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Aruba Switching Associate practice questions

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Question 1Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command shows the current running configuration on an ArubaOS-Switch device?

  1. show running-config Correct answer.
  2. show flash
  3. show config files
  4. show startup-config

Explanation

The running configuration is the active configuration held in memory and is displayed with show running-config. The startup configuration is the saved copy that the switch loads at boot.

Question 2Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the default administrative state of a newly created VLAN on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. Shutdown
  2. Disabled
  3. Enabled Correct answer.
  4. Monitor-only

Explanation

Creating a VLAN places it in the enabled (active) state by default. You must explicitly disable a VLAN if you want it inactive.

Question 3Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement describes a trunk port on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. It blocks all tagged frames by default
  2. It belongs to exactly one VLAN untagged
  3. It carries traffic for multiple VLANs with tags Correct answer.
  4. It only forwards untagged frames

Explanation

A trunk port carries frames for multiple VLANs and uses 802.1Q tags to identify VLAN membership. Access ports instead belong to a single VLAN and forward untagged frames.

Question 4Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which protocol prevents Layer 2 loops by placing redundant ports into a blocking state?

  1. STP Correct answer.
  2. LLDP
  3. ARP
  4. LACP

Explanation

Spanning Tree Protocol builds a loop-free logical topology by blocking redundant paths. LACP bundles links, LLDP discovers neighbors, and ARP resolves IP to MAC addresses.

Question 5Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command assigns a port to VLAN 20 as an untagged member?

  1. vlan 20 tagged 1/1
  2. switchport access vlan 20
  3. vlan 20 untagged 1/1 Correct answer.
  4. interface 1/1 vlan 20

Explanation

On ArubaOS-Switch the VLAN context command untagged assigns a port as an untagged member of that VLAN. The tagged keyword would make the port a tagged member instead.

Question 6Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What does a switch do with a broadcast frame received on a port?

  1. Floods it to all ports in the same VLAN Correct answer.
  2. Sends it only to the default gateway
  3. Returns it to the receiving port only
  4. Drops it immediately

Explanation

A broadcast frame is flooded out all other ports that are members of the same VLAN. It is not forwarded to ports in other VLANs.

Question 7Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which feature lets a switch automatically learn the MAC addresses of connected devices?

  1. Static ARP entry
  2. Port mirroring
  3. MAC address table learning Correct answer.
  4. DHCP snooping

Explanation

The switch records the source MAC address and ingress port of received frames in its MAC address table. This learning process enables efficient unicast forwarding.

Question 8Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which CLI mode must you enter to issue global configuration commands on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. ROM monitor mode
  2. Interface configuration mode
  3. Global configuration mode Correct answer.
  4. Operator mode

Explanation

Global configuration mode is reached with the configure command and is where device-wide settings are applied. Interface mode is a subordinate context for port-specific settings.

Question 9Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A port configured as a tagged member of VLAN 10 receives an untagged frame. What does the switch do by default?

  1. Associates the frame with the port's untagged VLAN Correct answer.
  2. Sends the frame to the default VLAN 1
  3. Drops the frame as malformed
  4. Tags the frame for VLAN 10 automatically

Explanation

An untagged frame arriving on a port is classified into the port's untagged (native) VLAN, regardless of tagged memberships. Tagged VLANs only apply to frames that already carry a tag.

Question 10Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the purpose of the ip default-gateway command on a Layer 2 switch?

  1. To enable DHCP relay
  2. To enable IP routing between VLANs
  3. To assign an IP address to the switch
  4. To forward management traffic off the local subnet Correct answer.

Explanation

On a Layer 2 switch the default gateway is used only for the switch's own management traffic destined off-subnet. It does not enable routing of user traffic.

Question 11Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which spanning tree port role forwards traffic and has the lowest path cost to the root bridge?

  1. Designated port
  2. Root port Correct answer.
  3. Disabled port
  4. Alternate port

Explanation

The root port is the port on a non-root bridge with the lowest cost path to the root bridge, and it forwards traffic. Designated ports forward on a segment toward downstream switches.

Question 12Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command creates a link aggregation group using LACP on ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. trunk 1/1-1/2 lacp Correct answer.
  2. channel-group 1 mode active
  3. interface lag 1
  4. lag 1/1-1/2 lacp

Explanation

The trunk command with the lacp keyword forms a dynamic LACP aggregation from the listed ports. Static aggregations use trunk without the lacp keyword.

Question 13Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the effect of configuring a port as an edge port in RSTP?

  1. It transitions to forwarding immediately Correct answer.
  2. It always blocks traffic
  3. It disables BPDU processing
  4. It becomes the root port

Explanation

An edge port connects to an end device and can move directly to forwarding without waiting for STP timers. If a BPDU is received, the port loses edge status.

Question 14Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command displays the MAC address table on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. show lldp info remote-device
  2. show interfaces brief
  3. show arp
  4. show mac-address Correct answer.

Explanation

show mac-address lists learned MAC addresses along with their associated ports and VLANs. The other commands display ARP, neighbor, or interface status information.

Question 15Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A student wants to verify which VLAN a specific port belongs to. Which command is most direct?

  1. show vlan
  2. show interfaces
  3. show running-config
  4. show vlan port 1/1 Correct answer.

Explanation

show vlan port displays VLAN membership details for a specified port. It directly answers which VLANs the port is tagged or untagged in.

Question 16Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What does DHCP snooping do on a switch?

  1. Encrypts DHCP traffic
  2. Translates DHCP to DNS
  3. Assigns IP addresses to clients
  4. Filters untrusted DHCP server messages Correct answer.

Explanation

DHCP snooping designates trusted ports and drops DHCP server messages arriving on untrusted ports, preventing rogue DHCP servers. It does not allocate addresses itself.

Question 17Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement about the native VLAN on a trunk link is correct?

  1. Untagged frames on the link are assigned to it Correct answer.
  2. It disables tagging on all VLANs
  3. It carries only management traffic
  4. It must always be VLAN 1

Explanation

The native VLAN is the VLAN into which untagged frames on a trunk are classified. It is configurable and does not have to be VLAN 1, though both ends should match.

Question 18Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command saves the running configuration so it persists after reload?

  1. erase startup-config
  2. reload
  3. write memory Correct answer.
  4. copy flash tftp

Explanation

write memory copies the running configuration to the startup configuration file so it survives a reboot. Reload restarts the device without saving changes.

Question 19Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which two features combine to prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to a specific switch port? (Choose the best single answer.)

  1. LACP and trunking
  2. Port security with a MAC limit Correct answer.
  3. LLDP and CDP
  4. STP and RSTP

Explanation

Port security restricts which and how many MAC addresses may appear on a port, blocking unauthorized devices. The other feature pairs serve discovery, loop prevention, or aggregation.

Question 20Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A switch has three VLANs and needs to route between them. What must be enabled?

  1. A default gateway on each host only
  2. DHCP snooping
  3. STP on every port
  4. IP routing on the switch Correct answer.

Explanation

Inter-VLAN routing requires the switch to act as a Layer 3 device with IP routing enabled and an IP interface per VLAN. Host gateways alone cannot route between VLANs.

Question 21Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the purpose of the ip helper-address command on a VLAN interface?

  1. To forward DHCP broadcasts to a server Correct answer.
  2. To assign a static IP to the interface
  3. To enable NAT
  4. To set the STP priority

Explanation

ip helper-address converts broadcast DHCP requests into unicast packets sent to the specified server. This lets clients obtain addresses from a server on another subnet.

Question 22Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement best describes the difference between a static and dynamic LACP aggregation?

  1. Both require LACP negotiation
  2. Dynamic uses LACP negotiation; static does not Correct answer.
  3. Neither supports multiple links
  4. Static uses LACP; dynamic does not

Explanation

A dynamic aggregation uses LACP to negotiate link membership with the peer, while a static trunk is manually configured without LACP. Both can bundle multiple links.

Question 23Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A root bridge election occurs in a network with default priorities. Which factor breaks a tie between two switches with equal priority?

  1. The highest port number
  2. The highest IP address
  3. The lowest bridge MAC address Correct answer.
  4. The fastest link speed

Explanation

When bridge priorities are equal, the switch with the lowest bridge MAC address becomes the root. Port number, link speed, and IP address are not tiebreakers in the root election.

Question 24Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A trunk between two switches carries VLANs 10 and 20, but hosts in VLAN 20 cannot communicate across the link. VLAN 10 works. What is the most likely cause?

  1. STP is disabled on the link
  2. The native VLAN is set to 20
  3. Port security is enabled
  4. VLAN 20 is not tagged on both trunk ends Correct answer.

Explanation

If VLAN 20 is missing from the tagged membership on either trunk end, its frames are not carried across the link. Both ends must agree on which VLANs are tagged.

Question 25Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which behavior occurs when a switch receives a frame destined to a MAC address that is not in its table?

  1. It sends the frame to the root bridge
  2. It floods the frame within the VLAN Correct answer.
  3. It logs an error and holds the frame
  4. It discards the frame

Explanation

Unknown unicast frames are flooded out all other ports in the ingress VLAN so the destination can be reached. The switch learns the destination's location from the reply.

Question 26Aruba Switching Fundamentals

On an ArubaOS-Switch, which command displays the current VLAN membership and tagging status of all ports?

  1. show port-access
  2. show running-config
  3. show interfaces brief
  4. show vlan Correct answer.

Explanation

The show vlan command lists each VLAN along with its member ports and whether they are tagged or untagged. It is the standard way to inspect VLAN-to-port assignments across the switch.

Question 27Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which protocol is used by a switch to prevent Layer 2 loops while still allowing redundant paths?

  1. Link Layer Discovery Protocol
  2. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
  3. Spanning Tree Protocol Correct answer.
  4. VLAN Trunking Protocol

Explanation

Spanning Tree Protocol logically blocks redundant links to create a loop-free topology while keeping backup paths available. When a primary link fails, STP can converge onto a previously blocked path.

Question 28Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the default administrative state of a newly installed switch port that has a cable connected to an active device?

  1. Administratively disabled until enabled
  2. Configured as a trunk port
  3. Enabled but blocked by default ACL
  4. Enabled and forwarding traffic Correct answer.

Explanation

Switch ports are enabled by default, so a port with a live link will come up and begin forwarding traffic once STP permits it. No manual enable step is required for basic connectivity.

Question 29Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which address type does a switch use as the source when it sends an LLDP advertisement?

  1. The broadcast address
  2. The management or port MAC address Correct answer.
  3. A randomly generated address per frame
  4. The configured default gateway address

Explanation

LLDP frames are sourced from the switch's own MAC address, typically the management or port MAC. LLDP is a link-local protocol, so it never uses broadcast or gateway addresses as a source.

Question 30Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement describes the function of a switch's management VLAN?

  1. It isolates management traffic from user data traffic Correct answer.
  2. It disables STP on member ports
  3. It carries only untagged user traffic
  4. It automatically routes between all other VLANs

Explanation

A management VLAN separates administrative traffic such as SSH and SNMP from user data, improving security and control. The switch's management IP address is typically assigned to an interface in this VLAN.

Question 31Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What does the term 'untagged' mean for a port in a VLAN?

  1. Frames leave the port without a VLAN tag Correct answer.
  2. The port is administratively disabled
  3. The port only forwards broadcast frames
  4. Frames leave the port with an 802.1Q tag

Explanation

An untagged port strips or omits the 802.1Q tag so connected end devices receive standard Ethernet frames. This is typical for access ports connected to hosts.

Question 32Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command on an ArubaOS-Switch displays the status of the spanning tree for a given VLAN?

  1. show lldp info remote-device
  2. show stp statistics
  3. show ip route
  4. show spanning-tree Correct answer.

Explanation

The show spanning-tree command reports root bridge information, port roles, and port states per VLAN. It is the primary tool for verifying STP operation.

Question 33Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the purpose of a default VLAN on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. It is used exclusively for voice traffic
  2. It automatically trunks all ports together
  3. It is reserved for management access only
  4. It carries traffic from ports that have no other VLAN assignment Correct answer.

Explanation

The default VLAN provides a home for ports that have not been explicitly assigned to another VLAN. This ensures newly connected devices can communicate without additional configuration.

Question 34Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A switch port is configured as an access port in VLAN 30. A frame arrives tagged for VLAN 30 on that port. What does the switch do by default?

  1. Drops the tagged frame Correct answer.
  2. Retags the frame for the default VLAN
  3. Forwards the frame to all VLANs
  4. Forwards the frame normally

Explanation

Access ports expect untagged frames, so a tagged frame arriving on an access port is discarded by default. Tagged frames are only accepted on ports configured as tagged members of that VLAN.

Question 35Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command assigns a port to VLAN 20 as an untagged member on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. vlan 20 tagged 1/1
  2. interface 1/1 vlan 20
  3. switchport access vlan 20
  4. vlan 20 untagged 1/1 Correct answer.

Explanation

Within the VLAN context, the untagged command adds a port as an untagged member of that VLAN. This is the standard syntax for placing access ports into a VLAN.

Question 36Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which feature allows a single physical link to carry traffic for multiple VLANs between two switches?

  1. Storm control
  2. Port mirroring
  3. Port security
  4. Trunking with tagged VLANs Correct answer.

Explanation

A trunk link carries multiple VLANs by tagging frames with 802.1Q VLAN identifiers. Both ends must agree on which VLANs are tagged for traffic to pass correctly.

Question 37Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What happens when a switch receives a frame on a port whose source MAC address is already learned on a different port?

  1. The switch updates the MAC table to the new port Correct answer.
  2. The switch drops the frame and keeps the old entry
  3. The switch floods the frame to all ports
  4. The switch disables both ports

Explanation

MAC learning follows the most recently observed source port, so the table entry is updated to the new port. This allows a device that has moved to remain reachable.

Question 38Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command enables a specific port as an edge port for RSTP on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. spanning-tree 1/1 cost 19
  2. spanning-tree priority 4096
  3. spanning-tree 1/1 admin-edge-port Correct answer.
  4. spanning-tree mode mstp

Explanation

The admin-edge-port option marks a port as an RSTP edge port, allowing it to transition to forwarding immediately. Edge ports should only connect to end devices, not to other switches.

Question 39Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement describes the behavior of a switch port configured with port security in 'learn' mode?

  1. It learns allowed MAC addresses and blocks unknown ones Correct answer.
  2. It disables the port permanently on first frame
  3. It only permits broadcast frames
  4. It allows all addresses and logs violations

Explanation

In learn mode, the switch records the first MAC address or addresses seen and thereafter permits only those. Frames from other addresses trigger the configured violation action.

Question 40Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command configures a static default route on a Layer 3 ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. ip route 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0
  2. default-router 192.168.1.1
  3. ip default-gateway 192.168.1.1
  4. ip route 0.0.0.0/0 192.168.1.1 Correct answer.

Explanation

A default route is expressed as the destination 0.0.0.0/0 pointing to the next-hop address. This command installs that route in the routing table.

Question 41Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command creates a Layer 3 VLAN interface with an IP address on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. vlan 10 ip address 10.0.0.1/24 Correct answer.
  2. vlan 10 interface 10.0.0.1
  3. interface vlan 10 ip 10.0.0.1
  4. ip address 10.0.0.1/24 vlan 10

Explanation

Entering the VLAN context and issuing the ip address command assigns an IP address to that VLAN interface, enabling routing on it. The interface becomes the default gateway for hosts in that VLAN.

Question 42Aruba Switching Fundamentals

What is the effect of enabling IP routing globally on a Layer 3 switch?

  1. The switch forwards packets between connected subnets Correct answer.
  2. The switch converts all ports to trunks
  3. The switch disables its management interface
  4. The switch blocks all inter-VLAN traffic

Explanation

Global IP routing allows the switch to forward packets between different VLAN interfaces it hosts. Without it, the switch can only reach directly connected subnets.

Question 43Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which protocol provides redundant default gateway service for hosts on a VLAN?

  1. VLAN Trunking Protocol
  2. Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol Correct answer.
  3. Spanning Tree Protocol
  4. Link Aggregation Control Protocol

Explanation

VRRP lets multiple routers share a virtual IP address so hosts keep a working gateway if one router fails. It provides gateway redundancy independent of host configuration.

Question 44Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A switch has two uplinks bundled with LACP in active mode on one side and passive mode on the other. What is the result?

  1. Only one link forwards traffic
  2. The links enter an error-disabled state
  3. The aggregation forms successfully Correct answer.
  4. The aggregation never forms

Explanation

Active mode initiates LACP negotiation, and passive mode responds, so the aggregation forms. At least one side must be active for LACP to negotiate.

Question 45Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which command displays LLDP neighbor information on an ArubaOS-Switch?

  1. show ip interface
  2. show mac-address
  3. show vlan port
  4. show lldp info remote-device Correct answer.

Explanation

The show lldp info remote-device command lists neighbors discovered via LLDP along with their port and system details. It is useful for mapping physical topology.

Question 46Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A host connected to an access port cannot reach the network, but the port shows link up. The port is assigned to VLAN 50 while the gateway resides in VLAN 10 with no routing enabled. What is the most likely cause?

  1. STP has disabled the port
  2. The cable is faulty
  3. The host is in a different subnet with no path to the gateway Correct answer.
  4. LLDP is not enabled

Explanation

With no inter-VLAN routing, hosts in VLAN 50 cannot reach a gateway in VLAN 10. The host needs either a gateway in its own subnet or routing enabled on the switch.

Question 47Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Two switches are connected by a trunk. VLAN 10 works but VLAN 20 fails. Which configuration mismatch best explains this?

  1. LLDP is disabled on both switches
  2. STP priority differs between the switches
  3. VLAN 20 is not tagged on one side of the trunk Correct answer.
  4. The native VLAN is set to 1 on both sides

Explanation

For a VLAN to cross a trunk, it must be tagged on both ends. If one side omits VLAN 20 from the tagged set, frames for that VLAN are dropped.

Question 48Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A network engineer wants to prevent a single host from exhausting the MAC address table. Which feature should be configured?

  1. Port security with a maximum address limit Correct answer.
  2. Jumbo frame support
  3. Storm control on all ports
  4. IGMP snooping

Explanation

Port security limits the number of MAC addresses learned on a port, preventing table exhaustion attacks. Violations can trigger actions such as dropping frames or disabling the port.

Question 49Aruba Switching Fundamentals

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between the root bridge and path cost in STP?

  1. The root bridge has the highest path cost
  2. The root bridge forwards only on designated ports
  3. The root bridge has zero cost on all its ports Correct answer.
  4. Path cost is only calculated on blocked ports

Explanation

By definition, the root bridge is the reference point for path cost, so all of its ports have a cost of zero. Other switches calculate cost based on the path to the root.

Question 50Aruba Switching Fundamentals

A switch receives a frame with a destination MAC address that is present in the MAC table. What action does the switch take?

  1. Sends the frame to the default gateway
  2. Floods the frame to all ports in the VLAN
  3. Forwards the frame only out the port associated with that address Correct answer.
  4. Drops the frame and sends an ICMP message

Explanation

A known unicast destination is forwarded only out the specific port recorded in the MAC table. This targeted forwarding is the core efficiency of a switch.