What is true when describing HPE Aruba Networking VSX ISL to a new customer?

Question

Options

• AThe ISL traffic is always tagged with EF QoS markings.
• BThe traffic over the ISL is encapsulated as a GRE tunnel.
• CThe ISL LAG automatically includes all configured VLANs.
• DThe ISL LAG must allow all configured VLANs.

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  2% (1)
• C
  7% (3)
• D
  88% (37)

Explanation

D is correct because the VSX ISL (Inter-Switch Link) LAG is the backbone connection between the two VSX peers, and it must be manually configured to trunk all VLANs present in the VSX domain - without this, traffic for unconfigured VLANs would be lost during failover scenarios when the ISL becomes the forwarding path.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is false - while ISL control traffic may receive priority treatment, all ISL traffic is not universally marked with EF (Expedited Forwarding) DSCP markings.
• B is false - the ISL is a standard IEEE 802.3ad LAG carrying 802.1Q-tagged frames, not a GRE tunnel; GRE encapsulation is associated with overlay technologies like VXLAN or VPN, not VSX ISL.
• C is the trickiest distractor - it's false because the ISL does not automatically include VLANs; an administrator must explicitly configure which VLANs are allowed on the ISL trunk. The word "automatically" makes C wrong.

Memory tip: The difference between C and D is automatic vs. mandatory - the ISL must carry all VLANs, but it won't do it for you automatically. Think: "VSX ISL is dumb until you configure it smart."

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