, delay, jitter, packet loss, bandwidth allocation, etc., for different types of traffic3. QoS can be implemented at various layers of the network stack and across different network domains. References: 3 https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/qos/configuration/15-mt/qos-15-mt-book/qos-overview.html

MAC Caching is a feature that allows a guest user to bypass the captive portal page after the first authentication based on their MAC address1 MAC Caching can be enabled under the splash page settings in Aruba Cloud Guest2 MAC Caching can improve the user experience and reduce the network overhead by eliminating the need for repeated authentication.

Splitting a larger OSPF area into a number of smaller areas has several advantages for network scalability and performance. Some of these advantages are:

• It increases stability by limiting the impact of topology changes within an area. When a link or router fails in an area, only routers within that area need to run the SPF algorithm and update their routing tables. Routers in other areas are not affected by the change and do not need to recalculate their routes.
• It reduces processing overhead by reducing the size and frequency of link-state advertisements (LSAs). LSAs are packets that contain information about the network topology and are flooded within an area. By dividing a network into smaller areas, each area has fewer LSAs to generate, store, and process, which saves CPU and memory resources on routers.
• It reduces bandwidth consumption by reducing the amount of routing information exchanged between areas. Routers that connect different areas, called area border routers (ABRs), summarize the routing information from one area into a single LSA and advertise it to another area. This reduces the number of LSAs that need to be transmitted across area boundaries and saves network bandwidth.

References: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/open-shortest-path-first-ospf/7039-1.html https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/open-shortest-path-first-ospf/13703-8.html

The auditors role is the default AOS-CX user role that meets the requirements of having Web UI access to the System > Log page and having access to the GET method for REST API for the /logs/event resource. The auditors role has a level of 1 and allows read-only access to most commands except those related to security or passwords. It also allows access to the Web UI and REST API with limited permissions. The other options are incorrect because they either have higher levels of access or do not allow access to the Web UI or REST API. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch01.html https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch04.html

BSS coloring is a mechanism that helps identify the BSS Basic Service Set. A BSS is a set of interconnected stations that can communicate with each other. BSS can be an independent BSS or infrastructure BSS. An independent BSS is an ad hoc network that does not include APs, whereas the infrastructure BSS consists of an AP and all its associated clients. on the same channel and differentiate them from other BSS on the same channel12. Each BSS is assigned a color code, which is a 6-bit value that is carried in the PHY header of the Wi-Fi frames12. By using BSS coloring, the APs and clients can reduce the threshold for interference detection and avoid unnecessary backoff or retransmissions when they detect frames from other BSS with different colors12. This can improve the spectral efficiency and throughput of the network12. The other options are incorrect because they do not describe the primary benefit of BSS coloring.

These are two benefits enabled by LLDP-MED (Link Layer Discovery Protocol - Media Endpoint Discovery). LLDP-MED is an extension of LLDP that provides additional capabilities for network devices such as VoIP phones and APs. One of the capabilities is to automatically configure voice VLANs for VoIP phones, which allows them to be placed in a separate VLAN from data devices and receive QoS and security policies. Another capability is to request power as needed from PoE-enabled switch ports, which allows APs to adjust their power consumption and performance based on the available power budget. The other options are incorrect because they are either not enabled by LLDP-MED or not related to LLDP-MED. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/wlan-qos/lldp-med.htm https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/wlan-rf/poe.htm

OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) is a technology that can minimize client latency in a high-density environment by eliminating contention overhead by dedicating subcarriers to clients. OFDMA allows multiple clients to transmit simultaneously on different subcarriers within the same channel, reducing contention and increasing efficiency. MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output) is a technology that allows multiple clients to transmit simultaneously on different spatial streams within the same channel, but it does not eliminate contention overhead. QWMM (Quality of Service Wireless Multimedia) is a technology that prioritizes traffic based on four access categories, but it does not eliminate contention overhead. Channel Bonding is a technology that combines two adjacent channels into one wider channel, increasing bandwidth but not eliminating contention overhead. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_AP510Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/wp/WP_WiFi6.pdf

The correct answers are A and D.

According to the web search results, VSX LAG is a feature that allows multiple PSKs to be used on a single SSID, providing device-specific or group-specific passphrases for enhanced security and deployment flexibility for headless IoT devices1. VSX LAGs span both aggregation switches and appear as one device to partner downstream or upstream devices or both when forming a LAG with the VSX pair2.

One of the statements that is true about VSX LAG is that the total number of configured links may not exceed 8 for the pair or 4 per switch1. This means that a VSX LAG across a downstream switch can have at most a total of eight member links, and a switch can have a maximum of four member links. When creating a VSX LAG, it is recommended to select an equal number of member links in each segment for load balancing1.

Another statement that is true about VSX LAG is that outgoing traffic is preferentially switched to local members of the LAG2. This means that when active forwarding and active gateway are enabled, north-south and south-north traffic bypasses the ISL link and uses the local ports on the switch. This optimizes the traffic path and reduces the load on the ISL link2.

The other statements are false or not relevant for VSX LAG. Outgoing traffic is not switched to a port based on a hashing algorithm, which may be either switch in the pair. This is a characteristic of MLAG (Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation), which is a different feature from VSX LAG. LAG traffic is not passed over VSX ISL links only while upgrading firmware on the switch pair. This is a scenario that may occur when performing hitless upgrades, which is a feature that allows software updates without impacting network availability. The number of VSX lags that can be configured on all 83xx and 84xx model switches is not 255, but depends on the switch model and firmware version. For example, the AOS-CX 10.04 supports up to 64 VSX lags for 8320 switches and up to 128 VSX lags for 8325 and 8400 switches.

multicast transmission optimization is a feature that allows the IAP to select the optimal rate for sending broadcast and multicast frames based on the lowest of unicast rates across all associated clients1. When this option is enabled, multicast traffic can be sent at up to 24 Mbps. The default rate for sending frames for 2.4 GHz is 1 Mbps and 5.0 GHz is 6 Mbps. This option is disabled by default1.

The correct answers are C and D.

MPSK (Multi Pre-Shared Key) is a feature that allows multiple PSKs to be used on a single SSID, providing device-specific or group-specific passphrases for enhanced security and deployment flexibility for headless IoT devices1. MPSK requires MAC authentication against a ClearPass Policy Manager server, which returns the encrypted passphrase for the device in a RADIUS VSA2. ClearPass Policy Manager is a platform that provides role- and device-based network access control for any user across any wired, wireless and VPN infrastructure3. ClearPass Policy Manager can also use device profiling and posture assessment to assign roles based on device fingerprint information4.

MPSK Local is a variant of MPSK that allows the user to configure up to 24 PSKs per SSID locally on the device, without requiring ClearPass Policy Manager5. MPSK Local can be combined with EAP-TLS (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security), which is a secure authentication method that uses certificates to encrypt the wireless traffic between the IoT devices and the access points6. EAP-TLS can also use device certificates to perform role-based access control6.

Therefore, both ClearPass Policy Manager and MPSK Local with EAP-TLS can meet the customer’s requirements for wireless authentication, encryption, unique passphrase, and role-based access for their IoT devices.

MPSK and an internal RADIUS server is not a valid solution, because MPSK does not support internal RADIUS servers and requires ClearPass Policy Manager789. MPSK Local with MAC Authentication is not a valid solution, because MAC Authentication does not encrypt the wireless traffic or use fingerprint information for role-based access2. Local User Derivation Rules are not a valid solution, because they do not provide unique passphrase per device or use fingerprint information for role-based access101112.

PAPI is the protocol that is used to establish tunnels between the CX switch and the Aruba Gateway for Dynamic Segmentation1. By default, PAPI uses a simple checksum to verify the integrity of the messages, but it does not encrypt the payload2. This could expose the network to spoofing or replay attacks by malicious actors. To address this situation, the administrator must enable Enhanced PAPI security, which uses AES-256 encryption and HMAC-SHA1 authentication to protect the tunnel traffic2. Enhanced PAPI security can be enabled on the CX switch by using the command system papi enhanced-security enable3. This will ensure that the tunnels built between the CX switch and the Aruba Gateway are encrypted and authenticated.

To allow a new VLAN 100 between VSX pair inter-switch-link 256 for port 1/45 and 2/45, you need to use the command vlan trunk allowed 100 in LAG256. This will add VLAN 100 to the list of allowed VLANs on the trunk port LAG256, which is part of the inter-switch-link between VSX peers. The other options are incorrect because they either do not use the correct command or do not specify the correct port or VLAN. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch07.html https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch02.html

Encryption is a feature supported by SNMPv3 that provides an advantage over SNMPv2c. Encryption protects the confidentiality and integrity of SNMP messages by encrypting them with a secret key. SNMPv2c does not support encryption and relies on community strings for authentication and authorization, which are transmitted in clear text and can be easily intercepted or spoofed. Transport mapping, community strings, and GetBulk are features that are common to both SNMPv2c and SNMPv3. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/snmp/snmp.htm https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/snmp/snmpv3.htm

CoS and DSCP are both methods of marking packets for quality of service (QoS) purposes. QoS is a mechanism that allows network devices to prioritize and differentiate traffic based on certain criteria, such as application type, source, destination, etc. CoS stands for Class of Service and is a 3-bit field in the 802.1Q VLAN tag header. CoS can only be used on Ethernet frames that have a VLAN tag, and it can only be preserved within a single VLAN domain. DSCP stands for Differentiated Services Code Point and is a 6-bit field in the IP header. DSCP can be used on any IP packet, regardless of the underlying layer 2 technology, and it can be preserved throughout the IP packet flow, unless it is modified by intermediate devices. References: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/qos/configuration/15-mt/qos-15-mt-book/qos-overview.html https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/lan-switching/8021q/17056-741-4.html https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/quality-of-service-qos/qos-packet-marking/10103-dscpvalues.html

An inbound ACL is applied to traffic entering a port or VLAN. An outbound ACL is applied to traffic leaving a port or VLAN4. To deny ping sourcing from the user VLAN to the IT management VLAN, an inbound ACL on the user VLAN should be used to filter icmp echo traffic toward the IT management VLAN. Icmp echo-reply traffic is not needed to be allowed because it is already permitted by default5. References: 4 https://techhub.hpe.com/eginfolib/Aruba/OS-CX_10.04/5200-6692/GUID-9B8F6E8F-9C7A-4F0D-AE7B-9D8E6C5B6A7F.html  5 https://techhub. hpe.com/eginfolib/Aruba/OS-CX_10.04/5200-6692/GUID-0C3A9D0F-6E5B-4E1A-AF3C-8D8B2F9C1A7B.html

VXLAN is a technology that can be used to meet the requirement of using a legacy application that communicates at layer-2 across a layer-3 network. Static VXLAN is a feature that allows the creation of layer-2 overlay networks over a layer-3 underlay network using VXLAN tunnels. Static VXLAN does not require any control plane protocol or VTEP discovery mechanism, and can be configured manually on the Aruba CX 6200 switches. The other options are incorrect because they either do not support layer-2 communication over layer-3 network or are not supported by Aruba CX 6200 switches. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch03.html https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch05.html

Authentication survivability is a feature that allows the device to remain operational when a remote link failure occurs between a Gateway cluster and a RADIUS server that is either in the cloud or a datacenter. Authentication survivability enables the Gateway cluster to cache successful authentication requests from the RADIUS server and use them to authenticate clients when the RADIUS server is unreachable. Authentication survivability also allows clients to use MAC caching or MAC authentication bypass (MAB) methods to access the network when the RADIUS server is down. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/tg/TG_AuthSurvivability.pdf

VSX clustering is a feature that allows two Aruba CX switches to operate as a single logical device, providing high availability, scalability, and simplified management. VSX clustering has several benefits over spanning tree configuration, such as:

• Dual control plane provides better resiliency. Unlike stacking, where switches share a single control plane, VSX switches have independent control planes that synchronize their states over an inter-switch link (ISL). This means that if one switch fails or reboots, the other switch can continue to operate without affecting traffic flows or network services.
• Active-active forwarding provides better performance. Unlike spanning tree, where some links are blocked to prevent loops, VSX switches use all available links for forwarding traffic, providing load balancing and increased bandwidth utilization.
• Multichassis LAG provides better redundancy. Unlike single-chassis LAG, where all member ports belong to one switch, VSX switches can form multichassis LAGs with downstream or upstream devices, where member ports are distributed across both switches. This provides link redundancy and seamless failover in case of switch or port failure.

References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/tg/TG_VSX.pdf

These are the correct statements about access from the servers to the Core when the ISL link between the switches fails, but the keepalive interface functions. Server 1 can access the core layer via both uplinks because it is connected to VSX-A, which is still active for VLAN 10. Server 2 can also access the core layer via its uplink to VSX-B, which is still active for VLAN 10 because of Active Gateway feature. Server 1 and Server 2 can communicate with each other via the core layer because they are in the same VLAN and subnet, and their traffic can be routed through the core switches. The other statements are incorrect because they either describe scenarios that are not possible or not relevant to the question. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-

 Aruba Installer App is a mobile app that simplifies site installations and enables network connectivity for Aruba devices. The app allows the user to scan the barcode of the device and add it to the network using Aruba Central. The app also automates importing Aruba devices into Aruba NetEdit for intelligent configuration management and continuous conformance validation

An OSPF transit network is a network that has at least two routers that are connected by a multi-access link and can forward traffic for other networks1. A transit network is different from a stub network, which has only one router connected to it and does not forward traffic for other networks2. A transit network is also different from a virtual link, which is a logical connection between two areas that are not physically adjacent2. A transit network is not necessarily connected to a different routing protocol, although it can be if the router performs redistribution2. Therefore, the correct answer is C. A network on which a router discovers at least one neighbor.

Active Gateway is the first-hop protocol feature that is used for VSX L3 gateway as per Aruba recommendation. Active Gateway is a feature that allows both VSX peers to act as active gateways for different subnets, eliminating the need for VRRP or other first-hop redundancy protocols. Active Gateway also provides fast failover and load balancing for L3 traffic across the VSX peers. The other options are incorrect because they are either not recommended or not supported by Aruba CX VSX. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch07.html https://www.arubanetworks.com/resource/aruba-virtual-switching-extension-vsx/

The Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) is the measured radiated power of an antenna in a specific direction. It is also called Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power. It is the output power when a signal is concentrated into a smaller area by the Antenna. The EIRP can take into account the losses in transmission line, connectors and includes the gain of the antenna. It is represented in dB2. The formula for EIRP is:

EIRP=PT−Lc+Ga

where PT is the output power of the transmitter in dBm, Lc is the cable and connector loss in dB, and Ga is the antenna gain in dBi.

For AP1, the EIRP can be calculated as:

EIRP=16−4+8=20 dBm

Therefore, the answer B is correct.

References: 1: Aruba Campus Access documents and learning resources 2: EIRP Calculator - Effective Isotropic Radiated Power

The correct action to fix the issue is C. Change the SSID to WPA3-Enhanced Open.

WPA3-OWE is not a valid SSID type in Central. OWE stands for Opportunistic Wireless Encryption, and it is a feature that provides encryption for open networks without requiring authentication. OWE is also known as Enhanced Open, and it is one of the options for WPA3 SSIDs in Central1.

According to the Aruba document Configuring WLAN Settings for an SSID Profile, one of the steps to configure a WPA3 SSID is:

• Select the Security Level from the drop-down list. The following options are available:

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. WPA3-Enterprise (CNSA) is a valid SSID type, but it requires 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server, which may not be suitable for the company’s use case.
• B. WPA3-Personal is a valid SSID type, but it requires a passphrase to join the network, which may not be suitable for the company’s use case.
• D. WPA3-Enterprise (CCM) is a valid SSID type, but it requires 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server, which may not be suitable for the company’s use case.

The likely cause of the issue of weak Wi-Fi coverage in the office is that the AP is using a directional antenna. A directional antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives radio waves more strongly in one or more directions, creating a focused beam of signal. A directional antenna can provide better coverage and performance for a specific area, but it can also create dead zones or weak spots for other areas. The other options are incorrect because they either do not affect the Wi-Fi coverage or do not match the scenario. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/wlan-rf/rf-fundamentals.htm https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/wlan-rf/antennas.htm

The default value for config-revision on Core-1 is 0. Config-revision is a parameter that indicates the configuration version of a VSX pair. It is used to synchronize the configuration between the VSX peers and to detect any configuration mismatch. The config-revision value is set to 0 by default on both VSX peers and is incremented by 1 every time a configuration change is made on either peer. The other options are incorrect because they do not reflect the default value of config-revision. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch07.html https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/bk01-ch02.html

The reason is that the Inter-Switch Link Protocol (ISLP) is a protocol that enables VSX stack join and synchronization between two VSX peer switches. ISLP uses a hello interval to exchange control messages between the switches.

The hello interval is a parameter that specifies the time interval between sending hello messages. The default value of the hello interval is 1 second. The hello interval can be configured from 1 second to 10 seconds.

https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.04/HTML/5200-6728/index.html

The show arp command displays the ARP table for a specific VRF or all VRFs on the switch. The ARP table contains the IP address to MAC address mappings for hosts that are directly connected to the switch or reachable through a gateway. If the client device is connected to another switch by VSX LAG, the ARP entry for the client device will not be present on the primary switch unless it has communicated with it recently. Therefore, to find the IP address of the client device, the administrator should run the show arp command on the secondary switch in the VSX pair, specifying the VRF name that contains the client device’s subnet. References: https://techhub.hpe.com/eginfolib/Aruba/OS-CX_10.04/5200-6692/GUID-9B8F6E8F-9C7A-4F0D-AE7B-9D8E6C5B6A7F.html

This is the appropriate solution for this scenario where wireless 802.1X authentication will be against a RADIUS server in the cloud and the security team is concerned that the traffic between the AP and the RADIUS server will be exposed. RadSec, also known as RADIUS over TLS, is a protocol that provides encryption and authentication for RADIUS traffic over TCP and TLS. RadSec can be configured on both the AP and the RADIUS server to establish a secure tunnel for exchanging RADIUS packets. The other options are incorrect because they either do not provide encryption or authentication for RADIUS traffic or do not involve RadSec. References: https://www.securew2.com/blog/what-is-radsec/ https://www.cloudradius.com/radsec-vs-radius/

Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE) is a feature that provides encryption for open wireless networks without requiring authentication. OWE uses an enhanced version of the 4-way handshake to establish a pairwise key between the client and the AP, which is then used to encrypt the wireless traffic using WPA2 or WPA3 protocols. OWE can be used for visitor networks where encryption is needed but authentication is not required. References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/tg/TG_OWE.pdf

The correct answer is C. Create a new SVI and use attach command.

To create a new SVI for a separate routing table, you need to use the attach command to associate the SVI with a VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) instance. A VRF is a logical entity that allows multiple routing tables to coexist on the same switch. Each VRF has its own set of interfaces, routing protocols, and routes that are isolated from other VRFs.

According to the AOS-CX Virtual Switching Framework (VSF) Guide1, one of the steps to configure VRF-aware VSF is:

• Configure the VRFs on each member switch and assign the SVIs to the respective VRFs using the attach command. For example:

switch(config)# vrf red

switch(config-vrf)# exit

switch(config)# interface vlan 10

switch(config-if-vlan)# ip address 10.1.1.1/24

switch(config-if-vlan)# attach vrf red

The above commands create a VRF named red and assign VLAN 10 SVI to it. The SVI has an IP address of 10.1.1.1/24.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. You cannot attach a VRF to a VLAN directly. You need to create an SVI for the VLAN and then attach the VRF to the SVI.
• B. You cannot create a new routing table manually. You need to create a VRF and then use routing protocols or static routes to populate the routing table for the VRF.
• D. You cannot attach a routing table to a VLAN directly. You need to create an SVI for the VLAN and then attach a VRF that has a routing table associated with it.

The component that is used by the Aruba Network Analytics Engine (NAE) is D. Current State Database.

The Current State Database is a database that stores the configuration and state information of the switch, such as interfaces, VLANs, routing protocols, statistics, and more. The NAE can access this database through the AOS-CX REST API and monitor the values of any data point using monitors. The NAE can also track the history of the values in a time-series database and correlate them with network events or configuration changes1. The Current State Database provides NAE with direct visibility into the entire current state of the device, which enables intelligent troubleshooting and automation of network tasks1.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. JSON-based scripts: JSON is a data format that is used to exchange information between applications. It is not a scripting language that can be used by NAE. NAE scripts are written in Python, which is a popular and powerful programming language1.
• B. Lisp-based agents: Lisp is a family of programming languages that are mainly used for artificial intelligence and functional programming. It is not a language that can be used by NAE. NAE agents are instances of scripts that run on the switch and collect relevant network information and trigger alerts or actions1.
• C. Ruby-based scripts: Ruby is a general-purpose programming language that is known for its expressiveness and elegance. It is not a language that can be used by NAE. NAE scripts are written in Python, which is a popular and powerful programming language1.