Aruba ClearPass APC case studies
Aruba ClearPass APC · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Aruba Certified Professional (ACP) – ClearPass credential is a vendor certification for network and security engineers who design, deploy, and operate HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager as a network access control (NAC) platform. It suits administrators and consultants who already understand RADIUS, 802.1X, and basic identity concepts and now need to build policy, enforcement, and guest/onboarding workflows in ClearPass itself. The exam tests breadth across the product rather than deep dives into one module: architecture and service placement, licensing and deployment models, policy service design and enforcement profiles, authentication methods and identity source integration, guest and device onboarding, OnGuard posture checks, monitoring and troubleshooting, and integration with Aruba controllers, switches, and third-party infrastructure. Expect scenario-based multiple choice that asks you to pick the right service type, role mapping, or enforcement action for a described requirement, and to interpret log or diagnostic output. The Aruba ClearPass APC case studies are 5 cases and about 1,770 words.
1Guest SSID Works, Employee SSID Fails After Controller Swap
A university runs ClearPass 6.11 with two nodes behind an Aruba Mobility Conductor. Guest uses a captive portal with MAC caching and works fine.
459 words, about 2 min2Licensing Shortfall Discovered Mid-Onboarding
An enterprise purchased 5,000 ClearPass Access licenses and 1,000 OnGuard licenses. They have 4,000 active endpoints authenticating daily via 802.1X, plus 800 guest devices.
329 words, about 2 min3OnGuard Posture Fails Only on Wi-Fi, Passes on Wired
A company enforces OnGuard health checks. Wired 802.1X users pass posture and get the 'healthy' role.
381 words, about 2 min4Role Mapping Misorders After AD Group Rename
A hospital maps AD groups to Aruba roles in a single 802.1X service. Role mapping rules, in order: (1) memberOf contains 'CN=Nurses' → role 'clinical'; (2) memberOf contains 'CN=Doctors' → role 'clinical'; (3) memberOf contains 'CN=Contractors' → role 'restricted'; (4) else → role 'employee'.
294 words, about 1 min5Third-Party Switch MAC-Auth Storm After Certificate Expiry
A campus uses ClearPass for 802.1X on Aruba APs and MAC authentication on third-party switches. The ClearPass HTTPS/portal certificate expires.
307 words, about 2 min