Summary
This question focuses on implementing stateful firewall-like behavior using an Access Control List (ACL) on an Aruba CX switch to control ICMP (ping) traffic between VLANs. The requirement is asymmetric: to allow IT to ping users but block users from pinging IT. A stateful ACL can track the state of a connection. By permitting established sessions, an inbound ACL on the User VLAN can allow return traffic (echo-reply) from a ping initiated by IT, while explicitly blocking new outbound ping requests (echo-request) from the users themselves.

Correct Option

B. Apply an inbound ACL on the user VLAN allowing icmp echo-reply traffic toward the IT management VLAN
This is the most precise and correct solution. An inbound ACL on the User VLAN interface (the SVI) processes all traffic entering that VLAN from the users.

The ACL would need two key rules:

A rule to permit icmp traffic with the echo-reply type. This allows return packets from pings that were initiated by the IT management VLAN to come back to the user devices.

A rule to deny icmp traffic with the echo-request type. This explicitly blocks new ping attempts originating from the User VLAN destined for the IT VLAN.

This configuration, combined with an implicit "deny all" at the end of the ACL, achieves the goal. IT-originated pings work (request goes out, reply comes back), but user-originated pings are blocked at the source.

Incorrect Option:

A. Apply an outbound ACL on the user VLAN allowing icmp echo-reply traffic toward the IT management VLAN:
This is incorrect and ineffective. An outbound ACL on a VLAN SVI filters traffic leaving the VLAN. Since the goal is to block ping requests originating from the User VLAN, the critical filtering must happen on traffic entering the VLAN SVI from the users (inbound). An outbound ACL would be applied after routing and would not prevent the packets from consuming switch resources.

C. Apply an inbound ACL on the user VLAN denying icmp echo traffic toward the IT management VLAN:
This is incomplete. While this rule would block user-originated pings (a good thing), it does nothing to allow the return echo-reply traffic. This would result in a one-way block, breaking the desired "allow IT to ping users" requirement because the replies from the users would be dropped.

D. Apply an outbound ACL on the user VLAN denying icmp echo traffic toward the IT management VLAN:
This is incorrect for the same reason as option A. The point of control for traffic sourcing from the User VLAN is the inbound direction of that VLAN's SVI. An outbound ACL is the wrong direction for enforcing this source-based policy.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: Aruba CX 6300 Switch Series ACL Configuration Guide (The official guide explains the concept of inbound vs. outbound ACLs applied to VLAN interfaces and how to configure ACL rules with specific ICMP types like echo-request and echo-reply.)

Summary:
This question asks for a security advantage of SNMPv3 over SNMPv2c. SNMPv2c uses a plaintext "community string" for authentication, which acts as a weak password and provides no data confidentiality. SNMPv3 was designed to address these critical security shortcomings by introducing a robust security model that includes user-based authentication and, crucially, encryption of the packet payload to prevent eavesdropping on sensitive management data.

Correct Option:

D. Encryption:
This is the primary security advantage. SNMPv3 supports encryption of the protocol data unit (PDU) payload using standards like DES or AES. This ensures the confidentiality of the information being exchanged between the manager and the agent (e.g., system info, configurations, traps). SNMPv2c offers no encryption, sending all data in clear text, which is a significant security risk.

Incorrect Option:

A. Transport mapping:
Both SNMPv2c and SNMPv3 primarily use UDP as their transport protocol. While SNMPv3 can be adapted to other transports, this is not a defining security advantage over v2c. The core protocols are not differentiated by their transport mapping.

B. Community strings:
This is a feature of SNMPv2c, not an advantage of SNMPv3. In fact, the use of plaintext community strings is the major security weakness of v2c that v3 seeks to overcome. SNMPv3 replaces community strings with secure, user-based authentication.

C. GetBulk:
The GetBulk request is a feature introduced in SNMPv2 and is fully supported by SNMPv2c. It is an efficiency feature for retrieving large amounts of data, not a security feature. SNMPv3 inherits and uses the GetBulk operation but does not introduce it as a new advantage over v2c.

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: SNMP Configuration Guide for Aruba Switches (The official documentation highlights the security models of SNMPv3, including AuthPriv mode which provides both authentication and encryption, explicitly noting this as the key differentiator from the less secure v2c.)

Summary
This question tests the fundamental command syntax for assigning a Layer 3 IP address to a physical interface on an Aruba CX 6300 switch. By default, physical interfaces on these switches are in Layer 2 (switching) mode. To configure an IP address directly on an interface, it must first be converted to a Layer 3 (routed) interface using the no routing command. The correct command sequence is to enter interface configuration mode, change the mode, and then assign the IP address.

Correct Option

B. int 1/1/1. no switching, ip address 10 10 10.1/24
int 1/1/1: Enters interface configuration mode for port 1/1/1.

no switching: This is the crucial command. On Aruba CX switches, the no switching command changes the interface from its default Layer 2 switching mode to Layer 3 routing mode. This is a prerequisite for directly assigning an IP address to the physical interface.

ip address 10.10.10.1/24: Once the interface is in Layer 3 mode, this command correctly assigns the specified IP address and subnet mask.

Incorrect Option:

A. int 1/1/1. switching, ip address 10 10 10 1/24:
This is incorrect. The switching command explicitly places or keeps the interface in Layer 2 mode. An IP address cannot be assigned directly to a physical interface that is in switching mode; an IP address is only assigned to Layer 3 interfaces like SVIs (Switch Virtual Interfaces) or routed ports.

C. int 1/1/1. ip address 10.10.10.1/24:
This is incorrect because it skips the essential step of converting the interface to Layer 3 mode. Executing the ip address command on a default (Layer 2) physical interface will result in an error.

D. int 1/1/1. routing, ip address 10.10.10 1/24:
This is incorrect due to invalid syntax. The command to enable Layer 3 mode on a physical interface is no switching, not routing. The routing command is not used in this context on Aruba CX switches for interface configuration.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: Aruba CX 6300 Switch Series Interface Configuration Guide (The official guide details the configuration of routed interfaces, specifying the use of the no switching command to convert a physical interface from Layer 2 to Layer 3 mode.)

Summary:
This question focuses on the relationship between a Management Information Base (MIB) and the protocol used to access it. A MIB is a virtual database that contains the manageable objects on a network device (like a switch or router). These objects are organized hierarchically. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the standard protocol designed specifically to read (get) and write (set) the values of these objects stored in the MIB from a network management system.

Correct Option:

A. SNMPv3:
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the standard application-layer protocol used for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks. An SNMP manager uses operations like GET, GETNEXT, and GETBULK to retrieve the values of specific MIB objects from an SNMP agent (e.g., an Aruba switch). SNMPv3 is a specific version of this protocol that provides secure message integrity, authentication, and encryption.

Incorrect Option:

B. DSCP:
The Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) is a field in an IP header used for classifying and managing network traffic for Quality of Service (QoS). It is used for packet prioritization, not for retrieving management data from a MIB.

C. TLV:
Type-Length-Value (TLV) is a generic encoding scheme used to encapsulate data in many protocols, including LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol). While LLDP itself can discover device information, TLV is a data format, not the protocol used to retrieve data from a SNMP MIB.

D. CDP:
The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a proprietary Layer 2 protocol used by Cisco devices to share information about themselves with directly connected neighbors. It is not the standard protocol used for querying a MIB database for network management purposes.

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: SNMP Configuration Guide for Aruba Switches (The official documentation explains how SNMP is used to manage device MIBs, with the SNMP manager sending requests to the agent on the switch to get or set MIB object values.)

Summary:
The Active Gateway feature in Aruba VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) is a key innovation for Layer 3 redundancy and efficiency. In a traditional VRRP/HSRP setup, one gateway is active and the other is standby, potentially creating a sub-optimal forwarding path. Active Gateway allows both VSX nodes to be active, distributed gateways for the same VLAN IP address simultaneously. This enables true active-active forwarding for north-south traffic, as each node can route traffic from its directly connected hosts without needing to forward it across the ISL.

Correct Option:

D. copied over the ISL link for an optimized path.
This option, while phrased awkwardly, points to the core function of Active Gateway. It eliminates the need for non-optimal forwarding. In a pre-VSX world with VRRP, if a host connected to the standby gateway sent traffic, that traffic would have to be hairpinned across the inter-switch link to the active gateway to be routed. With Active Gateway, MAC and ARP information is synchronized ("copied") across the ISL. This allows both switches to respond to ARP requests and own the virtual MAC, so traffic from any host is routed directly by the switch it's connected to, creating the most efficient, optimized path.

Incorrect Option:

A. Sixteen different VMACs are supported total as shared.:
This is incorrect. While VSX does use a virtual MAC (vMAC) for its system ID, the number 16 is not a defining characteristic of the Active Gateway feature itself. This seems to confuse a system limitation with the core functional purpose.

B. Active Gateway can once MSTP instances are created for VLAN load sharing.:
This is incorrect and mixes concepts. MSTP (Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol) is a Layer 2 protocol for loop prevention and load-sharing across VLANs. Active Gateway is a Layer 3 feature for gateway redundancy and has no dependency on MSTP instances being created.

C. Sixteen different VMACS are supported for each IPV4 and IPV6 stack simultaneously:
This is incorrect for the same reason as option A. The specific number of supported vMACs is an implementation detail, not the fundamental purpose or unique capability of the Active Gateway feature. The feature's value is in active-active routing, not a quantitative limit on MAC addresses.

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: VSX Configuration Guide - Active Gateway (The official guide explains that the Active Gateway feature synchronizes the control planes (ARP tables, ND tables) between VSX peers, allowing both switches to act as the active router for the same VLAN IP address, thus optimizing traffic flow.)

Summary:
This question involves extending a Layer 2 network across a Layer 3 infrastructure to support a legacy application. The requirement is to connect devices on dedicated Aruba CX 6200 switches at different sites. The technology must create a virtual Layer 2 bridge over an IP network. On the Aruba CX 6200, the specific feature designed for this purpose is VXLAN, which tunnels Layer 2 Ethernet frames over a Layer 3 network. The key component for discovering VXLAN tunnel endpoints (VTEPs) and managing BUM (Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, Multicast) traffic is the Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag (IMET) route, which is part of the control plane protocol for VXLAN.

Correct Option:

A. Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag (IMET)
IMET is the correct technology in this context. It is a type of route used by the underlying control plane (like BGP EVPN) for VXLAN. An IMET route is advertised by each VTEP (VXLAN Tunnel Endpoint, which in this case is the CX 6200 switch) for each VNI (VXLAN Network Identifier) it hosts.

This advertisement allows VTEPs to dynamically discover each other. More importantly, it specifies the multicast group or the VTEP IP address to be used for flooding BUM traffic (like the ARP broadcasts crucial for a legacy Layer 2 application) across the VXLAN overlay. This dynamic discovery and flooding mechanism is what enables the seamless Layer 2 extension.

Incorrect Option:

B. Ethernet over IP (EoIP):
This is a tunneling protocol more commonly associated with other vendors (e.g., MikroTik). It is not the standard, vendor-interoperable, and scalable technology used for this purpose on Aruba CX switches. The modern standard for Layer 2 overlay networks is VXLAN.

C. Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE):
GRE is a generic tunneling protocol that can encapsulate various network layer protocols. While it could be used to tunnel Ethernet frames, it lacks the built-in control plane and scalable flooding mechanisms of VXLAN. GRE tunnels are typically point-to-point and require manual configuration, making them less scalable and dynamic than a VXLAN solution using IMET.

D. Static VXLAN:
While VXLAN is the correct overarching technology, a purely static VXLAN configuration is not the best answer. Static VXLAN involves manually defining all remote VTEPs. This is manageable for a very small number of sites but becomes operationally heavy and does not scale well. The use of IMET as part of a dynamic control plane (like EVPN) provides automatic discovery and is the more robust and scalable solution, which is supported on the CX 6200.

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: Aruba CX 6200 Switch Series VXLAN Configuration Guide (The official guide explains VXLAN concepts and details how IMET routes within the EVPN control plane are used for VTEP discovery and handling of BUM traffic, enabling Layer 2 extension over an IP network.)

Summary:
This scenario describes a Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) situation where new Aruba devices (APs and a switch) need to be onboarded into Aruba Central without pre-registering their serial numbers. The office manager is on-site with the physical devices but lacks their details. To solve this, the manager can use a mobile app to scan a QR code on each device, which automatically captures its serial number and MAC address, and then assigns them to the pre-configured group in Central. The dedicated application for this specific purpose is the Aruba Onboard App.

Correct Option:

A. Aruba Onboard App:
The Aruba Onboard App is specifically designed for this exact use case. It allows a user to easily onboard unclaimed Aruba access points, switches, and gateways into an Aruba Central account.

The office manager would open the app, log in with their Central credentials, select the target group that was pre-configured, and then use the phone's camera to scan the QR code located on the physical device.

This action automatically reads the device's serial number and MAC address from the QR code and assigns the device to the correct group in Central, initiating the provisioning process without requiring the manager to manually type any complex identifiers.

Incorrect Option:

B. Aruba Central App:
While an "Aruba Central App" exists, it is generally a mobile version of the Central management interface for monitoring and making configuration changes. It is not the primary, streamlined tool designed specifically for the physical act of scanning and onboarding new hardware like the Onboard App is.

C. Aruba CX Mobile App:
This is not a standard or official Aruba application name for device onboarding. The official and recommended tool for this purpose is the Aruba Onboard App, which supports both wireless and switching products.

D. Aruba installer App:
This name is ambiguous and not the official title of the application. The "Aruba Installer" typically refers to a desktop application used for other tasks, such as configuring standalone controllers or conducting surveys, not for onboarding devices into Central via QR code scanning.

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: Aruba Central User Guide - Onboarding Devices (The official documentation details the use of the Aruba Onboard mobile application for adding devices to Central by scanning QR codes, explicitly describing this zero-touch provisioning workflow.)

Summary
BSS Coloring is a key feature in Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) designed to improve efficiency in dense deployment environments where multiple access points (APs) operate on the same channel. It works by assigning a unique "color" identifier (a number) to each Basic Service Set (BSS), which is an AP and its associated clients. Frames transmitted by that BSS are tagged with this color. This allows a receiving device to quickly distinguish between an intra-BSS frame (its own network) and an inter-BSS frame (an overlapping network). This differentiation enables more aggressive spatial reuse, as devices can decide to transmit even if they detect an inter-BSS frame, reducing unnecessary waiting and increasing overall network capacity.

Correct Option

D. BSS color tags are applied to Wi-Fi channels and can reduce the threshold for interference
This is the most accurate description of the primary benefit. BSS coloring does not make APs "farther apart" physically, but it makes them "logically farther apart" by changing how their signals are interpreted.

The "color" tag is included in the PHY header of Wi-Fi frames. When a device receives a frame, it can immediately check the color.

If the color matches its own BSS, it treats the signal as desired and uses a standard sensitivity threshold (e.g., -82 dBm).

If the color is different (an overlapping BSS), it can apply a higher (less sensitive) Receive Start (RX-START) threshold (e.g., -72 dBm). This means it will ignore the overlapping transmission unless it is very strong, allowing the device to transmit sooner. This is the "reduced threshold for interference" – the device has a higher tolerance for interference from other colored BSSs.

Incorrect Option

A. BSS color tags improve performance by allowing APS on the same channel to be farther apart:
This is incorrect. BSS coloring does not change the physical placement or radio frequency propagation of APs. It is a logical signal processing technique that improves performance in dense scenarios where APs are necessarily close together and on the same channel.

B. BSS color tags improve security by identifying rogue APS and tagging them as threats.:
This is incorrect. While a network management system could potentially use an unexpected BSS color as an anomaly, this is not the primary purpose or benefit of the feature. BSS coloring is a mechanism for managing co-channel interference and improving spectral efficiency, not a security tool for rogue AP detection.

C. BSS color tags are applied on the wireless controllers and can reduce the threshold for interference:
This is partially misleading. While the controller may manage the assignment of colors, the tags are applied to the Wi-Fi frames transmitted by the APs and clients on the air, not just "on the controllers." The core benefit of reducing the interference threshold happens at the client and AP radio level during frame reception.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Technology Overview (The official Aruba technical guides explain BSS Coloring as a method for spatial reuse, where devices can raise their noise floor for "different color" BSSs, allowing simultaneous transmissions and increasing capacity in dense environments.)

Summary:
This question involves identifying the correct pre-defined AOS-CX user role that provides a specific, limited set of read-only permissions. The required access is restricted to viewing the System > Log page in the Web UI and performing only GET operations via REST API for the /logs/event resource. This describes a role focused on monitoring and reviewing system events and logs without the ability to make any configuration changes. The "auditors" role is explicitly designed for this purpose, providing the necessary read-only access to logging and monitoring information.

Correct Option:

B. auditors:
The auditors role is a default user role in AOS-CX that provides read-only access to system information, including logs and events.

This role perfectly matches the requirements:

It allows access to the System > Log page in the Web UI to view event logs.

It permits only GET method access for REST API calls, which is sufficient for retrieving data from the /logs/event resource.

Crucially, it denies any permissions that would allow the user to modify the switch's configuration, ensuring the principle of least privilege is maintained.

Incorrect Option:

A. administrators:
This role has full read and write access to all switch functions, configuration, and management features. This far exceeds the required permissions, as the user would be able to make changes, not just view logs.

C. sysops:
The sysops role typically has permissions for system operations and troubleshooting that go beyond simple auditing. It often includes the ability to clear logs, restart processes, and perform other operational tasks, which violates the "only have access to the GET method" requirement.

D. operators:
The operators role generally has more permissions than an auditor. It often allows for some configuration tasks on specific features like ports and VLANs, and may include permissions for actions beyond simple GET operations (e.g., POST, DELETE for certain resources), which is more access than what is required for this scenario

Reference:
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: AOS-CX Security and User Management Guide (The official guide details the capabilities of each default user role, specifying that the "auditors" role is intended for users who need to view system state and logs but not make configuration changes.)

Summary:
This question focuses on the optimal Quality of Service (QoS) scheduling mechanism for minimizing latency for real-time traffic like voice. Voice over IP (VoIP) is highly sensitive to delay and jitter. Scheduling algorithms determine the order in which packets are transmitted from a switch's egress queues. Strict Priority Queuing (also called Strict Queuing or Priority Queuing) is designed specifically for this purpose by ensuring that a designated high-priority queue is always serviced and transmitted first, before any packets in lower-priority queues are considered, thus guaranteeing minimal latency.

Correct Option:

A. Strict queuing:
Strict queuing is the best scheduling technology for minimizing latency for voice traffic. It works by assigning real-time traffic (like voice) to the highest priority egress queue on a switch port.

The switch's scheduler always checks this strict-priority queue first. If there is a packet in this queue, it is transmitted immediately. The scheduler only moves to the lower-priority queues (serviced by a mechanism like DWRR) when the strict-priority queue is empty.

This "jump-the-line" behavior ensures that voice packets face the absolute minimum possible waiting time in the output buffer, effectively minimizing latency and jitter, which is critical for voice quality.

Incorrect Option:

B. Rate limiting:
Rate limiting (or policing) is used to cap the amount of bandwidth a specific type of traffic can use. It does not schedule packets for transmission; it only decides whether to transmit, drop, or re-mark packets that exceed a defined rate. It does not inherently provide low latency for the traffic that is allowed through.

C. QoS shaping:
Traffic shaping buffers packets to smooth out a traffic flow and ensure it conforms to a specific rate. This process of buffering and delaying packets to meet a rate profile increases latency, which is the opposite of what is desired for sensitive voice traffic.

D. DWRR queuing:
Deficit Weighted Round Robin (DWRR) is a scheduling algorithm that provides bandwidth fairness among different queues. It assigns weights to queues to ensure each gets a proportional share of the link bandwidth. While fair, it does not provide the strict, absolute priority required for minimal latency. A voice packet could still be stuck behind a large data packet from another queue being serviced by DWRR.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: Aruba CX Quality of Service (QoS) Configuration Guide (The official guide explains egress scheduling, detailing how strict-priority queuing ensures delay-sensitive traffic like voice is always transmitted before traffic in other queues.)

Summary
This question involves troubleshooting guest user authentication on AOS-CX switches. The administrator needs to verify the final authorization result for connected users, specifically which user role has been assigned after successful authentication. This information is part of the state maintained by the 802.1X/MAC Authentication (port-access) client session database on the switch. The correct command displays the current status of all authentication clients, including their assigned role, which is crucial for verifying if the guest users are receiving the correct access permissions.

Correct Option:

A. show aaa authentication port-access interface all client-status
This is the correct and most direct command to examine the assigned role for authenticated users. It queries the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) subsystem for the status of all port-access clients (including 802.1X and MAC Auth) on all interfaces.

The output of this command provides a detailed list of connected clients, showing key information such as the client's MAC address, the interface they are connected to, their authentication state (e.g., Authenticated), and most importantly, the user role that was assigned to them by the authorization process. This allows the administrator to immediately confirm if the guest users are receiving the expected role.

Incorrect Option:

B. show port-access captiveportal profile:
This command is used to display the configuration of the captive portal profiles themselves (e.g., splash page URL, settings). It does not show the real-time state or the assigned roles for currently connected clients.

C. show port-access role:
This is not a standard, valid command on AOS-CX switches for viewing client assignments. The command to view client status and their assigned roles is show aaa authentication port-access client-status.

D. diag-dump captiveportal client verbose:
While diag-dump commands can provide deep internal state information, they are generally intended for TAC (Technical Assistance Center) use and are not the primary, user-friendly command for this task. The show aaa authentication port-access client-status command is the standard, supported way to retrieve this operational information.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: AOS-CX Security and User Management Guide (The official command reference for show aaa authentication port-access client-status explains that it displays the client's current state, including the assigned user role, which is essential for troubleshooting authorization issues.)

Summary:
The Active Gateway feature in Aruba VSX provides active-active Layer 3 gateway redundancy, allowing both VSX nodes to simultaneously act as the default gateway for the same VLAN IP address. This is a fundamental departure from traditional VRRP, which uses an active-standby model. Because these two methods solve the same problem (gateway redundancy) in conflicting ways, they cannot be used simultaneously on the same VLAN interface. Attempting to configure both would create a conflict in how traffic is handled, making them mutually exclusive.

Correct Option:

A. VRRP and Active gateway are mutually exclusive on a VLAN
This statement is correct. Active Gateway and VRRP serve the same essential purpose but with different operational models. VRRP elects a single master router, while Active Gateway allows both VSX peers to be active.

Configuring both on the same SVI would create undefined behavior and routing conflicts. The system enforces that only one gateway redundancy protocol can be active per VLAN. Therefore, they are mutually exclusive, and you must choose one or the other for a given VLAN.

Incorrect Option:

B. VRID is set automatically as SVI vlan id:
This is incorrect. The Virtual Router ID (VRID) in a standard VRRP configuration is manually configured and does not automatically default to the VLAN ID. In the context of Active Gateway, the concept of a VRID as used in VRRP does not directly apply in the same way.

C. VRIDs need to be non-overlapping with VRRP:
This statement is vague and misleading in the context of Active Gateway. Since Active Gateway and VRRP cannot coexist on the same VLAN, the question of overlapping VRIDs between them is irrelevant. VRIDs must be unique among different VRRP groups on the same broadcast domain, but this is a general VRRP rule, not a specific interaction with Active Gateway.

D. VRRP and Active Gateway can be configured on a single VLAN for interoperability:
This is the direct opposite of the correct answer. They cannot be configured together on a single VLAN because their mechanisms for handling gateway traffic are incompatible. The features are designed as alternatives to each other, not as complementary technologies.

Reference
HPE Aruba Networking Documentation: VSX Configuration Guide - Active Gateway (The official documentation for the VSX Active Gateway feature explains that it provides active-active forwarding for IPv4 and IPv6 traffic and that it replaces the need for VRRP, implying they are not used together.)