HP Aruba Certified Professional - Campus Access HPE7-A06 Question # 2 Topic 1 Discussion

The scenario involves a VSX pair (AGG-SW1/SW2) connected upstream to routers R1/R2. The goal is to configure the SVIs on the VSX switches facing these upstream routers optimally to avoid suboptimal L3 paths and unnecessary traffic over the VSX Inter-Switch Link (ISL).

VSX L3 Interface Options:

Active Gateway:Primarily designed for downstream SVIs to provide a redundant default gateway to clients/access switches. Not typically used for upstream routed interfaces.

Active Forwarding:Specifically designed for upstream routed interfaces (physical or SVIs) on a VSX pair. It allows both VSX members to actively route traffic arriving on that interface locally, without needing to forward L3 traffic across the ISL. This ensures optimal routing and utilizes both members effectively.

Unicast IP (Standard IP):Without specific VSX features, standard routing applies. This could lead to suboptimal paths if, for example, return traffic prefers one VSX switch, but the optimal path requires crossing the ISL.

VRRP:Can be run between VSX members but adds complexity and is generally superseded by Active Gateway (downstream) or Active Forwarding (upstream) in VSX designs.

Analysis of Options:

A. Configure active-forwarding: This enables local L3 forwarding on both VSX members for the upstream SVI, preventing unnecessary ISL traversal for routed traffic. This is the recommended best practice.

B. Configure unicast IP: Standard configuration, potentially leading to suboptimal paths/ISL usage.

C. Configure VRRP virtual-ip: Not the recommended approach for upstream links in VSX.

D. Configure active-gateway: Incorrect, Active Gateway is for downstream SVIs.

Conclusion:Using active-forwarding on the SVIs facing the upstream routers (R1/R2) is the HPE Aruba Networking recommended solution to ensure optimal routing and minimize L3 traffic across the ISL.