In a VRF-enabled Aruba network, what is the primary purpose of a VRF in relation to OSPF routing?

In a VRF-enabled Aruba network, what is the primary purpose of a VRF in relation to OSPF routing?

• A. Isolate routing tables per VRF
• B. Merge routing tables across VRFs
• C. Enable firewalling between VRFs
• D. Assign VRF to OSPF areas only

Answer: (A)

VRFs create separate routing instances on a single device, so each VRF has its own routing table and OSPF database. When OSPF runs inside a VRF, its adjacencies, LSAs, and learned routes stay entirely within that VRF, preventing any cross‑VRF leakage. This isolation lets you run independent routing domains side by side (for example, different tenants or services) even if they use overlapping IP address spaces. In practice, you bind the OSPF process and the interfaces to a specific VRF, so all routing information stays contained there. That’s why the primary purpose is to isolate routing tables per VRF. Merging routing tables across VRFs would defeat isolation. Firewalls between VRFs are possible, but not the primary function of a VRF. And VRF isn’t limited to “areas only” in OSPF; you can run OSPF within a VRF with its own areas, reinforcing that the essential role is separate routing state rather than area structure.

VRFs create separate routing instances on a single device, so each VRF has its own routing table and OSPF database. When OSPF runs inside a VRF, its adjacencies, LSAs, and learned routes stay entirely within that VRF, preventing any cross‑VRF leakage. This isolation lets you run independent routing domains side by side (for example, different tenants or services) even if they use overlapping IP address spaces.

In practice, you bind the OSPF process and the interfaces to a specific VRF, so all routing information stays contained there. That’s why the primary purpose is to isolate routing tables per VRF.

Merging routing tables across VRFs would defeat isolation. Firewalls between VRFs are possible, but not the primary function of a VRF. And VRF isn’t limited to “areas only” in OSPF; you can run OSPF within a VRF with its own areas, reinforcing that the essential role is separate routing state rather than area structure.