HP HPE7-A07 Exam With Confidence Using Practice Dumps

ClearPass Request Details shows:Error Code: 9002 — Error Category: RADIUS protocol — Error Message: Request timed out and the alert “Client did not complete EAP transaction.”Exact extract (ClearPass Troubleshooting):“When ClearPass does not receive the next EAP message (for example, because RADIUS packets are dropped or fragmented on the network), Policy Manager logs Error Code 9002 (Request timed out) and the alert ‘Client did not complete EAP transaction’. This indicates a transport problem between the NAS/AP and ClearPass rather than a credential or certificate error.”

AP show ap-debug auth-trace-buf shows:... eap-req / eap-resp ... rad-req ... dot1x-timeout ... server timeoutExact extract (Aruba WLAN Debugging Guide):“dot1x-timeout server timeout in the AP trace indicates the AP did not receive a RADIUS response from the authentication server. Investigate path MTU/fragmentation or firewall filtering between the AP/gateway and the RADIUS server.”

Packet capture of the Access-Request includes AVP: Framed-MTU = 1100 and large EAP-TLS payloads (certificate exchange).Exact extract (Aruba 802.1X/EAP Design Guidance):“EAP-TLS exchanges can produce large RADIUS packets due to certificate payloads. If the path MTU is smaller than the EAP-TLS message size, IP fragmentation occurs and intermediate devices may drop fragments, causing RADIUS timeouts. Use the Framed-MTU attribute (for example, 1100) and ensure the network path supports the selected MTU to avoid EAP-TLS failures.”

Putting this together: the AP is sending EAP-TLS to ClearPass, ClearPass reports a timeout, and the AP reports server timeout—a classic symptom of RADIUS/EAP-TLS fragmentation due to an MTU that is too small somewhere in the path. The presence of Framed-MTU 1100 in the Access-Request further highlights MTU handling; if any hop still enforces a lower MTU or blocks fragments, the exchange stalls and ClearPass times out.

Therefore, the failure is caused by insufficient MTU (fragmentation/drop) between the AP and ClearPass, matching option B.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching documents or Study Guide (no external links):

Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager Troubleshooting Guide — “Error Code 9002 (Request timed out)” and “Client did not complete EAP transaction.”

Aruba WLAN Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Guide — “dot1x-timeout server timeout meaning and common causes (RADIUS reachability, MTU/fragmentation).”

Aruba 802.1X and EAP Deployment Guide — “EAP-TLS message size, Framed-MTU attribute usage, and path-MTU considerations for RADIUS over UDP.”

The provided event logs from Aruba Central show multiple entries of:

Client PMK/OKC Key Add/Update

Client PMK/OKC Key Delete

Operation ADD/UPDATE for key cache entry for client ...

Operation DEL for key cache entry for client ...

These log entries refer to Pairwise Master Key (PMK) and Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC) updates in the Aruba gateway or access point for wireless clients.

When a client roams between APs or the system refreshes key entries for active clients, Aruba’s infrastructure updates or deletes PMK cache entries dynamically. This process ensures secure key continuity across APs and controllers for tunneled SSIDs.

Exact Extracts from Aruba WLAN and AOS-10 Documentation:

“PMK/OKC cache updates and deletions are part of normal operation. When clients connect, disconnect, or roam, the system adds or removes their PMK cache entries. These log messages are informational and indicate expected WPA2-Enterprise behavior.”

“In a tunneled SSID, PMK and OKC entries are managed at the gateway level. When a client roams or rekeys, the gateway logs PMK/OKC Key Add/Update and Key Delete messages. These are not error conditions.”

“Frequent ADD/DEL entries for a client MAC address reflect normal WPA2 key lifecycle events—such as reauthentication, idle timeout, or client-driven disassociation.”

Thus, these messages indicate normal background key management (PMK caching and rekeying) and not any fault or attack scenario.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Denial-of-Service attack:False. These events correspond to key management, not excessive connection requests. Aruba security logs for DoS attacks show messages like “Association flood” or “Authentication flood,” not PMK/OKC operations.

B. Roaming issue:While OKC relates to roaming optimizations, these log messages do not indicate a failure or issue — they show successful key caching updates.

“OKC Key Add/Update events confirm successful key caching, not roaming failure.”

C. Client WLAN driver issue:No error messages (timeouts, EAP failures, or deauths) are logged. The presence of PMK updates and deletes alone does not imply a driver issue.

“Client driver problems typically manifest as association failures or 4-way handshake errors, not PMK cache logs.”

Conclusion:

The repeated “PMK/OKC Key Add/Update” and “Key Delete” events represent routine client key caching and refresh behavior in Aruba’s tunneled WLAN design.

No misconfiguration, client issue, or attack is implied.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

✅ D. This is normal, expected behavior. No further actions are needed.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

ArubaOS 10 Wireless and Gateway Configuration Guide – “PMK caching and OKC operation.”

Aruba WLAN Troubleshooting and Operations Guide – “Understanding PMK/OKC key lifecycle and expected log events.”

Aruba Campus WLAN Best Practices Guide – “Tunneled SSID key management (PMK, OKC, and 802.11r Fast Roaming).”

Aruba Central Monitoring and Event Logs Reference – “Client PMK/OKC Key Add/Delete informational messages.”

The provided output is from the command:

(MC2) #show auth-tracebuf mac

This command traces the authentication exchange between the access point (or mobility controller) and the RADIUS server for a specific client. The trace provides insight into the 802.1X authentication sequence and RADIUS responses.

From the exhibit:

EAPOL (Extensible Authentication Protocol over LAN) Messages Observed:

eap-id-req

eap-id-resp

eap-req

eap-resp

eap-success

These messages clearly indicate that an 802.1X (EAP-based) authentication took place. MAC authentication (MAB) or WebAuth would not include multiple EAP identity and response messages.

RADIUS Messages:

rad-req, rad-resp, rad-accept from /RADIUS1

The presence of rad-accept indicates successful authentication.

Exact extract from ArubaOS (AOS-S/AOS 10 WLAN Authentication Guide):

“When the trace output shows EAP identity requests, EAP responses, and a RADIUS Access-Accept message, the authentication method in use is 802.1X (EAP-based user authentication). The presence of EAP-Success following the Access-Accept confirms successful 802.1X authentication.”

Follow-on WPA2 Key Exchange:

Lines show wpa2-key1, wpa2-key2, wpa2-key3, and wpa2-key4.

This sequence occurs after 802.1X authentication completes and is used to establish encryption keys for a WPA2 Enterprise session.

Exact extract from Aruba WLAN Troubleshooting Guide:

“After successful 802.1X authentication (EAP-Success), the controller exchanges four WPA2 keys with the station to derive the session keys used for data encryption. This confirms WPA2-Enterprise with 802.1X was used.”

No Indication of MAC or WebAuth:

MAC authentication would show mac-auth or macauth messages instead of eap-id-req/resp.

WebAuth involves HTTP-based redirection and is not visible in auth-tracebuf as EAP transactions.

Exact extract:

“MAC authentication shows ‘macauth start’ and ‘macauth accept’ entries, not EAPOL frames. WebAuth authentication uses a web redirect and does not appear as EAP frames in the trace buffer.”

Therefore, the trace confirms a WPA2-Enterprise 802.1X user authentication, where the user’s credentials were validated by the RADIUS server, followed by the WPA2 key handshake.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. MAC authentication:Would show MAC-based request/response entries (macauth), not eap-id-req/resp.

C. WEBauth authentication:WebAuth occurs over HTTP/HTTPS and does not involve EAP messages; thus, no eap-id or eap-success would be seen.

D. 802.1X machine authentication:Machine authentication occurs before user logon and is typically identified in logs by a computer account (e.g., host/computername$). Here, the username and context indicate a user-level session.

References of HPE Aruba Networking Switching Documents or Study Guide:

ArubaOS 8/10 WLAN Authentication and Security Configuration Guide – “802.1X EAP Authentication and Trace Analysis.”

Aruba WLAN Troubleshooting Guide – “Using show auth-tracebuf to validate EAP authentication.”

Aruba Campus Wireless Design Fundamentals – “Understanding WPA2-Enterprise authentication flow (EAPOL, RADIUS, WPA2 4-Way Handshake).”

Aruba Access Security and AAA Implementation Guide – “Distinguishing between MAC, WebAuth, and 802.1X authentication in debug outputs.”