Aruba ACSA study guide
Aruba ACSA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Aruba Certified Switching Associate (ACSA) is a foundational switching credential from HPE Aruba, aimed at network engineers who design, deploy, and troubleshoot Aruba wired switching in campus and branch environments. It sits at the entry-to-associate tier, above general networking fundamentals and below professional-level switching certifications, and it is typically the first Aruba-specific switching credential a candidate pursues. The Aruba ACSA study guide has 5 sections and about 1,308 words.
01Switching Fundamentals: ArubaOS-CX and ArubaOS-Switch
Aruba sells two distinct switch operating systems, and questions test whether you know which platform a feature belongs to. ArubaOS-CX is the modern, Linux-based OS (CX 6000/6100/6300/6400/8xxx/9xxx/10000 series) with a configuration database, candidate/running/startup config model, and the Network Analytics Engine (NAE).
285 words, about 1 min02VLANs and Layer 2 Technologies
A VLAN is a broadcast domain; a tagged (trunk) port carries multiple VLANs with 802.1Q tags, and an untagged (access) port carries one VLAN to end devices. On ArubaOS-CX, VLAN membership is configured under the interface ( vlan trunk allowed , vlan access ); on AOS-S it is configured under the VLAN ( tagged / untagged per port).
293 words, about 1 min03Spanning Tree and Link Aggregation
Spanning tree prevents Layer 2 loops. Aruba supports STP (802.1D) , RSTP (802.1w) , MSTP (802.1s) , and on AOS-S the proprietary PVST -style per-VLAN mode.
265 words, about 1 min04IP Routing Fundamentals and Layer 3 Services
Aruba switches route when an SVI (VLAN interface) has an IP and ip routing is enabled. Core topics: static routes, connected routes, default gateway, and dynamic protocols - OSPF , BGP , and on CX OSPFv3/BGP for IPv6 .
246 words, about 1 min05Network Security and Device Management
Device hardening: strong admin credentials, RBAC (CX roles), AAA (RADIUS/TACACS+), SSH (disable Telnet), ACLs , and control-plane policing . Port security: 802.1X (authenticator/supplicant), MAC authentication , RADIUS , and DHCP snooping / dynamic ARP inspection to stop spoofing.
219 words, about 1 min