HPE7-A08 Sample Questions & Answers
Provisioning switches with Layer 2 and 3 technologies and routing protocols dominates the weighting, built on planning a wired solution around HPE's switching portfolio, diagnosing failures and remediation planning, and ongoing configuration management.
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- Question 1Beginner
Installing and Configuring · VSX Active Gateway
True or False: In an ArubaOS-CX VSX configuration, the
active-gatewaycommand provides Layer 3 gateway redundancy using a shared virtual MAC and IP address, eliminating the need for VRRP.Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
This statement is true. The
active-gatewayfeature in VSX is a built-in, active-active first-hop redundancy protocol (FHRP). It allows both VSX switches to simultaneously route traffic for their VLANs using a shared virtual IP and MAC address, which is more efficient than the active-standby nature of VRRP. - Question 2Intermediate
Managing, Maintaining, and Monitoring · Centralized Cloud Management
Case Study: Global Retail Inc.
Company Background:
Global Retail Inc. is a multinational corporation with over 500 retail stores. Each store has a small network of Aruba CX 6200 switches for POS terminals, IP phones, and guest Wi-Fi. The corporate IT team is small and needs a centralized, scalable way to manage, monitor, and update the firmware of all store switches without requiring on-site technical staff.Current Situation:
Currently, new switches are manually configured before being shipped to stores, a process that is slow and error-prone. Firmware updates require manual intervention, leading to inconsistent software versions across the estate. The team struggles to get a unified view of the health and performance of the store networks, making troubleshooting difficult and reactive.Requirements:
- Implement a zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) solution for new store deployments.
- Centralize configuration management using templates to ensure consistency.
- Establish a unified dashboard for monitoring the health of all switches.
- Automate and schedule firmware upgrades for all stores during non-business hours.
Question:
Which HPE Aruba Networking solution best meets all of Global Retail Inc.'s requirements for managing their distributed switching infrastructure?Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Aruba Central is a cloud-based management platform designed specifically for these requirements. It provides native ZTP through integration with Aruba Activate, powerful template-based configuration for groups of devices, a comprehensive monitoring dashboard, and automated, scheduled firmware management capabilities, making it the ideal solution for a distributed enterprise like Global Retail Inc.
- Question 3Beginner
Troubleshooting · Basic Diagnostic Commands
A network engineer observes that an Aruba CX switch in a VSF stack has rebooted unexpectedly. To investigate the cause of the reboot, the engineer should use the
show ______command.Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
The
show reboot-historycommand is the correct and most direct way to view a log of the switch's past reboots, including the time, date, and reason for the reboot (e.g., user-initiated, power cycle, software crash). - Question 4Advanced
Troubleshooting · MSTP Instability
A network is experiencing intermittent Layer 2 loops. The administrator suspects an issue with the MSTP configuration. The
show spanning-treecommand on a non-root switch reveals that one of its ports is alternating between the Root and Designated roles for a specific MSTI. What is the most likely cause of this behavior?graph TD SW1((Core-A Root)) -- P1 --- SW3(Access-1) SW2((Core-B)) -- P2 --- SW3 SW1 --- SW2 style SW1 fill:#d4edda,stroke:#155724Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
The Spanning Tree Protocol determines port roles based on the superiority of received Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs). If a port is intermittently receiving BPDUs that are superior to what it expects from the current root bridge, it will attempt to change its role to Root. When those superior BPDUs stop, it reverts to Designated. This flapping indicates an unstable or misconfigured upstream device periodically sending better BPDUs.
- Question 5Advanced
Installing and Configuring · EVPN-VXLAN Concepts
A financial firm is deploying a campus fabric using EVPN-VXLAN. Which statement accurately describes the roles of the underlay and overlay networks in this architecture?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
This is the correct description. The underlay network's sole purpose is to provide robust IP connectivity between the VXLAN Tunnel Endpoints (VTEPs), typically using a routing protocol like OSPF or BGP. The overlay network is the virtual network built on top, where BGP EVPN is used as the control plane to advertise endpoint (MAC/IP) reachability across the VXLAN tunnels.
- Question 6Advanced
Installing and Configuring · Quality of Service (QoS) Configuration
An administrator is configuring Quality of Service (QoS) on an Aruba CX switch to prioritize VoIP traffic. The goal is to place all traffic marked with DSCP EF (46) into a strict priority queue. Which sequence of steps is correct?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
This is the correct and complete process. First, a queue profile is defined with one queue configured for strict priority. Second, the switch's QoS map is configured to place traffic with DSCP EF (which maps to a specific internal local-priority) into that strict priority queue. Finally, the interface must be configured to trust the incoming DSCP markings for the policy to take effect.
- Question 7Intermediate
Planning and Implementing · Implementation Plan Development
A consultant is creating an implementation plan for a new Aruba switching infrastructure at a client's data center. The plan needs to detail the sequence of activities, dependencies, and rollback procedures. Which of the following should be included in the 'Risk Assessment' section of this plan?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
A risk assessment identifies potential problems that could negatively impact the project. Documenting the potential for unexpected downtime, assessing its likelihood and impact, and defining a mitigation strategy (such as performing work in a maintenance window or having a failback plan) is a core component of risk assessment.
- Question 8Advanced
Troubleshooting · VSX Synchronization Issues
An engineer is troubleshooting a VSX pair of Aruba CX 8325 switches. The
show vsx statuscommand indicates the peer switch is in thesyncingstate and is not progressing. The ISL link is up and healthy. What is the most common reason for this issue?Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
VSX has strict requirements for software version consistency between peers. If the primary and secondary switches are running mismatched firmware versions, the configuration synchronization process will fail, and the secondary switch will remain stuck in the
syncingstate. This is a critical check during initial setup and upgrades. - Question 9Beginner
Managing, Maintaining, and Monitoring · Configuration Checkpoints and Rollback
A network team uses configuration checkpoints on their Aruba CX switches to save known good states before making major changes. After a failed change, an administrator needs to revert the switch to the checkpoint named 'pre_ospf_change'. Which command accomplishes this?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
The correct command syntax in AOS-CX to revert the running configuration to a previously saved checkpoint is
rollback configuration to checkpoint. - Question 10Intermediate
Installing and Configuring · BGP Route Manipulation
When configuring BGP on an Aruba CX switch, what is the primary purpose of creating a route map and applying it to a neighbor?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Route maps are the primary policy tool in BGP. They are used to implement complex routing policies by matching specific prefixes (using prefix lists or ACLs) and then setting or modifying BGP attributes like Local Preference, AS-Path, MED, or communities. They can be applied inbound or outbound to a neighbor.
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