Free HP HPE6-A78 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers

When configuring ArubaOS-CX switches to tunnel client traffic to an Aruba Mobility Controller (MC), securing the control channel communications is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and ensure data integrity. Option B is the correct answer as it involves configuring a long, random PAPI security key that matches on both the switches and the MC. The PAPI (Policy Access Point Interface) protocol is used for secure communication between Aruba devices, and employing a robust, randomized security key significantly enhances the security of the control channel. This setup prevents potential interception or manipulation of the control traffic between the devices.

The AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) framework is used in network security to manage user access. In this framework, the Network Access Server (NAS) plays a specific role. In an HPE Aruba Networking environment, the NAS is typically a device like a Mobility Controller (MC) or an AOS-CX switch that interacts with an AAA server (e.g., ClearPass Policy Manager, CPPM) to authenticate users.

NAS Role in AAA:

Authentication: The NAS acts as a client to the AAA server (e.g., via RADIUS), forwarding authentication requests from the user’s device to the server. It does not perform the authentication itself; the AAA server authenticates the user.

Authorization: After authentication, the NAS receives authorization attributes from the AAA server (e.g., a user role via Aruba-User-Role VSA) and enforces access policies (e.g., firewall rules, VLAN assignment) based on those attributes.

Accounting: The NAS sends accounting information (e.g., session start/stop, data usage) to the AAA server to track user activity.

Option A, "It negotiates with each user’s device to determine which EAP method is used for authentication," is incorrect. The NAS does not negotiate the EAP method with the user’s device. The EAP method (e.g., EAP-TLS, PEAP) is determined by the configuration on the NAS and the AAA server, and the client must support the configured method. The negotiation of EAP methods occurs between the client (supplicant) and the AAA server, with the NAS acting as a pass-through.

Option B, "It determines which resources authenticated users are allowed to access and monitors each user’s session," is incorrect. The NAS enforces access policies based on authorization attributes received from the AAA server, but it does not determine which resources users can access—that decision is made by the AAA server based on its policies. Monitoring sessions is part of accounting, but this option overstates the NAS’s role in determining access.

Option C, "It enforces access to network services and sends accounting information to the AAA server," is correct. The NAS enforces access by applying policies (e.g., firewall rules, VLANs) based on the authorization attributes received from the AAA server. It also sends accounting information (e.g., session start/stop, data usage) to the AAA server to track user activity, fulfilling its role in the accounting part of AAA.

Option D, "It authenticates legitimate users and uses policies to determine which resources each user is allowed to access," is incorrect. The NAS does not authenticate users; the AAA server performs authentication. The NAS also does not determine resource access; it enforces the policies provided by the AAA server.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"In the AAA framework, the Network Access Server (NAS), such as a Mobility Controller, acts as a client to the AAA server (e.g., a RADIUS server). The NAS forwards authentication requests from the user’s device to the AAA server, enforces access to network services based on the authorization attributes returned by the server (e.g., user role, VLAN), and sends accounting information, such as session start and stop records, to the AAA server for tracking." (Page 310, AAA Framework Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11 User Guide notes:

"The NAS in the AAA framework, such as an Aruba Mobility Controller, does not authenticate users itself; it forwards authentication requests to the AAA server (ClearPass). After authentication, the NAS enforces access policies based on the server’s response and sends accounting data to the AAA server to log user activity, such as session duration and data usage." (Page 280, NAS Role in AAA Section)

A Server Certificate is required by Aruba Mobility Controller when using RadSec to secure RADIUS communication. RadSec provides a secure transport for RADIUS traffic through SSL/TLS which requires the use of a Server Certificate to establish the secure tunnel. In the other scenarios listed, a Server Certificate is not explicitly required for the operations mentioned.

Packet captures on an HPE Aruba Networking Mobility Controller (MC) are a powerful troubleshooting and analysis tool, allowing administrators to capture and analyze network traffic at various levels (e.g., control plane or data plane). The MC supports packet captures for both wired and wireless traffic, which can be filtered based on criteria such as IP address, MAC address, or port.

Option A, "The security team believes that a wireless endpoint connected to the MC is launching an attack and wants to examine the traffic more closely," is correct. Packet captures are commonly used in security investigations to analyze the traffic of a specific endpoint suspected of malicious activity. For example, if a wireless client is suspected of launching an attack (e.g., a DoS attack or data exfiltration), a packet capture on the MC can capture the client’s traffic (filtered by MAC or IP address) for detailed analysis, helping the security team identify the nature of the attack.

Option B, "The company wants to use HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) to profile devices and needs to receive HTTP User-Agent strings from the MC," is incorrect. While CPPM can use HTTP User-Agent strings for device profiling, this is typically achieved by mirroring HTTP traffic to CPPM (e.g., using a datapath mirror on the MC), not by setting up a packet capture. Packet captures are for manual analysis, not for feeding data to CPPM.

Option C, "You want the MC to analyze wireless clients' traffic at a lower level, so that the AOS firewall can control Web traffic based on the destination URL," is incorrect. The AOS firewall on the MC can control traffic based on applications or services (e.g., using deep packet inspection, DPI), but it does not support URL-based filtering directly. URL filtering typically requires an external solution (e.g., a web proxy or firewall). Packet captures are not used to enable URL-based control by the firewall.

Option D, "You want the MC to analyze wireless clients' traffic at a lower level, so that the AOS firewall can control the traffic based on application," is incorrect. The AOS firewall can already perform application-based control using DPI (if enabled), without requiring a packet capture. Packet captures are for manual analysis, not for enabling firewall functionality.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"Packet captures on the Mobility Controller are useful for troubleshooting and security investigations. For example, if the security team suspects that a wireless endpoint is launching an attack, you can set up a packet capture on the MC’s data plane to capture the endpoint’s traffic. Use the command packet-capture datapath (e.g., filter by the client’s MAC address) to capture the traffic, which can then be analyzed to identify malicious activity." (Page 515, Packet Capture Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide notes:

"Packet captures are a critical tool for security teams to investigate potential attacks. By capturing traffic from a specific wireless client suspected of malicious behavior, administrators can analyze the packets to determine the nature of the attack, such as a DoS attack or unauthorized data exfiltration." (Page 65, Security Troubleshooting Section)

The AOS Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIP) in an AOS-8 architecture (Mobility Controllers or Mobility Master) is designed to detect and mitigate wireless threats, such as rogue APs and unauthorized clients. WIP classifies clients and APs based on their behavior and status in the network.

Authorized Client Definition: In the context of WIP, an "Authorized" client is one that has successfully authenticated to an authorized AP (an AP managed by the MC and part of the company’s network) and is actively passing encrypted traffic. This typically means the client has completed 802.1X authentication (e.g., in a WPA3-Enterprise network) or PSK authentication (e.g., in a WPA3-Personal network) and is communicating securely with the AP.

Option D, "A client that has successfully authenticated to an authorized AP and passed encrypted traffic," is correct. This matches the WIP definition of an Authorized client: the client must authenticate to an AP that is classified as "Authorized" (i.e., part of the company’s network) and must be passing encrypted traffic, indicating a secure connection (e.g., using WPA3 encryption).

Option A, "A client that is on the WIP whitelist," is incorrect. WIP does not use a client whitelist for classification. The AP whitelist is used to authorize APs, not clients. Client classification (e.g., Authorized, Interfering) is based on their authentication status and connection to authorized APs.

Option B, "A client that has a certificate issued by a trusted Certification Authority (CA)," is incorrect. While a certificate might be used for 802.1X authentication (e.g., EAP-TLS), WIP does not classify clients as Authorized based on their certificate status. The classification depends on successful authentication to an authorized AP and encrypted traffic.

Option C, "A client that is NOT on the WIP blacklist," is incorrect. WIP does use blacklisting (e.g., for clients that violate security policies), but being "not on the blacklist" does not make a client Authorized. A client must actively authenticate to an authorized AP and pass encrypted traffic to be classified as Authorized.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"In the Wireless Intrusion Prevention (WIP) system, an ‘Authorized’ client is defined as a client that has successfully authenticated to an authorized AP and is passing encrypted traffic. An authorized AP is one that is managed by the Mobility Controller and part of the company’s network. For example, a client that completes 802.1X authentication to an authorized AP using WPA3-Enterprise and sends encrypted traffic is classified as Authorized." (Page 414, WIP Client Classification Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide notes:

"WIP classifies clients as ‘Authorized’ if they have authenticated to an authorized AP and are passing encrypted traffic, indicating a secure connection. Clients that are not authenticated or are connected to rogue or neighbor APs are classified as ‘Interfering’ or other categories, depending on their behavior." (Page 78, WIP Classifications Section)

For deploying Aruba ClearPass Device Insight effectively, especially in environments with multiple sites, it is recommended to deploy a pair of Device Insight Collectors at the headquarters or the central data center. This deployment strategy helps in centralizing the data collection and analysis, which simplifies management and enhances performance by reducing the data load on the WAN links connecting different sites. Centralizing the collectors at a major site or data center allows for better scalability and reliability of the network management system. This configuration also aids in achieving a more consistent and comprehensive monitoring and analysis of the devices across the network, ensuring that the security and management policies are uniformly applied. This recommendation is based on best practices for network architecture design, particularly those discussed in Aruba’s deployment guides and network management strategies.

When vulnerabilities are identified in systems, it is crucial for administrators to act immediately to mitigate the risk of exploitation by attackers. The appropriate response involves applying fixes, such as software patches or configuration changes, to close the vulnerability. This proactive approach is necessary to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the system resources and data. It's important to prioritize these actions based on the severity and exploitability of the vulnerability to ensure that the most critical issues are addressed first.

In WPA3-Enterprise, the Pairwise Master Key (PMK) is indeed unique for each session and is derived using a process called Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE). SAE is a new handshake protocol available in WPA3 that provides better security than the Pre-Shared Key (PSK) used in WPA2. This handshake process strengthens user privacy in open networks and provides forward secrecy. The information on SAE and its use in generating a unique PMK can be found in the Wi-Fi Alliance's WPA3 specifications and related technical documentation.

In an AOS-8 architecture, the Mobility Controller (MC) includes a stateful firewall that enforces policies on client traffic. The firewall uses user roles to apply policies, allowing granular control over traffic based on the client’s identity and context.

User Roles: In AOS-8, each client is assigned a user role after authentication (e.g., via 802.1X, MAC authentication, or captive portal). The user role contains firewall policies (rules) that define what traffic is allowed or denied for clients in that role. For example, a "guest" role might allow only HTTP/HTTPS traffic, while an "employee" role might allow broader access.

Option A, "The firewall applies the rules in policies associated with the client's user role," is correct. The AOS firewall evaluates traffic based on the user role assigned to the client. Each role has a set of policies (rules) that are applied in order, and the first matching rule determines the action (permit or deny). For example, if a client is in the "employee" role, the firewall applies the rules defined in the "employee" role’s policy.

Option B, "The firewall applies every rule that includes the client's IP address as the source," is incorrect. The firewall does not apply rules based solely on the client’s IP address; it uses the user role. Rules within a role may include IP addresses, but the role determines which rules are evaluated.

Option C, "The firewall applies the rules in policies associated with the client's WLAN," is incorrect. While the WLAN configuration defines the initial role for clients (e.g., the default 802.1X role), the firewall applies rules based on the client’s current user role, which may change after authentication (e.g., via a RADIUS VSA like Aruba-User-Role).

Option D, "The firewall applies every rule that includes the client's IP address as the source or destination," is incorrect for the same reason as Option B. The firewall uses the user role to determine which rules to apply, not just the client’s IP address.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"The AOS firewall on the Mobility Controller applies rules based on the user role assigned to a client. Each user role contains a set of firewall policies that define the allowed or denied traffic for clients in that role. For example, a policy in the ‘employee’ role might include a rule like ipv4 user any http permit to allow HTTP traffic. The firewall evaluates the rules in the client’s role in order, and the first matching rule determines the action for the traffic." (Page 325, Firewall Policies Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide notes:

"User roles in AOS-8 provide a powerful mechanism for firewall policy enforcement. The firewall determines which rules to apply to a client’s traffic by looking at the policies associated with the client’s user role, which is assigned during authentication or via a RADIUS VSA like Aruba-User-Role." (Page 50, Role-Based Access Control Section)

In a wireless network deployment with Aruba Mobility Master (MM), Mobility Controllers (MCs), and Campus APs (CAPs), where a WLAN is configured to use Tunnel mode for forwarding, the user traffic is tunneled from the APs to the MCs. VLAN 301, which is assigned to the WLAN, must be present on the links from the MCs to the core routing switches because these switches act as the default router for the wireless user traffic. It is not necessary for the VLAN to be present on all campus LAN links or AP links, only between the MCs and the core routing switches where the routing for VLAN 301 will occur.