Free HPE Network Switching Expert Written Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the HPE Network Switching Expert Written Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A campus expects both traffic and PoE device count to increase. Which access-layer capacity requirement accounts for this growth?

   1. A.Plan power and bandwidth headroom for projected devicesCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Plan power headroom while keeping bandwidth at today's load
   3. C.Plan bandwidth headroom while keeping power at today's load
   4. D.Plan current power and bandwidth without growth headroom

   Explanation: The guide states: "The access layer needs enough capacity to support current power and bandwidth and to scale as the number of devices grows." Both power and bandwidth require capacity to scale. The other choices omit one or both growth dimensions.

   Reference: Campus Design Validated Solution Guide — Campus Design Goals, Customer Use Cases, page 6

2. 2An operator wants to change a specific writable field on an existing AOS-CX 10.13 API resource without replacing its other mutable attributes. Which method should the operator use?

   1. A.PUT with only the changed field
   2. B.PATCH with the changed fieldCorrect answer: B
   3. C.GET with only the changed field
   4. D.DELETE with the changed field

   Explanation: The documentation states: "To update specific fields, use the PATCH operation." PUT replaces mutable attributes, whereas PATCH is the documented choice for specific fields.

   Reference: AOS-CX 10.13 REST API Guide: PUT method usage and considerations — PUT behavior

3. 3Two directly linked AOS-CX 8100 VSX peers running 10.17 have STP enabled, but their ISL is blocked and their MSTP region settings differ. Peer 1 has region CAMPUS, revision 2, and VLAN 10 mapped to instance 1. All other VLAN mappings match. Which peer 2 configuration makes both peers members of the same MST region?

   1. A.CAMPUS, revision 2, VLAN 10 mapped to instance 1Correct answer: A
   2. B.CAMPUS, revision 3, VLAN 10 mapped to instance 1
   3. C.BRANCH, revision 2, VLAN 10 mapped to instance 1
   4. D.CAMPUS, revision 2, VLAN 10 mapped to instance 2

   Explanation: The VSX troubleshooting guide identifies "Mismatch MSTP configurations on VSX peer switches." The MSTP guide requires the "Same region name. Same VLAN-to-instance mapping configuration. Same MSTP revision level." Only A matches peer 1 on all three attributes.

   Reference: AOS-CX 10.17 VSX Guide: ISL is in blocking state — ISL is in blocking state, Cause

4. 4A campus QoS policy assigns both real-time voice and bulk traffic to strict priority. Their combined arrival rate persistently exceeds the egress rate, although voice alone uses at most 20% of that rate. The design must retain strict priority for voice while keeping bulk traffic serviceable. Which adjustment follows the campus guide's strategy?

   1. A.Limit strict priority to voice and place bulk traffic in a weighted queueCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Increase the strict queue buffer while leaving both traffic classes in it
   3. C.Put bulk traffic in strict priority and place voice in a weighted queue
   4. D.Raise weighted-queue shares while leaving both traffic classes in strict priority

   Explanation: The guide states: "The administrator must limit the amount of traffic placed into strict priority queues to prevent oversaturation of interface buffers." It describes its example: "The real-time interactive applications are combined into one strict priority queue. In contrast, multimedia and transactional applications are placed into deficit round-robin (DRR) queues, and the last queue is used for scavenger and default traffic." Moving bulk to a weighted queue limits strict-priority load while preserving voice priority.

   Reference: Campus Design Validated Solution Guide — Routing & Switching Design, Quality of Service, page 23

5. 5An existing four-node wireless gateway cluster will also terminate wired user-based tunneling. Which inputs are relevant to reassessing cluster capacity?

   1. A.Gateway model, node count, and client and device tunnel demandCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Gateway model, node count, and wireless tunnel demand only
   3. C.Gateway model, node count, and wired tunnel demand only
   4. D.Gateway model, wireless and wired demand, assuming one node

   Explanation: The guide states: "Each cluster’s capacity is determined by the gateway model, the number of nodes, and the specific needs for client and device tunneling." Both wired and wireless demands matter in the described cluster, along with its actual node count.

   Reference: Campus Design Validated Solution Guide — User Based Tunneling Design, Gateway Design and Scaling, page 33

6. 6A PUT request to an AOS-CX 10.13 resource omits a mutable attribute. For almost all resources, what happens to that omitted attribute?

   1. A.It remains unchanged regardless of its existing value
   2. B.It is reset to its default or removed if no default existsCorrect answer: B
   3. C.It becomes an immutable attribute for later requests
   4. D.It is copied automatically from the most recent GET response

   Explanation: The documentation states: "Any mutable attribute that the JSON data in request body does not include is either removed (if there is no default value) or reset to its default value." The described PUT behavior makes omission consequential; the other choices incorrectly assume preservation, conversion or automatic copying.

   Reference: AOS-CX 10.13 REST API Guide: PUT method usage and considerations — PUT behavior

7. 7A VSX pair loses its ISL while the keepalive remains up. In the split-system states, what happens to the VSX LAGs on the primary and secondary peers?

   1. A.Primary LAGs remain up; secondary LAGs go downCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Primary LAGs go down; secondary LAGs remain up
   3. C.Both peers' VSX LAGs remain up
   4. D.Both peers' VSX LAGs go down

   Explanation: The status guide states: "The VSX switch has lost ISL connectivity to the peer VSX switch. The VSX switch is operating as the primary VSX switch. VSX LAGs are up." It also states: "The VSX switch has lost ISL connectivity to the peer VSX switch. The VSX switch is operating as the secondary VSX switch. VSX LAGs are down." Thus the primary continues forwarding while the secondary VSX LAGs are down.

   Reference: AOS-CX 10.15 VSX Guide: show vsx brief — Device State, Split-System-Primary

8. 8A campus operator must advertise host VLAN prefixes in OSPF while preventing adjacencies with devices on Layer 2 access ports. Adjacencies are required on designated routed uplinks. Which approach does the guide recommend?

   1. A.Use passive-interface default and disable passive on expected neighbor portsCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Disable passive mode globally on every OSPF interface
   3. C.Remove all host VLANs from the routing domain
   4. D.Configure every access port as an OSPF point-to-point neighbor

   Explanation: The guide states: "Configure the OSPF router for passive-interface default to prevent unintended adjacencies from forming with devices plugged into a layer 2 access port. When an OSPF neighbor is expected on a port, disable passive operation." The default suppresses unintended adjacencies while designated neighbor interfaces are explicitly enabled.

   Reference: Campus Design Validated Solution Guide — Routing & Switching Design, OSPF Routing, page 28

9. 9For a campus UBT design, which connectivity requirement should the engineer verify for each switch tunnel?

   1. A.The switch management IP reaches the gateway management IP
   2. B.The switch loopback IP reaches the gateway system IPCorrect answer: B
   3. C.The switch access VLAN IP reaches the gateway management IP
   4. D.The switch loopback IP reaches the gateway client VLAN IP

   Explanation: The guide states: "These tunnels rely on the switch’s loopback address reaching the gateway’s system IP." The tunnel endpoint requires loopback-to-system-IP reachability; the other address pairs do not establish the specified tunnel prerequisite.

   Reference: Campus Design Validated Solution Guide — User Based Tunneling Design, Underlay Requirements, page 36

10. 10A Classic Central switch belongs to a template group. The administrator needs to use MultiEdit for it. What change is required?

    1. A.Move the switch to a UI groupCorrect answer: A
    2. B.Keep the switch in a template group and enable MultiEdit
    3. C.Create a UI group but leave the switch in the template group
    4. D.Move the switch to another template group

    Explanation: The documentation states: "The UI options and MultiEdit mode are available only when the AOS-CX switches are added to a UI group." The switch must actually be placed in a UI group; creating a group without moving it or selecting another template group does not meet the condition.

    Reference: Configuring AOS-CX Switches in UI Groups — Configuring AOS-CX Switches in UI Groups