In Aruba CX 6300 and other AOS-CX switches, device profiling enables automatic assignment of roles and policies to endpoints based on device attributes such as MAC OUI, LLDP, or DHCP fingerprint — without requiring an external authentication server such as ClearPass or RADIUS.
The configuration snippet shows:
mac-group iot
seq 10 match mac-oui 81:cd:93
port-access device-profile iot-prod
enable
associate role iot-prod
associate mac-group iot
This means that any device with a MAC address matching the OUI 81:cd:93 will automatically be assigned the iot-prod device profile and its associated role (iot-prod).
However, the requirement also specifies that any other device connected to the same interface (that does not match the OUI or device profile) should still be assigned a default role called iot-default.
To ensure that endpoints not matching any known device profile still receive limited network access, Aruba AOS-CX uses the fallback-role feature under port-access configuration.
The command:
port-access fallback-role iot-default
defines the role that will be automatically assigned to endpoints that fail to match any of the configured device-profile conditions.
This mechanism is crucial in lab or standalone environments where no external authentication (e.g., RADIUS, ClearPass) is configured. It ensures devices are still given a default policy, preventing them from being left in an unauthenticated or blocked state.
Official HPE Aruba Extract (ArubaOS-CX Security and Access Guide):
“The fallback-role command allows the switch to assign a predefined local role to a device when no authentication server is available, or when the device does not match any configured device profile.”
“This command is typically used in test or lab environments where profiling is local to the switch, and a baseline role must still be enforced for unknown devices.”
Therefore, in this case:
All other devices → automatically assigned iot-default role via port-access fallback-role iot-default
Option Analysis:
A. Incorrect – The port-access onboarding-method precedence command changes the priority order between authentication methods (e.g., 802.1X, MAC-auth, device profile). It does not control fallback behavior.
B. Incorrect – The block-until-profile-applied option delays port activation until profiling completes, but it doesn’t provide a fallback role.
C. Correct – The port-access fallback-role iot-default command ensures that any device not matching the iot-prod profile receives the iot-default role.
D. Incorrect – Lowering precedence has no effect on assigning a default role.
Final Verified Answer: C
Reference Sources (HPE Aruba Official Materials):
Aruba Certified Switching Professional (ACSP) Study Guide – Port Access and Device Profiling
ArubaOS-CX Fundamentals Guide – Port Access and Fallback Role Implementation