Which approach should be used to establish the keepalive connection between two Aruba CX 8325 switches for VSX?

Which approach should be used to establish the keepalive connection between two Aruba CX 8325 switches for VSX?

• A. SVI with ISL in default VRF
• B. Routed port in a custom VRF
• C. Loopback 0 with OSPF area 0 in default VRF
• D. SVI with VLAN trunk allowed on ISL in a custom VRF

Answer: (B)

Keepalive between VSX peers should run over a dedicated, IP-based control path that is isolated from the data plane. This ensures the heartbeat remains reliable even if data traffic or default routing changes, providing a clean failover signal between the two switches. Using a routed port in a custom VRF fits this need perfectly. It creates a simple point-to-point L3 link between the two switches and places it in its own VRF, keeping keepalive traffic separate from all data VLANs and from the default management context. That isolation makes the heartbeat robust and predictable, which is exactly what you want for VSX stability. Other approaches couple the keepalive to data-plane VLANs or rely on routing protocols. An SVI over a VLAN trunk on the inter-switch link ties the keepalive to data VLANs and trunk behavior, which can be affected by VLAN misconfigurations or trunk issues. Loopback-based methods that use OSPF involve routing protocol convergence and aren’t meant for a dedicated, immediate keepalive signal. An SVI on the default VRF with ISL similarly blends control with data plane contexts, reducing reliability for the heartbeat. So, the routed port in a dedicated VRF provides the clean, isolated, and reliable keepalive path needed for VSX.

Keepalive between VSX peers should run over a dedicated, IP-based control path that is isolated from the data plane. This ensures the heartbeat remains reliable even if data traffic or default routing changes, providing a clean failover signal between the two switches.

Using a routed port in a custom VRF fits this need perfectly. It creates a simple point-to-point L3 link between the two switches and places it in its own VRF, keeping keepalive traffic separate from all data VLANs and from the default management context. That isolation makes the heartbeat robust and predictable, which is exactly what you want for VSX stability.

Other approaches couple the keepalive to data-plane VLANs or rely on routing protocols. An SVI over a VLAN trunk on the inter-switch link ties the keepalive to data VLANs and trunk behavior, which can be affected by VLAN misconfigurations or trunk issues. Loopback-based methods that use OSPF involve routing protocol convergence and aren’t meant for a dedicated, immediate keepalive signal. An SVI on the default VRF with ISL similarly blends control with data plane contexts, reducing reliability for the heartbeat.

So, the routed port in a dedicated VRF provides the clean, isolated, and reliable keepalive path needed for VSX.