Aruba Switching Associate study plan
Aruba Switching Associate · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Aruba Switching Fundamentals
Diagram the boot and initialization sequence of an Aruba switch from power-on through management-plane readiness
Identify and label the physical and logical components of the ArubaOS-Switch and AOS-CX CLI hierarchy
Configure hostname, management IP, and clock settings on a lab switch and verify with show commands
Compare the default port and interface states across access and trunk configurations
Your checkpoint
A one-page annotated switch boot/CLI reference sheet plus saved lab config showing a fully initialized switch reachable by management IP
Aruba Switching Fundamentals & VLANs and Layer 2 Technologies
Differentiate switching modes (store-and-forward, cut-through) and map them to forwarding decisions
Explain how MAC learning, aging, and flooding build the forwarding table
Create VLANs and assign access ports, then verify membership and forwarding
Capture and interpret the MAC address table before and after traffic flows
Your checkpoint
Lab report showing MAC table evolution and VLAN membership verification across two VLANs
VLANs and Layer 2 Technologies
Configure 802.1Q trunk links between two switches and validate tagged traffic
Describe the purpose and behavior of the native VLAN and PVID
Set up inter-VLAN routing and confirm reachability between VLANs
Troubleshoot a misconfigured trunk using show interfaces and VLAN diagnostics
Your checkpoint
A working two-switch trunk topology with three VLANs, inter-VLAN reachability proof, and a written troubleshooting log of one injected fault
Spanning Tree and Link Aggregation
Explain the 802.1D and RSTP port roles, states, and convergence behavior
Configure spanning tree on a multi-switch topology and identify root bridge election results
Tune STP priorities and costs to force a deterministic topology
Verify port roles and states with STP show commands
Your checkpoint
Topology diagram with documented root bridge, port roles, and a before/after comparison of STP priority tuning
Spanning Tree and Link Aggregation
Configure LACP link aggregation between two switches and verify bundle health
Compare static versus dynamic aggregation and explain when each is appropriate
Describe how STP treats aggregated links and how to avoid loops in redundant designs
Test failover by disabling a member link and confirm uninterrupted traffic
Your checkpoint
LACP bundle lab with failover test results and a short explanation of STP interaction with the bundle
IP Routing and Network Security Basics
Configure a routed interface and static routes between two subnets
Explain longest-prefix match and verify it with routing table output
Enable and validate basic DHCP and DNS behavior on the routed network
Apply and verify port security and MAC-based access controls
Your checkpoint
Routed two-subnet lab with static routes, a longest-prefix-match worked example, and a port-security test log
IP Routing and Network Security Basics & VLANs and Layer 2 Technologies
Configure management access controls including local users and remote management restrictions
Describe common Layer 2 attacks (MAC flooding, VLAN hopping, rogue DHCP) and mitigations
Apply VLAN and trunk hardening settings and verify them
Explain how ACLs filter traffic and apply a basic ACL to an interface
Your checkpoint
Security hardening checklist applied to the lab, with show-command evidence and one ACL filtering test
Aruba Switching Fundamentals & VLANs and Layer 2 Technologies & Spanning Tree and Link Aggregation & IP Routing and Network Security Basics
Build a single integrated lab using VLANs, trunks, STP, LACP, routing, and security controls
Diagnose and resolve three injected faults across the integrated topology
Review weak areas identified in prior weeks and re-run targeted labs
Complete timed practice questions across all four domains and log error patterns
Your checkpoint
Integrated lab topology with configuration backup, fault-resolution log, and a scored practice-test summary with remediation notes
Milestones
Week 2: Can build VLANs and access ports from memory and explain MAC learning without notes
Week 4: Can predict root bridge and port roles for a given topology before configuring it
Week 6: Can configure trunking, LACP, and static routing in one lab without reference material
Week 8: Integrated lab passes all reachability and security checks with faults resolved under time pressure