Free Practice Questions for HP HPE7-A07 Exam

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

When using Downloadable User Roles (DUR) with HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass, the Aruba device (AP, gateway, or switch) must authenticate to ClearPass to retrieve and install the user role that ClearPass sends dynamically. This process differs from normal RADIUS authentication, where only the user credentials are verified.

In Aruba Central, when you configure an authentication server (ClearPass) and enable Downloadable Roles, the system requires CPPM Username and CPPM Password fields. These credentials are specifically used by the Aruba device to establish a secure HTTPS (TLS) session to the ClearPass server for DUR retrieval.

If the CPPM Username or CPPM Password values are missing, incorrect, or not synchronized with the corresponding credentials defined on ClearPass, the device will fail to authenticate to ClearPass for DUR retrieval. This results in RADIUS authentication succeeding (because LUR is still functioning), but the DUR cannot be downloaded.

Exact Extract from HPE Aruba Networking Switching and ClearPass Configuration Guides:

“When Downloadable User Roles are enabled, the Aruba device must authenticate with ClearPass using configured credentials. The device uses the CPPM Username and Password for HTTPS-based role retrieval. If the credentials are not defined or are invalid, role download will fail even if RADIUS authentication succeeds.”

“The CPPM Username and Password define the credentials the device uses to connect to ClearPass for downloadable role retrieval. These credentials must match the admin or API credentials configured on the ClearPass Policy Manager server.”

This explains why Local User Roles (LUR) work (standard RADIUS), but Downloadable User Roles (DUR) do not — the HTTPS/TLS authentication for DUR fails because the required credentials were not configured correctly.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Add a new Enforcement Policy of type "WEBAUTH" on ClearPass:WebAuth enforcement policies are unrelated to DUR. Downloadable User Roles are delivered using an Aruba Downloadable Role enforcement profile, not WebAuth.

“Downloadable roles are defined and enforced through the Aruba Downloadable Role profile type. WebAuth policies are used for captive portal authentication only.”

C. Uncheck the "Dynamic Authorization" checkbox:Dynamic Authorization (RFC 3576 or CoA) allows session reauthentication or role changes. Disabling this feature would not fix DUR, as DUR relies on CPPM credentials for HTTPS authentication.

“Dynamic Authorization (CoA) enables session updates but does not control role download authentication.”

D. Modify the shared secret on the switch using the 'radius-server host' command:This option applies to switch RADIUS configuration, not Aruba Central APs or gateways. The DUR process uses HTTPS with ClearPass credentials, not the RADIUS shared secret.

“The RADIUS shared secret is used for authentication requests, not for downloadable role retrieval. Downloadable roles require valid CPPM credentials.”

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

Aruba Central Management and Configuration Guide — Downloadable Roles Section(Explains CPPM Username/Password requirement and DUR HTTPS authentication process.)

Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager Configuration Guide — Aruba Downloadable Role Enforcement Profiles(Details the role download process and ClearPass credential validation.)

ArubaOS-Switch and AOS-CX Security Configuration Guide — Role-Based Access Control and ClearPass Integration(Describes the mechanism for DUR retrieval and the use of HTTPS between the Aruba device and ClearPass.)

UL MU-MIMO, or Uplink Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output, is a technology that allows multiple clients to transmit data to the access point simultaneously, increasing overall throughput and efficiency, especially for upload-heavy scenarios like video file uploads. This technology enables spatially separated clients to access the channel at the same time, which can improve performance for clients when uploading large files.

The correct Bandwidth Control settings for 1024 Kbps down and 2048 Kbps up for the SSID are shown in Option D. In Option D, the downstream is set at 1024 Kbps and the upstream at 2048 Kbps, both configured per user, which matches the requested configuration. This setup ensures that each user has a guaranteed bandwidth allocation of the specified rates when connected to the SSID, providing a controlled and predictable user experience.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

In HPE Aruba Networking User Experience Insight (UXI), when a sensor performs continuous network and application testing, it generates packet captures as part of the diagnostic information available for download from the UXI dashboard. These captures are packaged into a compressed (.zip) file that typically contains multiple .pcap files categorized by test results and test types.

According to the Aruba UXI operational documentation, the sensor separates captured test traffic based on success or failure results for clarity and troubleshooting efficiency. The “datagrams.pcap” file includes only packet captures of successful tests that completed as expected, while the “datagrams-failed.pcap” file contains captures for failed or incomplete tests.

Therefore, if you review only the datagrams.pcap file, you will see data from tests that passed successfully and will not find the failed attempts that may reveal connectivity or performance problems. To analyze failure-related issues (for instance, packet loss, authentication failures, or latency problems), it is necessary to examine the “datagrams-failed.pcap” file included in the same downloaded archive.

This behavior ensures a logical separation between functioning and problematic test sessions and allows engineers to focus analysis on the most relevant captures without confusion between successful and failed transactions.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

In AOS-10 deployments using Zero Trust network architecture, user and device identities are enforced through roles assigned by ClearPass or Aruba Central policies. For multi-site environments, maintaining consistent policy enforcement requires role propagation between gateways across different locations.

To propagate user roles and policies across sites, tunneled SSIDs with gateways are required. This design ensures that wireless client traffic is tunneled from the access point (AP) to the Aruba gateway, where role-based access control (RBAC) and policy enforcement occur. The gateway acts as the policy enforcement point (PEP) for both local and remote traffic.

Exact Extract from HPE Aruba Networking AOS-10 and Switching Documentation:

“In AOS 10, tunneled SSIDs are used to extend centralized policy enforcement to gateways. Gateways apply user roles, firewall policies, and dynamic segmentation consistently across distributed sites.”

“For zero-trust designs requiring cross-site role propagation, all wireless traffic must terminate on gateways through tunneled SSIDs. Gateways then synchronize role information through the overlay tunnel or mobility framework.”

Thus, the only way to propagate role information between multiple sites in a zero-trust deployment is through tunneled SSIDs that terminate at the Aruba gateways. This ensures consistent policy enforcement across locations.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Configure the gateways to mobility type and configure the Roles under System → Client Roles in Central:While mobility type configuration is used for roaming, it does not enable role propagation across sites. Roles must be tied to tunneled SSIDs terminating on gateways for centralized enforcement.

“Gateway mobility enables seamless roaming, not centralized role propagation.”

B. Configure "use switch fabric for role propagation" under Security → Client Roles:This option applies to AOS-CX switch fabrics (Campus Fabric design) and not wireless AOS-10 environments. Wireless role propagation uses gateway tunnels, not switch fabric propagation.

“Use switch fabric for role propagation applies to CX switch-based VXLAN fabrics, not wireless gateway deployments.”

C. Overlay campus switch fabric with CX switches:While Aruba CX fabrics can propagate roles in wired environments, this does not fulfill the requirement for wireless role propagation between remote sites.

“Role propagation over CX fabric applies to wired clients and does not substitute for tunneled SSID gateways in wireless networks.”

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

Aruba AOS 10 Network Design Guide – “Zero-Trust Design and Role Propagation in Multi-Site Deployments.”

Aruba Campus Wireless and Gateway Deployment Guide – “Tunneled SSIDs and Centralized Role Enforcement.”

Aruba Policy Enforcement and Role-Based Access Control Guide – “Role propagation over gateway tunnels.”

In HPE Aruba Networking (AOS-CX and ArubaOS-S), Group-Based Policy (GBP) provides policy-based segmentation between roles by defining source and destination roles within the GBP configuration. These policies are defined using GBP classes, policies, and roles that determine how traffic between different user groups is handled.

From the configuration snippet shown in the exhibit, the following GBP policies and roles are defined:

class gbp-ip GBP-EMPLOYEE

class gbp-ip GBP-CONTRACTOR

port-access gbp GBP-EMPLOYEE

port-access gbp GBP-CONTRACTOR

When the command

Edge-1(config-pa-role)# associate gbp GBP-EMPLOYEE

is executed, the error message appears:

“The destination role in one or more classes of the policy does not match the role to which the policy is being associated to. % Command failed.”

This message clearly indicates that the role being associated (EMPLOYEE) does not match the destination role name defined in the GBP policy (GBP-EMPLOYEE).

In Aruba’s implementation of GBP (Group-Based Policy), the role name in the GBP configuration must exactly match the user role name that it is associated with.

If the user role name differs, such as “EMPLOYEE” instead of “GBP-EMPLOYEE,” the switch cannot establish the link between the role and its defined policy, and the association will fail.

HPE Aruba Official Explanation (Extracted from ArubaOS-S and AOS-CX Configuration Guide):

“The GBP role name must match the user role name exactly when associating a GBP policy with a port-access role.

If the configured GBP role name does not correspond to the user role name, the association will fail, and the system will generate a mismatch error.”

Therefore, in this scenario, the role EMPLOYEE should be renamed or recreated as GBP-EMPLOYEE so that the GBP policy association succeeds.

Option Analysis:

A. Configure a user role called GBP-EMPLOYEE instead of EMPLOYEE — Correct.The role name must match the GBP role name exactly. This resolves the mismatch error.

B. Associate the port-access role to the GBP role using the role ID — Incorrect.GBP does not use role IDs; it uses role names for matching and association.

C. Update the port-access GBP policies to reference the EMPLOYEE role — Incorrect.GBP policy definitions cannot be dynamically modified in this manner. The correct fix is to align role naming.

D. Update the entries in the class maps to reference the EMPLOYEE role — Incorrect.The class map references traffic classification, not the association of user roles.

Final Verified Answer: A

Reference Sources (HPE Aruba Official Materials):

ArubaOS-S 16.x Security Configuration Guide – Group-Based Policy (GBP) Roles and Policies

ArubaOS-CX 10.x Advanced Traffic Management and Policy Enforcement Guide

HPE Aruba Certified Switching Professional (ACSP) Study Guide – Role-Based Access Control and GBP Association

The existing configuration for the WLAN ssid-profile has enabled MAC authentication which, while suitable for IoT devices that may not support 802.1X, can interfere with the normal 802.1X authentication process for other devices. By removing the mac-authentication directive from the WLAN configuration, the non-IoT 802.1X devices should be able to connect without issues as the authentication process will not be disrupted by MAC authentication checks. This adjustment ensures that the WLAN ssid-profile is correctly aligned with the authentication requirements for both IoT and non-IoT devices within the network environment, conforming to the best practices for mixed-device WLAN configurations.

The SSID supports 802.11ac clients, which is indicated by the "High Throughput" and "Very High Throughput" options being enabled. These are terms associated with the 802.11ac wireless standard, indicating that the SSID can serve clients that support this technology.

The packet decode excerpt shows a QoS Data frame, not a multicast-control low-rate frame.

Frame control flags indicate:

Subtype: QoS Data → This is unicast, not broadcast/multicast

From DS bit = 1, To DS bit = 0 → Wireless unicast from AP to client

High-rate MCS data present → Indicates optimized transmission speed

This behavior aligns directly with Dynamic Multicast Optimization (DMO).

Aruba DMO Overview — Official Behavior

ArubaOS Wi-Fi optimization guides state:

“Dynamic Multicast Optimization converts multicast packets into unicast transmissions and sends them using the highest supported data rate, improving delivery reliability and efficiency.”

This means:

Before DMO

After DMO

Multicast sent at lowest basic rate (e.g., 6 Mbps)

Converted to unicast → can use high PHY rates (e.g., 300 Mbps+)

High drop probability

Reliable delivery

Poor performance

Optimized throughput

The packet remaining a Data/QoS Data subtype is correct — DMO does not change the 802.11 frame Type field; it changes transmission handling and rate control.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Option

Why Incorrect

A BCMCO does not exist — incorrect feature name

B Type consistency is not the key validation point — rate increase is

D Packet length always appears in frame decode; optimization never hides it

✅ Final Verified Answer: C

The data rate increased from 6 Mbps to 300 Mbps because Dynamic Multicast Optimization (DMO) was configured.