ACSP Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield ACSP facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the function of DHCP snooping on an ArubaOS-CX switch? → Filter rogue DHCP server responses on untrusted ports
2. In an Aruba OSPF network, which LSA type is flooded only within its originating area and describes the router's own links? → Type 1 Router LSA
3. Which VSF topology provides the highest level of resiliency against a single link failure? → Ring
4. Which Aruba AOS-CX command enables remote syslog forwarding to an external logging server? → logging host
5. Which Aruba AOS-CX command applies a QoS schedule profile to an interface? → apply qos schedule-profile
6. What UDP destination port does VXLAN use by default for encapsulation, as standardized by IANA? → 4789
7. When redistributing static routes into OSPF on an Aruba AOS-CX switch, which command is used and what default metric type is applied? → redistribute static, Type 2 (E2) by default
8. What is the purpose of BPDU Filter when applied globally (not per-port) on an Aruba switch? → It suppresses BPDUs only on PortFast-enabled ports that have not yet received a BPDU
9. An Aruba switch port is configured as a trunk. Which VLAN carries traffic when no VLAN tag is present in the received frame? → The native VLAN
10. Which DSCP per-hop behavior class is designed for network control traffic such as OSPF and BGP on Aruba switches? → Class Selector 6 (CS6)
11. Which command on an ArubaOS-CX switch displays the current system resource utilization including CPU and memory? → show system
12. What is the effect of enabling 'loop protection' on an ArubaOS-CX access port? → Detect and disable ports that create Layer 2 loops by sending probe frames
13. A network engineer needs to prevent an ArubaOS-CX switch from becoming the OSPF DR on a broadcast segment. What is the most reliable method? → Set the OSPF priority to 0
14. In an Aruba VRRP setup with three routers in the same group (priorities 150, 120, 100), which router becomes the new master if the current master (150) fails? → The router with priority 120, as it is the next highest priority
15. Two ArubaOS-CX switches are configured in a VRRP group with the same priority value and preemption disabled. Which switch will become the VRRP Master? → The switch with the higher IP address configured on the VRRP interface.
16. In AOS-CX VSF, what automatically happens to VSF member port numbering when a new switch joins as member 3? → Ports are renumbered starting from 3/1/1
17. On an ArubaOS-CX switch, which ports are exempt from DAI validation by default? → Trusted ports
18. What IEEE standard defines the 802.1Q VLAN tagging mechanism used on Aruba switches? → 802.1Q
19. What is the administrative distance of OSPF routes on an Aruba AOS-CX switch by default? → 110
20. In a VSX split-brain scenario where the ISL and keepalive both fail, which peer continues forwarding traffic? → The Secondary peer shuts down its MCLAG interfaces
21. What is the IPv6 loopback address, equivalent to IPv4's 127.0.0.1? → ::1
22. In MSTP, what is the maximum number of MST instances that can be configured (excluding MSTI 0/CIST)? → 15
23. An administrator wants to prevent a specific VLAN from being pruned from a trunk on an Aruba CX switch. Which action achieves this? → Explicitly add the VLAN to the trunk's allowed VLAN list
24. In a network using 802.1X for port-based access control, what is the role of the ArubaOS-CX switch? → Authenticator
25. Which Aruba Central feature allows an administrator to set up automated alerts when a switch CPU exceeds a defined threshold? → Threshold-based alerts in the Alerts & Events module
26. What is the primary purpose of IPv6 link-local addresses (FE80::/10)? → To enable communication between nodes on the same link without requiring a router
27. Which AOS-CX command verifies that LLDP is receiving neighbor information on interface 1/1/5? → show lldp neighbors interface 1/1/5
28. How does Aruba's intelligent traffic management feature work? → It automatically prioritizes traffic based on type
29. Which STP port state forwards BPDUs but discards user data frames and does not learn MAC addresses? → Listening
30. On an Aruba switch, which of the following is the correct sequence to add VRRP tracking for an uplink interface? → Define track object → apply track object to VRRP group with priority decrement