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In Aruba AOS-CX, OSPF neighbors that reach EXSTART/EXCHANGE but fail to advance typically indicate a database description (DD) negotiation issue, most commonly caused by an MTU mismatch on the link. The OSPF header carries the interface MTU; if the values do not match, the peer rejects DD packets and the adjacency remains stuck at EXSTART (often shown as EXSTART/DR or EXSTART/BDR).

Aruba’s OSPF guidance states:

“If neighbors remain in EXSTART/EXCHANGE, verify that the Layer-3 MTU matches on both ends of the adjacency. An MTU mismatch causes DD packets to be rejected and prevents the adjacency from reaching FULL.”

Recommended corrective action is to align or remove custom L3 MTU settings on the participating interfaces (or use the mtu-ignore feature where appropriate).

In this scenario, removing the custom Layer-3 MTU configuration so both sides use the same default MTU allows DD packet negotiation to succeed and the adjacency to progress to FULL.

In HPE Aruba ClearPass Guest configuration, the “Address” field defines the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the captive portal server that users are redirected to when accessing the guest network.

When a wildcard certificate is used, such as *.aruba-training.com, the derived FQDN for the captive portal redirection automatically becomes:

captiveportal-login.aruba-training.com

This naming convention is required so that the Common Name (CN) or Subject Alternative Name (SAN) in the SSL certificate matches the domain presented to the client browser during HTTPS redirection.

If the “Address” field is incorrectly configured with just aruba-training.com, the certificate and the redirection URL will not match, causing the browser to block or fail the authentication process. This results in users being unable to browse after pressing Connect on the portal page.

HPE Aruba documentation states:

“When using a wildcard certificate (for example CN = *.domain.com) on ClearPass Guest, the web login redirection address must be configured as captiveportal-login.domain.com to ensure the HTTPS certificate name matches the redirection hostname.”

“If the address field does not match the derived hostname of the certificate, browser trust validation fails and users cannot proceed beyond the captive portal page.”

Additionally, the ArubaOS and ClearPass Guest deployment guide clarifies that wildcard certificates are fully supported for guest portals, provided that the Address field follows the proper naming pattern.

Incorrect Configurations:

Setting “Address” to aruba-training.com causes SSL mismatch errors.

Leaving the “Address” blank defaults to a local IP or hostname mismatch.

Correct Configuration:

“Address” should be set to captiveportal-login.aruba-training.com when the wildcard certificate is *.aruba-training.com.

Option Explanations:

A. Incorrect – this does not follow the certificate’s derived FQDN format.

B. Correct – matches the expected derived FQDN for wildcard certificates.

C. Incorrect – HTTPS certificates are required for secure guest portals.

D. Incorrect – Wildcard certificates are supported by ClearPass Guest and ArubaOS.

Final Verified Answer: B

Reference Sources (HPE Aruba Networking Official Materials):

Aruba ClearPass Guest Configuration and Deployment Guide

ArubaOS 8.x User Guide – Captive Portal and Authentication Configuration

HPE Aruba ClearPass Certificates 101 Technical Note

ArubaOS-Switch and ClearPass Integration Guide

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of HPE Aruba Networking Switching:

In Aruba gateway/AP tunnel state reporting, the following tunnel state semantics apply:

• SM_STATE_CONNECTING — indicates the AP has received tunnel configuration/keys and is attempting to bring up the tunnel; the tunnel is not yet available for client traffic.

• SM_STATE_SURVIVING — indicates the AP is in a survival/fallback condition (for example, it did not receive a fresh tunnel key and is attempting resolution via IKE); this state reflects a problem condition that can prevent successful client connectivity.

By contrast:

• SM_STATE_CONNECTED — indicates the IPsec tunnel to the endpoint is established and available.

• SM_STATE_REKEYING — indicates a rekey operation is in progress; the session is being updated, not necessarily failed.

• SM_STATE_SURVIVED — indicates the AP completed survival procedures and the IPsec tunnel is available.

Because end-users cannot connect, the problematic states are those where the tunnel is not up in normal service: SM_STATE_CONNECTING and SM_STATE_SURVIVING.