HPE7-A06 HPE Campus Access Switching Expert Written Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

The question asks for the best practice for using Dynamic Segmentation.

Dynamic Segmentation Overview:It's an architecture that provides unified policy and segmentation for wired and wireless clients by combining role-based access control, traffic tunneling (like UBT), and overlay technologies (like VXLAN/GRE). Policies are enforced centrally, typically at an Aruba Gateway.

Analysis of Options:

A: UBT is a component, but Dynamic Segmentation encompasses more than just creating isolated networks with UBT.

B: Correctly describes the core principle: using a combination of role-based access (for definingwhogetswhatpolicy) and overlay technologies (for transporting traffic to the policy enforcement point and providing segmentation). This creates a layered security approach.

C: Incorrect. A key benefit isunifiedpolicy across both wired and wireless access.

D: LUR and DUR are role types, but how they are assigned isn't the fundamental description of Dynamic Segmentation itself.

Conclusion:Option B accurately captures the essence of Dynamic Segmentation as a best practice approach, integrating role-based policies with overlay networking for secure, unified access control.

The correct order is:

identify

analyze

hypothesize

validate

implement

verify

This question requires arranging standard troubleshooting steps into a logical sequence. A systematic approach is crucial for effective network troubleshooting.

identify:The first step is always to clearly identify and define the problem. What are the symptoms? Who is affected? What is the scope? When did it start? Understanding the problem precisely is essential before proceeding.

analyze:Once the problem is identified, gather relevant data and analyze the situation. This involves checking logs, looking at configurations, examining network topology diagrams, checking status commands, and potentially capturing packets. This analysis helps build context around the identified issue.

hypothesize:Based on the identification and analysis, form a hypothesis (or multiple hypotheses) about the probable cause of the problem. This involves using technical knowledge and experience to theorize what might be wrong.

validate:Test the hypothesis to determine if it's correct. This step involves performing specific tests or checks designed to confirm or refute the theory. For example, if the hypothesis is a bad cable, test the cable. If it's a routing issue, check the routing table and perform trace routes. This step validates the cause before implementing a fix.

implement:Once the cause has been validated, implement the solution. This could involve replacing hardware, correcting configuration, clearing states, etc.

verify:After implementing the solution, verify that the original problem is resolved. It's also critical to check that the fix hasn't introduced any new issues. Monitor the system to ensure stability.

The error "No more than 16 vMACs can be configured" occurs when trying to configure active-gateway on multiple SVIs on a CX 8360 VSX pair. This indicates a platform limit on the number of unique virtual MAC addresses has been reached.

Active Gateway vMACs:Each SVI configured with Active Gateway requires a virtual MAC address (vMAC). While AOS-CX can auto-generate these, doing so consumes entries from a limited hardware pool (e.g., 16 on this platform/version).

Best Practice & Solution:The recommended best practice to conserve these limited vMAC resources is to manually specify andreuse the same virtual MAC addressacross all SVIs configured with Active Gateway on that specific VSX pair. Since MAC addresses are Layer 2 local, using the same vMAC on different SVIs (different L3 subnets) does not cause conflicts within the VSX pair's operation.

Analysis of Options:

A: Limiting the number of SVIs using Active Gateway is a workaround, not a solution.

B: Changing switch profiles doesn't typically alter hardware vMAC limits.

C: Changing to a higher-end switch model might increase limits but is not the first or standard solution.

D: Reusing the same VMAC across SVIs (active-gateway ip mac ) avoids consuming a new vMAC entry for each SVI, thus staying within the platform limit. This is the standard, recommended solution.

Conclusion:The correct approach to address the vMAC limit error is to explicitly configure the same virtual MAC address for all SVIs using the Active Gateway feature on the VSX pair.

The issue is that switches are taking a very long time to execute commands. The question points towards the AAA configuration as the context (though the specific configuration is missing).

AAA and Command Latency:When AAA servers (like TACACS+ or RADIUS) are used for authentication, authorization, or accounting, the switch must communicate with these servers.

Impact of Unreachable Servers:If the primary AAA server configured on the switch becomes unreachable (due to network issues, server downtime, or firewall rules), the switch will attempt to connect, wait for a configured timeout period (often several seconds), and only then potentially try a secondary server or fall back to local credentials (if configured). This connection attempt and timeout period occurring before command execution (if command authorization is enabled) or during login introduces significant delays.

Analysis of Options:

A: Too many administrators might strain resources, but AAA timeouts cause more predictable, long delays per action.

B: Authentication fail-through only comes into playafterthe primary server times out. The timeout itself causes the delay.

C: An unreachable primary TACACS+ (or RADIUS) server is a classic cause of slow logins and command execution delays due to connection timeouts.  

D: A DoS attack might cause general slowness but isn't specifically linked to the AAA configuration context provided.

Conclusion:The most likely cause, given the context of AAA configuration and the symptom of slow command execution, is that the primary configured AAA server (like TACACS+) is unreachable, causing the switch to wait for timeouts.  

To enable DHCP Endpoint Profiling, the switch needs to forward relevant DHCP packets from the client to the ClearPass server. The most common method is configuring the switch to act as a DHCP relay agent for the ClearPass server IP address on the client VLAN's Switched Virtual Interface (SVI).

In scenarios where port access control (like 802.1X or MAC Auth) is enabled, clients might need to send DHCP requestsbeforethey are fully authenticated. To allow this while maintaining security, a pre-authentication role with limited access (specifically allowing DHCP) can be applied to the port initially.

The logical sequence based on the provided steps, assuming a pre-authentication workflow is intended, is:

Create the role:Define the pre-authentication role container and associate it with the appropriate initial VLAN if needed.

Permit DHCP in the role:Apply an Access Control List (ACL) or policy to this role that permits the necessary DHCP traffic (UDP ports 67 and 68). The step provided only mentions UDP 67, which allows the client's initial Discover/Request packets towards the server/relay. (A complete solution requires allowing return traffic on UDP 68 as well).

Apply the role:Configure the client-facing physical interface to use this pre-authentication role before the final role is assigned post-authentication.

Configure DHCP Relay:Configure the ip helper-address command on the client's VLAN SVI. This instructs the switch to forward the DHCP packets it receives from clients in that VLAN to the ClearPass server (in addition to forwarding them to the actual DHCP server). ClearPass receives these packets and extracts information for profiling.

This sequence ensures that even before full authentication, DHCP is permitted, and the necessary packets are relayed to ClearPass for profiling.

The scenario involves a VSX pair (AGG-SW1/SW2) connected upstream to routers R1/R2. The goal is to configure the SVIs on the VSX switches facing these upstream routers optimally to avoid suboptimal L3 paths and unnecessary traffic over the VSX Inter-Switch Link (ISL).

VSX L3 Interface Options:

Active Gateway:Primarily designed for downstream SVIs to provide a redundant default gateway to clients/access switches. Not typically used for upstream routed interfaces.

Active Forwarding:Specifically designed for upstream routed interfaces (physical or SVIs) on a VSX pair. It allows both VSX members to actively route traffic arriving on that interface locally, without needing to forward L3 traffic across the ISL. This ensures optimal routing and utilizes both members effectively.

Unicast IP (Standard IP):Without specific VSX features, standard routing applies. This could lead to suboptimal paths if, for example, return traffic prefers one VSX switch, but the optimal path requires crossing the ISL.

VRRP:Can be run between VSX members but adds complexity and is generally superseded by Active Gateway (downstream) or Active Forwarding (upstream) in VSX designs.

Analysis of Options:

A. Configure active-forwarding: This enables local L3 forwarding on both VSX members for the upstream SVI, preventing unnecessary ISL traversal for routed traffic. This is the recommended best practice.

B. Configure unicast IP: Standard configuration, potentially leading to suboptimal paths/ISL usage.

C. Configure VRRP virtual-ip: Not the recommended approach for upstream links in VSX.

D. Configure active-gateway: Incorrect, Active Gateway is for downstream SVIs.

Conclusion:Using active-forwarding on the SVIs facing the upstream routers (R1/R2) is the HPE Aruba Networking recommended solution to ensure optimal routing and minimize L3 traffic across the ISL.

The question involves an OSPF router receiving both an E1 (External Type 1) and an E2 (External Type 2) advertisement for an external network with the same path cost. The task is to determine which path the router will prefer.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (ECMP):Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) is used when multiple paths have the same total cost, but E1 and E2 routes have different metric calculations, so ECMP does not apply here.

Option B (Prefer E2):Incorrect, as E2 routes are preferred only when E1 routes are not present or have a higher total cost.

Option C (Suppressed):OSPF does not suppress routes due to path conflicts; it selects the best path based on metrics.

Option D (Prefer E1):Correct. OSPF prefers E1 routes over E2 routes because E1 routes include the internal cost to the ASBR (Autonomous System Boundary Router) plus the external cost, providing a more accurate total cost.

Why Option D is Correct:In OSPF, external routes are advertised as E1 or E2. E1 routes include both the external cost (advertised by the ASBR) and the internal cost to reach the ASBR, making them more precise for path selection. E2 routes only consider the external cost and are the default for redistributed routes unless explicitly configured as E1. When an OSPF router receives both E1 and E2 routes with the same external cost, it prefers the E1 route because it accounts for the total path cost, including internal network topology. This is per OSPF standards (RFC 2328).

Relevance to Certification Objectives:

Routing (16%):Involves designing and troubleshooting OSPF routing topologies, including external route types (E1 vs. E2).

Troubleshooting (10%):Includes analyzing OSPF path selection to resolve routing issues.

The goal is to configure OSPF on a router so that it advertisesonlya 10.1.0.0/16 summary route for the specific SVIs (VLAN 11, 12, 13, assumed to be within the 10.1.x.x range) to its OSPF neighborswithin the same area(Area 0).

OSPF Intra-Area Behavior:A fundamental principle of OSPF (link-state protocols) is that all routers within the same area must have an identical Link State Database (LSDB) for that area. This means all routers learn about all the specific networks (Type-1 Router LSAs, Type-2 Network LSAs) within their area. OSPFv2 doesnotsupport summarizing routes in a way that hides specific network LSAs from other routerswithin the same area. Summarization occurs only at area boundaries (by ABRs using Type-3 Summary LSAs via the area range command) or for external routes redistributed into OSPF (by ASBRs using Type-5 External LSAs via the summary-address command).

Analysis of Options:

A) area 0 range 10.1.0.0/16:This command is used on an Area Border Router (ABR) to summarize routes originatingfromArea 0 when advertising theminto another area(e.g., the backbone). It does not affect LSA floodingwithinArea 0. It also includes redistribute connected, which is unrelated here.

B) summary-address 10.1.0.0/16:This command is used on an Autonomous System Boundary Router (ASBR) to summarizeexternalroutes being redistributed into OSPF. It is not used for summarizing internal OSPF routes like SVIs defined within an OSPF area.

C) & D) summary-address 10.1.0.0/16:Same issue as B; incorrect command for summarizing internal OSPF routes.

E) area 0 range 10.1.0.0/16:Similar to A, this uses the area range command. It correctly shows the SVIs configured for OSPF Area 0 first. However, like A, this command performs inter-area summarization on an ABR and does not suppress the specific LSAswithinArea 0.

Conclusion:The question asks for something that OSPFv2 cannot do: advertiseonlya summary route within the same area while suppressing specifics. Therefore, none of the configurations will achieve theexactstated outcome. However, if the question is flawed and intends to ask which configuration uses the correct command structure for summarizinginternalOSPF routes (even if only effective between areas), then the area range command is the relevant one. Both A and E use this command. Option E is slightly better structured as it shows the interfaces being added to OSPF Area 0 first. Assuming this is the intended direction despite the impossibility of the specific request, E is the most plausible choice among the given options.

The question involves granting read-only access to a user with physical access to an AOS-CX switch. The task is to identify the correct command set.

Analysis of Options (Assumed Context):Read-only access is typically configured using AAA with a privilege level or role. Option C is assumed to include commands like:

text

Copy

aaa authentication login privilege-mode

user operator password plaintext

This assigns the “operator” role, which provides read-only access.

Option A:Incorrect. Likely uses an incorrect role or privilege level (e.g., admin).

Option B:Incorrect. May configure a role with excessive permissions or invalid syntax.

Option C:Correct. Configures a user with the “operator” role for read-only access.

Option D:Incorrect. Likely includes commands for a different access level or invalid configuration.

Why Option C is Correct:In AOS-CX, the “operator” role provides read-only access, allowing users to view configurations and status (e.g., show commands) without modifying settings. The command user operator password plaintext creates a local user with this role, and aaa authentication login privilege-mode ensures privilege levels are enforced upon login. This configuration is suitable for a user with physical access (e.g., via console or SSH), ensuring they cannot alter the switch, as per HPE Aruba Networking’s AAA security practices.

Relevance to Certification Objectives:

Authentication/Authorization (9%):Configuring AAA for user access control.

Security (10%):Implementing secure management access in customer networks.

Troubleshooting (10%):Ensuring proper user permissions for network management.

The issue involves a new access switch’s port being automatically disabled when connected to an aggregation switch, likely due to a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) protection mechanism.

Analysis of Options:

Option A (Disable bpdu-filter):BPDU filtering prevents BPDUs from being sent or processed, which could cause loops, not resolve the issue.

Option B (Disable root-guard):Root guard prevents a port from becoming the root bridge but does not cause port disablement in this context.

Option C (Disable loop-guard):Loop guard prevents alternate ports from becoming designated but is unrelated to port disablement.

Option D:Correct. Disabling BPDU guard on the aggregation switch’s interface prevents it from disabling the port when it receives BPDUs from the new access switch.

Why Option D is Correct:BPDU guard is an STP feature that disables a port if it receives BPDUs, assuming an unauthorized device is connected. When a new access switch isconnected, it sends BPDUs as part of normal STP operation, triggering BPDU guard on the aggregation switch and disabling the port. Disabling BPDU guard on the aggregation switch’s interface (e.g., no spanning-tree bpdu-guard) allows the access switch to participate in STP without being disabled, resolving the issue while maintaining network stability.

Relevance to Certification Objectives:

Network Resiliency and Virtualization (8%):Involves troubleshooting STP mechanisms for fault tolerance.

Troubleshooting (10%):Includes diagnosing and remediating STP-related issues in campus networks.

Switching (19%):Covers Layer 2 technologies like STP and its protection features.

The question asks for the effects of adding the command neighbor 10.2.0.3 send-community both to the BGP configuration under the IPv4 address family context for neighbor R2 (10.2.0.3) on router R1.

send-community both:This command instructs R1 to send both standard (RFC 1997) and extended (RFC 4360) BGP community attributes to neighbor R2. By default, communities are not sent.

BGP Capability Negotiation:Adding or changing features like community advertisement modifies the BGP capabilities exchanged between neighbors during session establishment. Any change to these capabilities requires the BGP session to be reset (flap) so that the peers can renegotiate using the new capabilities.

Analysis of Options (Select Two):

A: Correct (partially). It enables R1 tosendstandard and extended communities. The ability toreceivedepends on the peer and local config. The capability isnegotiatedupon session reset.

B: Incorrect. Changing capabilities requires the session to flap; it's not without consequence.

C: Incorrect. It primarily enablesoutboundsending from R1. Inbound acceptance is implicit if the neighbor is activated.

D: Correct. Modifying BGP neighbor capabilities, such as enabling send-community, necessitates a BGP session reset (flap) for the change to take effect.

E: Incorrect terminology ("import/export", "type-1/type-2 communities").

Conclusion:The command enables R1 to send communities (A describes the purpose/capability), and adding this command to an existing session will cause the session to flap for renegotiation (D describes the immediate consequence).

The problem describes uplink congestion affecting VoIP traffic (marked with DSCP EF, value 46) on AGG-1's LAG1 uplink. The existing configuration classifies this traffic into voip_class and applies voip_policy inbound, setting local-priority 6. To improve reliable forwarding during congestion, VoIP traffic needs strict priority queuing on the egress interface (LAG1).  

Analysis of Options:

Option A applies a QoS schedule profile globally but doesn't modify the policy's local-priority or apply the schedule profile specifically to the congested LAG.  

Option B modifies voip_policy to set local-priority 7 (mapping DSCP 46 traffic to queue 7) and applies the 8qDwrStrict schedule profile to the egress interface lag 1. In the 8qDwrStrict profile, queue 7 is configured for strict priority, ensuring voice traffic gets precedence over lower-priority traffic during congestion. This aligns with best practices for QoS for VoIP.  

Option C also sets local-priority 7 and applies the schedule profile to lag 1, but the profile itself configures queue 7 with DWRR (Deficit Weighted Round Robin) instead of strict priority, which is less suitable for delay-sensitive voice traffic.  

Option D applies a schedule profile globally and uses DWRR for queue 7.  

Conclusion:Option B is the correct solution because it maps the DSCP EF traffic to the highest local priority (7) and applies a QoS schedule profile to the specific congested uplink (lag 1) that treats queue 7 with strict priority. This ensures voice traffic is prioritized reliably.

The ClearPass Event Viewer message "RADIUS authentication attempt from unknown NAD (10.10.1.10:1812)" indicates that ClearPass received a RADIUS request from the IP address 10.10.1.10, but this IP is not configured as a trusted Network Access Device (NAD) in ClearPass's network device list, or the shared secret doesn't match. The first step in troubleshooting on the switch side is to verify which source IP address the switch is actually using to send these RADIUS requests.

RADIUS Source IP:AOS-CX switches can be configured to use a specific source IP address for RADIUS packets, often using the ip source-interface radius [vrf ] command. This is important if the switch has multiple IP interfaces or uses VRFs.

Analysis of Commands:

A. show ip source-interface radius: This command directly displays the configured source interface and IP address used for RADIUS communications, allowing comparison with the IP configured in ClearPass.  

B. show aaa authentication-server radius: Shows server group configuration, not the source IP used by the switch.

C. show radius-server shared-secret: Not a standard command; secrets are usually masked in other commands.

D. show radius-server detail: Shows configured RADIUS server details but doesn't explicitly show the source IP the switch is using to originate packets.

Conclusion:To identify why ClearPass sees requests from an "unknown NAD" IP (10.10.1.10), the first step on the switch is to confirm which source IP it's using. show ip source-interface radius provides this crucial information.

An NAE (Network Analytics Engine) Python script designed to monitor links and update descriptions isn't storing data as planned. We need the first things to check (select three).

NAE Components & Troubleshooting:NAE involves Agents running Scripts, often triggered by Monitors observing system state (like interface status or LLDP changes). Failures can occur in any component or due to resource issues.

Initial Checks:

Script (script usage - C):Check the script itself for syntax errors, logic flaws, status, and logs (show nae script [status|log]). Ensure it's uploaded correctly and enabled.

Agent (Agent usage - B):Check the agent configured to run the script. Is it running? Are its parameters correct? Are there errors associated with the agent? (show nae agent [status|detail]). Check agent resource limits.

Monitor (monitor usage - E):If the script relies on a monitor to trigger or gather data, check the monitor's status, configuration, and associated conditions (show nae monitor [status|detail]). Is the monitor detecting the intended events?

Resources (Processor/Memory/Flash - D, F, A):General switch health is important. High CPU (D) or memory (F) usage could prevent the script/agent from running correctly. If the script is supposed to store datapersistently (e.g., write to a file or NAE database), check flash memory usage (A) or NAE database limits.

Conclusion:When troubleshooting NAE, the core components to check first are the Script itself (C), the Agent running it (B), and any Monitors it depends on (E). These cover the specific NAE elements involved. General system resources (D, F, A) are secondary checks if the core components appear configured correctly but still fail.

The question involves a customer deploying PoE-powered IoT security devices (e.g., door locks) that must remain active during an AOS-CX switch software upgrade. The task is to identify a valid solution.

Analysis of Options:

Option A:Incorrect. A VSX pair provides redundancy but does not guarantee PoE continuity during a single switch’s upgrade.

Option B:Incorrect. quick-poe reduces PoE startup time but does not ensure power during upgrades.

Option C:Correct. power-over-ethernet always-on ensures PoE remains active during software upgrades, meeting the requirement.

Option D:Incorrect. PoE priority adjusts power allocation but does not guarantee continuity during upgrades.

Why Option C is Correct:The power-over-ethernet always-on feature on AOS-CX switches ensures that PoE power delivery continues uninterrupted during software upgrades or reboots, critical for devices like IoT security door locks that require constant power. This feature prevents power cycling on PoE ports, maintaining device operation. For example, enabling it on relevant ports (e.g., interface 1/1/1 power-over-ethernet always-on) ensures compliance with the customer’s requirement, as per HPE Aruba Networking’s PoE high-availability guidelines.

Relevance to Certification Objectives:

Connectivity (9%):Configuring PoE for critical device deployment.

Network Resiliency and Virtualization (8%):Ensuring device uptime during maintenance.

Troubleshooting (10%):Resolving PoE continuity issues.

The question involves an AOS-CX switch administrator using a packet capture (e.g., tshark) to monitor TCP port 22 traffic and wanting to save it locally for later download, instead of sending it to a remote server.

Analysis of Options:

Option A:Correct. The destination file tshark-pcap command specifies that the packet capture output is saved to a local file (e.g., tshark-pcap) on the switch’s flash storage.

Option B:Incorrect. destination tunnel file tshark-pcpap is not a valid AOS-CX command for local storage.

Option C:Incorrect. destination cpu is not relevant for saving packet captures; it may refer to CPU-based monitoring.

Option D:Incorrect. destination flash:/.'my-mirror.pcnap policy Policy Minor22 has invalid syntax and does not align with packet capture storage.

Why Option A is Correct:In AOS-CX, packet captures can be configured using the monitor command (e.g., monitor session 1 source interface 1/1/1 destination file tshark-pcap). The destination file tshark-pcap option saves the captured packets (e.g., TCP port 22 traffic) to a local file on the switch’s flash storage, which can be downloaded later via SCP, SFTP, or the Web UI. This meets the administrator’s requirement to store the capture locally for future analysis, aligning with AOS-CX’s packet capture capabilities.

Relevance to Certification Objectives:

Troubleshooting (10%):Performing advanced troubleshooting using packet captures.

Performance Optimization (6%):Analyzing network traffic for performance issues.

Connectivity (9%):Diagnosing connectivity issues with monitoring tools.

The exhibit shows the output of show vsx status on sw-agg1. Key information includes:

Config Sync Status : sw_image_version_mismatch_error  

NAE : sw_image_version_mismatch_error  

HTTPS Server : sw_image_version_mismatch_error  

Primary Software Version: GL.10.09.0010  

Secondary Software Version: GL.10.11.1021  

These errors clearly indicate that the primary and secondary VSX switches are running different AOS-CX software versions. For VSX to operate correctly, including configuration synchronization and enabling features like MC-LAG interfaces, both switches in the pairmustrun the exact same software version.

Analysis of Options:

A: vsx-software-upgrade is used for upgrades but doesn't resolve the current mismatch requirement.

B: NAE errors are a symptom of the underlying version mismatch.

C: Using the same CX OS version on both primary and secondary switches is the fundamental requirement to clear the mismatch errors and achieve a stable VSX operational state.

D: While ServiceOS is part of the system, the primary requirement and error message relate to the main AOS-CX software version.

Establish redundant links between the aggregation and core layers:When using Layer 3 routing between network layers (like Aggregation and Core),ECMP (Equal Cost Multi-Path)allows the routing protocol (e.g., OSPF, BGP) to utilize multiple links simultaneously if they have the same routing cost. This provides both redundancy (if one link fails, traffic uses the others) and load sharing across the links.