HPE7-A07 HP Aruba Certified Campus Access Mobility Expert Written Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

In a high availability setup where both primary and secondary gateway clusters are present, APs are typically designed to connect to the primary cluster. If the APs are equally split between the primary and secondary, this may indicate that some APs cannot reach the primary cluster due to connectivity issues or reachability constraints, thus falling back to the secondary cluster.

Dynamic Multicast Optimization (DMO) is a feature that enhances the delivery of multicast traffic by optimizing the data rate. The before and after optimization images show a significant increase in the data rate, which is a typical result of DMO being configured, as it allows multicast traffic to be transmitted at higher data rates by converting multicast streams into unicast streams for the clients that need them.

To address connectivity issues when students are working outdoors, increasing the transmission (TX) power range for the 5GHz radios can help improve signal strength and coverage. The setting shown indicates a conservative approach to power settings, which might not provide sufficient coverage for outdoor areas. By increasing the power range, you can extend the wireless signal reach, which aligns with best practices for outdoor wireless coverage.

Including the root and intermediate certificates in the captive portal certificate for the gateway will resolve the error seen during the login action after successful registration. This is necessary to ensure the SSL/TLS handshake can be completed successfully, as the client browser needs to validate the entire certificate chain.

In a multi-site deployment with a mix of bridged and tunneled SSIDs, if there are session sync errors between different areas, it could be due to connectivity issues with the central management platform, which in the case of Aruba, is likely HPE Aruba Networking Central. This interruption could cause inconsistencies in session states across the network.

In the context of an EVPN VXLAN fabric, the Route-Reflector Persona is most appropriately configured at the Services Aggregation layer. This layer is responsible for interconnecting different network services and typically includes more robust, higher-capacity devices capable of handling the route-reflection functions for EVPN VXLAN.

In an Aruba Networks fabric, route reflectors are used to optimize the distribution of BGP routes. The Services Aggregation layer, which is centrally located in the network topology, is best suited for this role due to its high availability and ability to efficiently manage routes between the core and access layers.

Therefore, if you were to click on the image provided, you would select the Services Aggregation layer to configure the Route-Reflector Persona.

In HPE Aruba Networking (AOS-CX and ArubaOS-S), Group-Based Policy (GBP) provides policy-based segmentation between roles by defining source and destination roles within the GBP configuration. These policies are defined using GBP classes, policies, and roles that determine how traffic between different user groups is handled.

From the configuration snippet shown in the exhibit, the following GBP policies and roles are defined:

class gbp-ip GBP-EMPLOYEE

class gbp-ip GBP-CONTRACTOR

port-access gbp GBP-EMPLOYEE

port-access gbp GBP-CONTRACTOR

When the command

Edge-1(config-pa-role)# associate gbp GBP-EMPLOYEE

is executed, the error message appears:

“The destination role in one or more classes of the policy does not match the role to which the policy is being associated to. % Command failed.”

This message clearly indicates that the role being associated (EMPLOYEE) does not match the destination role name defined in the GBP policy (GBP-EMPLOYEE).

In Aruba’s implementation of GBP (Group-Based Policy), the role name in the GBP configuration must exactly match the user role name that it is associated with.

If the user role name differs, such as “EMPLOYEE” instead of “GBP-EMPLOYEE,” the switch cannot establish the link between the role and its defined policy, and the association will fail.

HPE Aruba Official Explanation (Extracted from ArubaOS-S and AOS-CX Configuration Guide):

“The GBP role name must match the user role name exactly when associating a GBP policy with a port-access role.

If the configured GBP role name does not correspond to the user role name, the association will fail, and the system will generate a mismatch error.”

Therefore, in this scenario, the role EMPLOYEE should be renamed or recreated as GBP-EMPLOYEE so that the GBP policy association succeeds.

Option Analysis:

A. Configure a user role called GBP-EMPLOYEE instead of EMPLOYEE — Correct.The role name must match the GBP role name exactly. This resolves the mismatch error.

B. Associate the port-access role to the GBP role using the role ID — Incorrect.GBP does not use role IDs; it uses role names for matching and association.

C. Update the port-access GBP policies to reference the EMPLOYEE role — Incorrect.GBP policy definitions cannot be dynamically modified in this manner. The correct fix is to align role naming.

D. Update the entries in the class maps to reference the EMPLOYEE role — Incorrect.The class map references traffic classification, not the association of user roles.

Final Verified Answer: A

Reference Sources (HPE Aruba Official Materials):

ArubaOS-S 16.x Security Configuration Guide – Group-Based Policy (GBP) Roles and Policies

ArubaOS-CX 10.x Advanced Traffic Management and Policy Enforcement Guide

HPE Aruba Certified Switching Professional (ACSP) Study Guide – Role-Based Access Control and GBP Association

The CX 8320 has significantly smaller control-plane scale for route tables—especially IPv6—compared to newer CX platforms. When dual-stacking WLAN clients (adding IPv6 alongside IPv4), the number of routes/neighbor entries increases markedly. HPE Aruba platform guidance shows:

CX 8320/CX 8325 class: ~131K IPv4 and ~32K IPv6 routes.

In a VXLAN environment, unknown unicast traffic, such as ARP requests from H1, which does not have a specific destination MAC address learned by the switch A2, will be flooded out of all interfaces. This flooding behavior is necessary because A2 needs to ensure that the ARP request reaches its intended destination, which might be on any of the interfaces. It's a part of the standard behavior of switches to handle ARP traffic when the destination hardware address is unknown.

When an SSID profile is configured with both primary and secondary gateway clusters, access points (APs) form IPsec tunnels to one of these clusters based on reachability and preemption logic.

How Aruba gateway cluster selection works:

The AP first attempts to connect to the primary gateway cluster.

If the primary cluster is unreachable, the AP establishes a tunnel with the secondary cluster.

Once both clusters are reachable again, the preemption setting determines whether APs should move back to the primary cluster or remain connected to the secondary.

Exact Extract (from Aruba AOS 10 Gateway and WLAN Deployment Guide):

“When both primary and secondary gateway clusters are configured on an SSID, access points distribute across both clusters depending on availability and preemption configuration. If preemption is disabled, access points that have joined the secondary cluster remain there even after the primary cluster becomes available, potentially leading to an even split across both clusters.”

“Preemption ensures APs automatically reconnect to the primary cluster when it is back online. If preemption is not enabled, APs stay attached to whichever cluster they joined first.”

This means that if preemption is not enabled, some APs that previously connected to the secondary cluster (during a temporary network or reachability issue) will remain there after recovery, resulting in a balanced or equal distribution between primary and secondary clusters.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. The secondary gateway cluster is a heterogeneous cluster with four nodes:Cluster type (homogeneous or heterogeneous) does not cause APs to split evenly. Aruba does not recommend heterogeneous clustering.

“Cluster node homogeneity affects compatibility and performance, not AP distribution.”

B. The primary gateway cluster is a homogeneous cluster with four nodes:Cluster size or node count (homogeneous or heterogeneous) does not influence the AP split behavior.

“Cluster node count determines capacity, not tunnel distribution.”

C. The primary and secondary gateway clusters are up, and cluster preemption is enabled:With preemption enabled, APs connected to the secondary cluster automatically move back to the primary once it’s reachable — eliminating an even split.

“Preemption ensures all APs return to the primary cluster, maintaining centralized control.”

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

ArubaOS 10 WLAN and Gateway Deployment Guide – “AP tunnel distribution behavior with primary/secondary gateway clusters and preemption settings.”

Aruba High Availability and Redundancy Best Practices Guide – “Impact of preemption on AP failover and cluster load balancing.”

Aruba Mobility Gateway Configuration Guide – “Gateway clustering, AP tunnel association logic, and preemption operation.”

Aruba Campus Wireless Design Fundamentals – “Cluster redundancy, AP tunnel behavior, and balanced AP distribution across clusters.”

In the provided configuration for interface 1/1/7, there are roles specified for different scenarios concerning authentication. When a voice client attempts to connect and the RADIUS server is unreachable, the role that is assigned is the one specified as the "critical-voice-role". In this case, the "CRITICAL_VOICE" role is configured to be assigned under such circumstances, ensuring that voice clients receive appropriate network access permissions even when the RADIUS server is not available to authenticate them.

When configuring an 802.1X supplicant for wireless network access with Microsoft Windows 10, enabling server certificate validation is a critical step to ensure the security of the authentication process. Server certificate validation helps prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by ensuring the RADIUS server presenting the certificate is the correct server that the client expects to communicate with.

UL MU-MIMO, or Uplink Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output, is a technology that allows multiple clients to transmit data to the access point simultaneously, increasing overall throughput and efficiency, especially for upload-heavy scenarios like video file uploads. This technology enables spatially separated clients to access the channel at the same time, which can improve performance for clients when uploading large files.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

On Aruba switches (AOS-CX/AOS-S), multiple IPv4 networks can be configured on the same VLAN interface (SVI) by assigning a primary address and one or more secondary addresses. The VLAN remains one Layer-2 broadcast domain; adding more IP subnets does not create subinterfaces and does not split the broadcast domain.

Exact extract:

“A VLAN interface may be configured with a primary IP address and additional secondary IP addresses to host multiple subnets on the same Layer-2 broadcast domain.”

“A VLAN is a single broadcast domain. Broadcast and unknown unicast frames are flooded to all ports belonging to the VLAN.”

“Hosts in different IP subnets on the same VLAN still require Layer-3 routing to communicate; sharing the VLAN only means they share the same L2 broadcast domain.”

Therefore, when a second subnet is added to the same VLAN, broadcasts (ARP, DHCP, etc.) from devices in either subnet will be flooded to all member ports of that VLAN, making option C correct.

Options A (subinterfaces) are not used here; B is incorrect because inter-subnet traffic still needs routing; D is not categorically true—IGMP operates per VLAN with multicast routing configuration and is not inherently disabled by multiple subnets.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching documents or Study Guide:

Aruba AOS-CX Interface and VLAN Configuration Guide — “Primary and secondary IP addressing on VLAN interfaces; VLANs as broadcast domains.”

Aruba AOS-CX Layer 2 Fundamentals — “Flooding behavior for broadcast/unknown frames within a VLAN.”

Aruba Campus Wired Design Fundamentals — “Multiple IP subnets on one VLAN and routing implications.”

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Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

Accurate and trusted time on gateways is essential for audit logs. Aruba gateways and AOS-CX switches support NTP authentication, where the device and the NTP server share cryptographic keys (key-id with MD5/SHA-1 depending on platform). The device accepts time updates only from servers that successfully authenticate, protecting against spoofed NTP responses and time-shifting attacks.

Exact extract:

“Configure NTP authentication to verify time sources. Define an authentication key, mark it as trusted, and associate it with the NTP server. The device will synchronize time only with authenticated servers.”

“Accurate logging relies on NTP. Enabling authentication helps prevent malicious or accidental tampering with system time.”

Thus, enabling and configuring NTP authentication directly secures the time clock against attacks, making B correct.

Option A would block time synchronization; C (a generic ACL) does not provide cryptographic validation; D changes only display/timezone and does not secure the source of time.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching documents or Study Guide:

ArubaOS 10 Gateway Management and Security Guide — “Configuring NTP authentication (keys, trusted key, server association).”

Aruba AOS-CX System Management Guide — “Securing NTP and its impact on event/audit logs.”

In OSPF, when a router learns about an external network through both E1 and E2 advertisements, and if both have the same path cost, the router will prefer the E1 path. This is because E1 routes consider both the external cost to reach the external network and the internal cost to reach the ASBR, providing a more comprehensive metric. E2 routes only consider the external cost and ignore the internal cost to the ASBR, which could potentially lead to suboptimal routing. Therefore, the router will choose the E1 path due to its more accurate representation of the total path cost.

Scenario

Correct Role

This role is applied when a re-authentication attempt times out to ClearPass.

Critical role

This role is applied when ClearPass replies with the deny access enforcement profile.

Reject role

This role is applied when ClearPass replies with the allow access enforcement profile.

Auth-role

This role is applied when there is no match for a device profile.

Fallback role

In Aruba CX switching, when integrating ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) for 802.1X, MAC Authentication, or Downloadable Role-based Access, the system assigns specific roles based on AAA enforcement outcomes or network events (timeouts, mismatches, or unknown devices).

These special roles ensure network survivability and consistent zero-trust policy enforcement even if ClearPass or RADIUS communication fails.

1. Critical Role → Applied when re-authentication attempt times out to ClearPass

“When the switch cannot reach the RADIUS server during re-authentication (for example, a timeout), the switch assigns the critical-role to the authenticated client, ensuring continued network connectivity with a restricted policy.”

“This role is used to maintain limited access when the RADIUS server is unreachable or times out.”

This ensures that devices remain minimally operational while preventing full network access — crucial for survivable network designs.

2. Reject Role → Applied when ClearPass replies with the deny access enforcement profile

“If the RADIUS response includes an Access-Reject, the switch applies the configured reject-role. This typically results in isolation or complete denial of access.”

“The reject-role allows enforcement of a restrictive VLAN or ACL after authentication failure.”

Therefore, when ClearPass denies access, the reject role provides an explicit enforcement action.

3. Auth-Role → Applied when ClearPass replies with the allow access enforcement profile

“When the authentication succeeds and the RADIUS server returns an Access-Accept with an Aruba-User-Role attribute, the switch applies the auth-role.”

“This is the default operational role for authenticated clients.”

This role represents the authorized state, where the user receives full or role-based access according to ClearPass policies.

4. Fallback Role → Applied when there is no match for a device profile

“If the client fails device profiling or no match is found in the endpoint database, the switch applies the fallback-role configured for unknown devices.”

“The fallback-role provides a baseline policy for unrecognized or unclassified endpoints.”

This ensures unknown or new devices can be placed in a limited-access posture pending classification.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

ArubaOS-CX Access Security Guide (AOS-CX 10.12 and later) – “Role mapping and special roles (auth-role, reject-role, fallback-role, critical-role).”

Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager Deployment Guide – “Integration with Aruba Switch Roles and Enforcement Profile Mapping.”

Aruba Zero Trust Wired Access Design Guide – “Survivability roles for authentication failure or unreachable ClearPass.”

Aruba CX 6300 Configuration Guide – “AAA, Downloadable Roles, and Fallback/Critical Role Configuration.”

AOS-CX BGP community advertisement control:

“For each BGP neighbor and address-family you can control the advertisement of community attributes using the send-community command. The options are standard, extended, and both. When both is configured, the neighbor is sent both the standard and extended community attributes with the NLRI updates.”

“BGP accepts community attributes received from a neighbor by default; the send-community setting governs outbound advertisement. The configuration does not require resetting the peering session.”

These extracts establish that adding send-community both under the IPv4 unicast address-family for neighbor 10.2.0.3 makes R1 include community attributes with its UPDATEs and that the choice both covers standard and extended communities. Because BGP already accepts communities on receive, this effectively enables the exchange of communities in both directions when the peer is similarly capable. This matches B (exchange with NLRI in and out) and D (standard and extended communities are included).

Why A is incorrect:

“The term type-1/type-2 is used in EVPN route types and is not the nomenclature for BGP communities. The send-community command does not reference EVPN route types; it controls standard/extended community attributes.”

Thus, A references the wrong concept.

Why C is incorrect:

“Changing send-community for a neighbor is applied dynamically in the address-family context and does not require tearing down the BGP session.”

Therefore, enabling send-community both will not “bounce” the peering.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching documents or Study Guide:

AOS-CX BGP Configuration Guide — “Neighbor policy controls per address-family: send-community {standard | extended | both}; communities accepted on receive by default; change does not reset the session.”

AOS-CX Route Policy and Attributes Reference — “Community attributes (standard and extended) and how they are attached to NLRI in UPDATE messages.”

In the United States, the operation in the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi devices such as the AP-634 and AP-635 is regulated by the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system, which determines the channels that can be used based on the location. Since the Proof of Concept (POC) was conducted in a different location using AP-635 APs, the allowable channels identified by the AFC service for that location would be different than the channels allowed for the actual deployment location of the AP-634 APs. This would result in a different set of broadcasting channels being available for use in the new warehouse deployment.