Aruba Switching Fundamentals
Aruba switches (AOS-S and AOS-CX families) share a common operational model: a boot image, a running configuration held in RAM, a startup configuration stored in flash, and a factory-default state you can always return to. Know the difference between running-config and startup-config cold - a change is live the moment you press Enter but disappears on reload unless you write memory (AOS-S) or copy running-config startup-config (AOS-CX).
Understand the out-of-band management path (console, dedicated mgmt port) versus in-band management (a switched VLAN interface with an IP address). A factory-default switch typically has no management IP, so the console is the only way in until you configure one. Default credentials and the requirement to set a manager password on first login are common trivia items.
Traps to watch for: questions that describe a change as "saved" merely because it appears in show running-config; questions confusing the management VLAN with the default VLAN 1 (they can be the same, but need not be); and questions about which port types exist (access, trunk, and on some platforms a hybrid behavior). Also expect questions on firmware: primary versus secondary image, and the fact that a switch boots the image marked primary unless told otherwise.
Rule of thumb: if it isn't in the startup config, it doesn't survive a reload. Worked example: you assign VLAN 20 an IP of 10.1.20.5/24 on a factory-default AOS-S switch, confirm pings work, then power-cycle it. After boot the IP is gone - because write memory was never issued. Candidates who conflate running and startup state pick the wrong answer here almost every time.