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Aruba CX lab 7 of 16

VSX with VSX LAGs and active gateway

Build a VSX pair from two AOS-CX core switches: the inter-switch link, a keepalive in its own VRF, a shared system MAC, a multi-chassis LAG to the access switch and an active gateway that both cores answer, then read the VSX state and consistency checks like an operator.

Run this lab

It needs Standard: its 5 nodes are set to 8 vCPU and 10,240 MB in total.

In your workspace: Shared, then HPE Aruba Networking CX switching guided labs, then 07 - VSX with VSX LAGs and active gateway

Run it on Standard from £5 a day

The free demo can’t run it: it has 6 vCPU and 8 GB, and this lab’s nodes need 8 vCPU and 10,240 MB together. Every lab plan includes every guided lab.

Level
Advanced
Time
About 80 minutes
Nodes need
8 vCPU, 10,240 MB
Smallest plan
Standard

The scenario

Northwind's head-office core is being upgraded from a single switch to a VSX pair, core1 and core2: two independent switches that synchronise state so downstream devices see one switch and either core can fail or be upgraded without an outage. The access switch acc1 will use one LAG across both cores, and both cores will be the default gateway at the same time.

Itemcore1core2
VSX roleprimarysecondary
ISLlag256 = 1/1/1, 1/1/2lag256 = 1/1/1, 1/1/2
Keepalive (VRF KA)1/1/3 192.168.0.1/301/1/3 192.168.0.2/30
VSX system MAC02:01:00:00:01:0002:01:00:00:01:00
VSX LAG to acc1lag1 multi-chassis = 1/1/4lag1 multi-chassis = 1/1/4
vlan 10 / vlan 2010.10.10.2/24 · 10.10.20.2/2410.10.10.3/24 · 10.10.20.3/24
Active gateway10.10.10.1 and 10.10.20.1, MAC 12:00:00:00:01:00same

acc1: lag1 = 1/1/1 + 1/1/2 (LACP), trunk VLANs 10 and 20. Hosts: h10 10.10.10.11/24, h20 10.10.20.11/24.

What you’ll practise

  • Explain VSX components: ISL, keepalive, roles, system MAC, split-brain protection
  • Build the ISL as a LAG and the keepalive in a dedicated VRF
  • Form the VSX pair with primary and secondary roles
  • Dual-home an access switch with a multi-chassis LAG
  • Configure active gateway so both cores route for the same gateway IP and MAC
  • Read show vsx status, show vsx brief and show vsx config-consistency

The tasks

  1. The keepalive
  2. The ISL
  3. Form the VSX pair
  4. The VSX LAG to acc1
  5. Active gateway
  6. Read the pair like an operator

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of VSX with VSX LAGs and active gateway5 nodes, 7 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.core1core2acc1h10h201/1/3eth01/1/4eth01/1/41/1/11/1/41/1/21/1/11/1/11/1/21/1/21/1/31/1/3
5 nodes, with the interface names each link uses.
Every link, as text
  • core1 1/1/1 to core2 1/1/1
  • core1 1/1/2 to core2 1/1/2
  • core1 1/1/3 to core2 1/1/3
  • core1 1/1/4 to acc1 1/1/1
  • core2 1/1/4 to acc1 1/1/2
  • acc1 1/1/3 to h10 eth0
  • acc1 1/1/4 to h20 eth0
Nodes in VSX with VSX LAGs and active gateway, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
core1Aruba AOS-CX virtual switcharubacx-10.142 vCPU, 3,072 MB
core2Aruba AOS-CX virtual switcharubacx-10.142 vCPU, 3,072 MB
acc1Aruba AOS-CX virtual switcharubacx-10.142 vCPU, 3,072 MB
h10Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB
h20Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder HPE Aruba Networking CX switching guided labs.

  3. Open 07 - VSX with VSX LAGs and active gateway and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

More Aruba CX labs

All Aruba CX labs

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CloudLabBox is independent of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.