HPE HPE6-A86: HPE Network Switching Associate Exam

Last checked November 10, 2026 against the official HPE exam page.

1. Question 1Foundational networking architectures and technologies

   A network designer must link two wiring closets that are about 2 km apart with a switch-to-switch connection. Which media should be selected?

   1. ACategory 6 twisted-pair copper with RJ-45 connectors
   2. BShielded coaxial cable with BNC connectors
   3. CMultimode fiber for the full distance through the building
   4. DSingle-mode fiber optic cable with matching optics
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   Correct answer: D

   Single-mode fiber is built for long runs such as 2 km, while Category 6 copper is limited to about 100 meters per Ethernet segment. Multimode fiber is normally used for shorter building runs, and BNC coaxial cabling is not a standard switch uplink medium.

2. Question 2Install, configure, set up and validate wired solutions

   A newly installed switch must be managed from the network. The administrator wants encrypted remote logins and no clear-text access. Which setup is best?

   1. AEnable Telnet with one shared password so that every technician can log in from any subnet
   2. BAssign a management IP on a dedicated management VLAN, enable SSH, disable Telnet
   3. CLeave the switch on the default VLAN with no password so that the network team can reach it
   4. DEnable the web interface over plain HTTP and keep Telnet enabled for scripts
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   Correct answer: B

   A dedicated management VLAN with an IP address, SSH for encrypted sessions, and Telnet disabled gives secure management. Shared Telnet, default-VLAN access without a password, and plain HTTP all expose credentials or the device to unauthorized access.

3. Question 3HPE Aruba Networking products and solutions functions and features

   A company manages switches at twelve branch offices and wants one cloud-hosted console for monitoring, configuration and firmware updates across all sites. Which HPE Aruba Networking tool fits this need?

   1. AAruba Central, the cloud-based platform for managing HPE Aruba Networking devices
   2. BA serial console cable and terminal session on each switch in turn
   3. CA TFTP server that stores a copy of each startup configuration file
   4. DA local SNMPv2c community on each switch that polls interface counters at a single site
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   Correct answer: A

   Aruba Central is the cloud-based platform for monitoring, configuration and firmware management across many sites. A console session or local SNMP community works one device at a time, and a TFTP server only stores files.

4. Question 4Troubleshoot, operate and maintain

   Users on one VLAN report slow and intermittent service. The MAC address table shows the same host MAC address moving between two access-facing ports every few seconds. Which problem is most likely?

   1. AAn expired DHCP lease on the host, which forces it to request a new address
   2. BA misconfigured default gateway that sends host traffic to an unreachable router
   3. CA Layer 2 loop in which a redundant path is not blocked by spanning tree
   4. DA printer with a subnet mask that does not match the VLAN's subnet mask
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   Correct answer: C

   A Layer 2 loop with an unblocked redundant path makes the same MAC address appear on two ports as frames circulate. A wrong gateway, an expired lease or a mismatched printer mask would not move a MAC address between ports.

5. Question 5Manage and monitor

   A network team wants to restore a failed switch to its last known good configuration within minutes. Which practice best supports this goal?

   1. ARely on factory default settings and rebuild each configuration manually after a failure
   2. BBack up saved configuration files to an off-device server on a regular schedule
   3. CKeep only the running configuration in memory and never save it to a file
   4. DStore one copy of the configuration on the same switch's flash and never copy it elsewhere
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   Correct answer: B

   Saving configurations to an off-device backup server on a schedule lets a failed switch be restored quickly. Relying on factory defaults, keeping only running memory, or storing a single copy on the same device risks losing the configuration with the hardware.