The scenario involves AOS-CX switches tunneling client traffic to an HPE Aruba Networking Mobility Controller (MC) in an AOS-8 architecture. The MC will apply firewall policies and perform deep packet inspection (DPI) on the tunneled traffic. The MC is dedicated to receiving traffic from the AOS-CX switches, and there are 114 employees (implying 114 potential clients). The question asks about the licensing requirements for the MC.
Tunneling from AOS-CX Switches to MC: In this setup, the AOS-CX switches act as Layer 2 devices, tunneling client traffic to the MC using a mechanism like GRE or VXLAN (though GRE is more common in AOS-8). The MC treats the tunneled traffic as if it were coming from wireless clients, applying firewall policies and DPI.
Licensing in AOS-8:
AP License (Access Point License): Required for each AP managed by the MC. Since the scenario involves AOS-CX switches tunneling traffic, not APs, AP licenses are not required.
PEF License (Policy Enforcement Firewall License): Required to enable the stateful firewall and DPI features on the MC. The PEF license is based on the number of devices (e.g., switches, APs) or users that the MC processes traffic for. In this case, the MC is processing traffic from AOS-CX switches, and the license is typically per switch (not per user or employee).
WCC License (Web Content Classification License): An optional license that enhances DPI by enabling URL-based filtering and web content classification. This is not mentioned as a requirement in the scenario.
Option A, "One PEF license per switch," is correct. Since the MC is dedicated to receiving traffic from the AOS-CX switches, and the MC will apply firewall policies and DPI, a PEF license is required. In AOS-8, when switches tunnel traffic to an MC, the PEF license is typically required per switch (not per user). With 114 employees, the number of switches is not specified, but the licensing model is per switch, so one PEF license per switch is needed.
Option B, "One PEF license per switch, and one WCC license per switch," is incorrect. While a PEF license is required, a WCC license is not mentioned as a requirement. WCC is for advanced web filtering, which is not specified in the scenario.
Option C, "One AP license per switch," is incorrect. AP licenses are for managing APs, not switches. Since the scenario involves switches tunneling traffic, not APs, AP licenses are not required.
Option D, "One AP license per switch, and one PEF license per switch," is incorrect for the same reason as Option C. AP licenses are not needed, but the PEF license per switch is correct.
The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:
"The Policy Enforcement Firewall (PEF) license is required on the Mobility Controller to enable stateful firewall policies and deep packet inspection (DPI). When AOS-CX switches tunnel client traffic to the MC for firewall processing, a PEF license is required for each switch. The license is based on the number of devices (e.g., switches) sending traffic to the MC, not the number of users. For example, if 10 switches tunnel traffic to the MC, 10 PEF licenses are required." (Page 375, Licensing Requirements Section)
Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Licensing Guide notes:
"PEF licenses on the Mobility Controller are required for firewall and DPI features. In deployments where switches tunnel traffic to the MC, the PEF license is typically per switch. AP licenses are not required unless the MC is managing APs. The Web Content Classification (WCC) license is optional and only needed for advanced URL filtering, which is not required for basic DPI." (Page 15, PEF Licensing Section)
[References:, HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide, Licensing Requirements Section, Page 375., HPE Aruba Networking Licensing Guide, PEF Licensing Section, Page 15.]
