ACSP Switch Configuration & Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the function of VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) on Aruba AOS-CX switches?
- Creates a virtual chassis of up to 8 switches sharing a single management plane
- Pairs two switches to provide active-active redundancy with a shared control plane (Correct answer)
- Extends VLAN domains across geographically separated sites
- Aggregates uplink bandwidth using ECMP
Correct answer: Pairs two switches to provide active-active redundancy with a shared control plane
VSX pairs two AOS-CX switches in an active-active configuration, providing redundancy and load-balancing without a stacking cable.
Question 2: Which link in a VSX setup carries inter-switch protocol messages and data traffic during failover?
- VSX keepalive link
- ISL (Inter-Switch Link) (Correct answer)
- LAG uplink
- OOBM port
Correct answer: ISL (Inter-Switch Link)
The ISL (Inter-Switch Link) in a VSX pair carries both control plane synchronization traffic and data traffic that must cross between the two VSX peers.
Question 3: In Aruba AOS-CX, what is a 'profile' used for in the context of switch management?
- Defines a set of QoS policies applied globally
- Groups configuration settings that can be applied to multiple interfaces at once (Correct answer)
- Specifies RADIUS server authentication parameters
- Sets the speed and duplex for a port group
Correct answer: Groups configuration settings that can be applied to multiple interfaces at once
In AOS-CX, profiles allow administrators to define reusable configuration templates that can be applied consistently across multiple interfaces.
Question 4: Which spanning tree mode is recommended for use with VSX deployments on Aruba AOS-CX?
- STP (802.1D)
- PVST+
- MSTP (802.1s) (Correct answer)
- RSTP (802.1w) per-VLAN
Correct answer: MSTP (802.1s)
MSTP (Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol, 802.1s) is recommended in VSX environments because it provides efficient topology management across multiple VLANs.
Question 5: What happens to traffic on a VSX setup when the ISL fails but both switches remain operational?
- Both switches continue forwarding normally with no impact
- The secondary switch shuts down all its access ports to prevent split-brain loops (Correct answer)
- LACP on the ISL forces a re-election
- All traffic is redirected through the keepalive link
Correct answer: The secondary switch shuts down all its access ports to prevent split-brain loops
If the ISL fails while both VSX peers are still alive, the secondary switch disables its access ports to avoid a split-brain loop scenario.
Question 6: Which CLI command on AOS-CX shows the synchronization status and role (primary/secondary) of a VSX pair?
- show vsx brief (Correct answer)
- show chassis vsx
- show redundancy
- show vsx status
Correct answer: show vsx brief
'show vsx brief' displays the VSX configuration summary including the local role (primary or secondary) and ISL/keepalive link states.
Question 7: On Aruba switches, what is the purpose of the 'system-mac' configured under VSX?
- Provides a shared MAC address used by both VSX peers to appear as a single logical switch to downstream devices (Correct answer)
- Sets the BPDU source MAC for spanning tree
- Defines the virtual IP address for VRRP
- Identifies the VSX pair in the Aruba Central inventory
Correct answer: Provides a shared MAC address used by both VSX peers to appear as a single logical switch to downstream devices
The VSX system-mac is a shared MAC address that both peers use so downstream devices see a consistent single-switch identity regardless of which peer is active.
ACSP Switch Configuration & Management 4
What is the function of VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) on Aruba AOS-CX switches?