Aruba Comware Advanced study guide
Aruba Comware Advanced · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Aruba Comware Advanced exam is an independent study target for network engineers who already work with HPE/Aruba Comware-based switches and routers and want to prove depth beyond entry-level configuration. It suits candidates in enterprise, campus, and service-provider-adjacent roles who touch routing, resiliency, and security policy on Comware devices day to day. The Aruba Comware Advanced study guide has 9 sections and about 2,480 words.
01Comware System Architecture and Device Management
Comware splits the control plane into user-plane and management-plane concepts and separates a running configuration from a startup configuration ; changes take effect immediately in the running config but are lost on reboot unless saved with save . Know the file roles: the .cfg startup file, the .mdb next-startup file, and the .bin boot image selected via boot-loader .
299 words, about 1 min02Advanced VLAN, Link Aggregation, and Spanning Tree Configuration
This domain tests how L2 topology is built and protected. Candidates must know port link-type semantics (access, trunk, hybrid) and how PVID and permitted-VLAN lists interact on trunk and hybrid ports.
296 words, about 1 min03IP Routing Protocols (OSPF, OSPFv3, BGP, IS-IS, RIP)
Expect questions that test protocol mechanics and configuration intent rather than rote commands. For OSPF , know area types (stub, totally stubby, NSSA), LSA types, DR/BDR election on broadcast networks, and how virtual links repair a discontiguous backbone.
295 words, about 1 min04IP Multicast and IPv6 Deployment
Multicast questions test the PIM variants (dense, sparse, SSM) and the role of IGMP (v1/v2/v3) and MLD for IPv6. Know the shared tree (RPT) vs.
277 words, about 1 min05MPLS and Advanced WAN/VPN Technologies
This domain covers MPLS label operations (push, swap, pop), the LFIB vs. FIB , LDP and RSVP-TE signaling, and L3VPN concepts: VRFs, route distinguishers (RD), route targets (RT), and MP-BGP VPNv4/VPNv6.
271 words, about 1 min06Network Security, ACLs, and AAA
ACL questions test match order and implicit deny . Comware ACLs are numbered ranges for basic (2000-2999), advanced (3000-3999), and L2 (4000-4999); rules are evaluated top-down and the first match wins, with an implicit deny at the end.
271 words, about 1 min07High Availability, IRF, and Resiliency
IRF (Intelligent Resilient Framework) virtualizes multiple physical switches into one logical device. Candidates must know member IDs, priority (higher wins election), and the IRF port binding two physical ports.
247 words, about 1 min08QoS, Traffic Management, and Monitoring
QoS questions test the pipeline: classification → marking → queuing → scheduling → shaping/policing . Know DSCP (6 bits) and 802.1p (3 bits) markings, trust boundaries, and mapping tables.
247 words, about 1 min09Troubleshooting and Operations
Troubleshooting questions reward a structured method: define the symptom, isolate the layer, verify with display commands, then change one variable. High-yield tools include ping/tracert , display interface (errors, CRC, duplex), display logbuffer , display diagnostic-information , and packet capture via port mirroring .
277 words, about 1 min