HP HPE7-A02 - Aruba Certified Network Security Professional Exam

HPE Aruba Networking ZTNA (delivered as part of Aruba SSE) replaces traditional network-level VPN access with application-level access. Key security advantages highlighted in Aruba ZTNA/SSE collateral include:

Applications are no longer exposed directly to the internet; instead, they are fronted by the ZTNA service.

Inbound connectivity to private apps is outbound-only via connectors, eliminating open listening ports and shrinking the external attack surface. www6.h3c.com

Users are granted access only to specific applications, not entire subnets, thereby limiting lateral movement and the blast radius of a compromise.

Aruba documentation explicitly notes that ZTNA “reduces the overall attack surface” and avoids the broad network exposure inherent in classic client-to-site VPNs.

Thus, the most accurate advantage is: ZTNA shrinks the attack surface, eliminating publicly exposed ports and reducing the extent of the private network exposed to remote users → Option D.

In the exhibit, the HPE Aruba Networking Central settings for the 9x00 gateway show that traffic inspection is enabled, and the gateway is set to operate in IDS (Intrusion Detection System) mode with the fail strategy set to "Block". This configuration means that the gateway will drop traffic if it matches a rule in the active ruleset.

1.Active Ruleset: The ruleset version 9861 is active, and the gateway is configured to automatically update the ruleset daily.

2.Traffic Matching Rules: When traffic matches a rule in the active ruleset, it is flagged as suspicious or malicious.

3.Block Mode: Since the fail strategy is set to "Block", any traffic that matches a rule in the active ruleset will be dropped to prevent potential threats.

When using OpenSSL to obtain a certificate signed by a Certification Authority (CA), you should submit the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file, which is file1.pem, to the CA. The CSR contains the information about the entity requesting the certificate and the public key, but not the private key, which is in file2.pem. The CA uses the information in the CSR to create and sign the certificate.

1.CSR Submission: The CSR (file1.pem) includes the public key and the entity information required by the CA to issue a certificate.

2.Private Key Security: The private key (file2.pem) should never be sent to the CA or shared; it remains securely stored on the requestor’s server.

3.Certificate Issuance: After the CA signs the CSR, the resulting certificate can be used with the private key to establish secure communications.

ClearPass OnGuard uses a Posture Policy object to define:

Which checks are performed (e.g., AV installed, firewall status, patches)

How the results map to posture tokens such as “Healthy,” “Quarantined,” etc.

The official OnGuard configuration workflow states that you must first “Define the posture policy”, and that these posture policies contain the rules for evaluating health and determining posture tokens.

Service enforcement policies then consume the posture token (e.g., Tips:Posture = Healthy) but do not define the posture conditions themselves. The “Posture” tab on a service is used to enable posture and associate it with the posture policy; the detailed rules live in the posture policy object.

Therefore, posture logic is defined by creating rules within a posture policy → Option A.

Integrating HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) and HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Device Insight (CPDI) can help a company implement Zero Trust Security by allowing CPDI to use tags to inform CPPM that clients are using prohibited applications. CPPM can then take action, such as telling the network infrastructure to quarantine those clients, ensuring that only compliant and trusted devices have network access.

1.Device Insight Tags: CPDI can monitor client behavior and tag devices that are using prohibited applications.

2.Policy Enforcement: CPPM can use these tags to apply specific enforcement actions, such as quarantining non-compliant devices.

3.Zero Trust Implementation: This integration supports Zero Trust Security by ensuring that all devices are continuously monitored and controlled based on their behavior and compliance with security policies.

Comprehensive Detailed Explanation

The configuration includes the command aaa authentication allow-fail-through, which specifies that if the TACACS+ server fails to respond (e.g., times out), the switch will proceed to the next authentication method in the sequence, which is local. In this scenario:

The switch first attempts to authenticate the user against the TACACS+ server.

When the TACACS+ server fails to respond, the switch falls back to local authentication.

The user netadmin is a local account configured on the switch and belongs to the operators group.

As a result, the user is successfully authenticated locally and is granted operator level access.

References

Aruba AOS-CX User Guide: Authentication fallback mechanisms.

TACACS+ fallback behavior for HPE Aruba switches.

In HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Device Insight (CPDI), the clusters shown in the exhibit represent groups of unclassified devices that CPDI's machine learning algorithms have identified as having similar attributes. These clusters are formed based on observed characteristics and behaviors of the devices, helping administrators to categorize and manage devices more effectively.

1.Machine Learning: CPDI uses machine learning to analyze device attributes and group them into clusters based on similarities.

2.Unclassified Devices: These clusters typically represent devices that have not yet been explicitly classified by admins but share common attributes that suggest they belong to the same category.

3.Management: This clustering helps in simplifying the process of managing and applying policies to groups of similar devices.

The Network Analytics Engine (NAE) in AOS-CX switches provides intelligent monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance analysis through predefined or custom scripts. Here’s an analysis of the guidelines for NAE:

A. Each switch model has a maximum number of supported monitors, and one agent might have multiple monitors.

Correct:

Each AOS-CX switch model has hardware and software limitations, including the number of agents and monitors it supports.

Monitors are data collection points for tracking specific metrics like interface statistics, CPU usage, or custom-defined parameters.

Agents are scripts that use monitors to evaluate data, trigger actions, or generate alerts.

Since one agent can have multiple monitors, the total number of monitors might impact the scalability of agents.

B. You can install multiple scripts on a switch, but you can deploy only one agent per script.

Incorrect:

Multiple agents can be deployed from the same script if they monitor different parameters or have different configurations.

The limitation is usually related to the total number of agents and monitors supported by the switch model, not the script itself.

C. The switch will permit you to deploy as many NAE agents as you want, but they might degrade the switch functionality.

Incorrect:

AOS-CX enforces hardware and software limits on the number of agents and monitors. These limits are designed to prevent degradation of switch performance.

You cannot deploy an unlimited number of agents, as the system enforces these restrictions.

D. When you use custom scripts, you can create as many agents from each script as you want.

Incorrect:

While you can use custom scripts to create agents, the total number of agents is subject to the switch's maximum supported limits.

The scalability of agents is still bound by hardware and software constraints, even with custom scripts.

References

HPE Aruba AOS-CX Network Analytics Engine Configuration Guide.

Aruba AOS-CX Switch Series Technical Specifications.

Best Practices for NAE Deployment in AOS-CX Networks.

After installing an HPE Aruba Networking Network Analytic Engine (NAE) script on an AOS-CX switch, the additional step required to start the monitoring is to create an agent from the script. The agent is responsible for executing the script and collecting the monitoring data as defined by the script parameters.

1.Script Installation: Installing the script provides the logic and parameters for monitoring.

2.Agent Creation: Creating an agent from the script activates the monitoring process, allowing the NAE to begin tracking the specified function.

3.Operational Step: This step ensures that the monitoring logic is applied and the data collection starts as per the script’s configuration.