Aruba Architect Expert (Written) study plan
Aruba Architect Expert (Written) · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Network Architecture and Design Methodology & Campus and Branch Wired/Wireless Design
Map each design methodology phase (requirements gathering, logical design, physical design, validation) to a concrete artifact you would produce in a campus project
Draft a requirements questionnaire that captures business drivers, capacity, availability, and growth assumptions for a campus and branch site
Compare hierarchical campus models (two-tier vs three-tier collapsed core) and justify a choice for a 1,200-user campus with two buildings
Sketch a logical topology showing core, aggregation, access, and WLAN control planes with redundancy at each layer
Your checkpoint
A one-page campus design brief with requirements summary, chosen topology, and a labeled logical diagram for a 1,200-user two-building campus
Campus and Branch Wired/Wireless Design
Design a branch WLAN plan covering RF channel reuse, AP placement density, and roaming boundaries for a 60-user office
Select and justify uplink and stacking/MLAG options for access switches serving voice, IoT, and user VLANs
Define PoE budgeting rules and validate power headroom for APs, cameras, and desk phones on a 48-port access stack
Specify QoS trust boundaries and classification for voice, video, and business traffic from access edge to WAN handoff
Your checkpoint
A branch design package containing an AP placement plan with channel/power table, PoE power budget worksheet, and QoS classification matrix
Data Center and WAN/Edge Design
Compare spine-leaf and traditional three-tier data center fabrics and justify a fabric choice for a 40-server virtualization cluster
Design overlay and underlay addressing for a small data center fabric, including loopback, point-to-point, and VTEP ranges
Plan WAN/edge connectivity for a hub site with dual ISP and SD-WAN overlay, including failover and path selection policy
Size oversubscription ratios and uplink counts for leaf switches given east-west traffic assumptions
Your checkpoint
A data center and WAN design document with an underlay/overlay addressing plan, oversubscription calculations, and a dual-ISP SD-WAN failover policy table
Security Architecture and Segmentation
Build a segmentation model that maps user roles, devices, and services to VLANs, zones, and policy enforcement points
Design role-based access policy for wired, wireless, and VPN entry using 802.1X, profiling, and dynamic authorization
Define east-west segmentation rules for the data center and document allowed flows between application tiers
Identify where inline versus out-of-band security inspection belongs in the campus-to-WAN path
Your checkpoint
A segmentation and security architecture document containing a role-to-zone matrix, an 802.1X onboarding flow, and an inter-tier firewall rule table
Network Automation, Orchestration, and APIs
Design an automation architecture that separates inventory, configuration templates, and orchestration workflows
Draft a REST API interaction sequence for provisioning a new branch site end to end, naming each call and its inputs
Define a Git-based change workflow with branching, peer review, and rollback for network configuration
Specify idempotency and drift-detection requirements for configuration management across 200 devices
Your checkpoint
An automation design document with an architecture diagram, a numbered API provisioning sequence, and a Git branching and rollback workflow
Monitoring, Analytics, and Assurance
Define assurance KPIs and alert thresholds for wireless client experience, wired uplink health, and WAN path quality
Design a telemetry collection plan distinguishing streaming telemetry, syslog, and flow export by use case
Map a client-reported connectivity complaint to a diagnostic workflow using available monitoring data
Specify retention, sampling, and licensing considerations for analytics data across campus and branch
Your checkpoint
An assurance plan with a KPI/threshold table, a telemetry source-to-consumer matrix, and a written troubleshooting runbook for a wireless client complaint
Migration, Lifecycle, and Business/Operational Considerations & Network Architecture and Design Methodology
Sequence a migration from legacy campus infrastructure to the new design with cutover windows and rollback gates per phase
Produce a risk register covering technical, operational, and business risks with owners and mitigations
Build a lifecycle plan covering refresh cycles, EoL tracking, and capacity growth triggers over five years
Reconcile the design against original requirements and document accepted deviations with rationale
Your checkpoint
A migration and lifecycle plan containing a phased cutover schedule with rollback criteria, a risk register, and a five-year refresh timeline
Network Architecture and Design Methodology & Campus and Branch Wired/Wireless Design & Data Center and WAN/Edge Design & Security Architecture and Segmentation & Network Automation, Orchestration, and APIs & Monitoring, Analytics, and Assurance & Migration, Lifecycle, and Business/Operational Considerations
Assemble a complete end-to-end design for a multi-site scenario spanning campus, branch, data center, and WAN edge
Defend design decisions against trade-off questions on redundancy, segmentation, automation, and cost
Identify and close remaining knowledge gaps by domain using weighted self-assessment
Complete timed practice scenarios emphasizing the heaviest domains
Your checkpoint
A full written design submission for a multi-site scenario with a decision rationale section, plus a scored self-assessment listing residual weak areas by domain
Milestones
Week 2: Can produce a defensible campus and branch topology with PoE budget and QoS matrix without reference material
Week 4: Can explain and justify a segmentation model end to end, from onboarding flow to inter-tier firewall rules
Week 6: Can walk through an API-driven branch provisioning sequence and an assurance troubleshooting runbook from memory
Week 8: Complete a timed multi-site design scenario within the target time and score at least 75% on weighted self-assessment, with no domain below 60%