The ideal access switch for a large hospital with distribution racks of over 400 ports in a single VSF stack is the CX 6300. This switch provides the following benefits:

The CX 6300 supports up to 48 ports per switch and up to 10 switches per VSF stack, allowing for a total of 480 ports in a single stack. This meets the requirement of having over 400 ports in a single VSF stack.

The CX 6300 supports high-performance switching with up to 960 Gbps of switching capacity and up to 714 Mpps of forwarding rate. This meets the requirement of having high throughput and low latency for mobile equipment and patient data.

The CX 6300 supports advanced features such as dynamic segmentation, policy-based routing, and role-based access control. These features enhance the security and flexibility of the network by applying different policies and roles to different types of devices and users.

The CX 6300 supports Aruba NetEdit, a network configuration and orchestration tool that simplifies the management and automation of the network. This reduces the complexity and human errors involved in network configuration and maintenance.

The other options are not ideal because:

OCX 6400: This switch is designed for data center applications and does not support VSF stacking. It also does not support dynamic segmentation or policy-based routing, which are useful for network security and flexibility.

OCX 6200: This switch is designed for small to medium-sized businesses and does not support VSF stacking. It also has lower switching capacity and forwarding rate than the CX 6300, which may affect the performance of the network.

OCX 6100: This switch is designed for edge applications and does not support VSF stacking. It also has lower switching capacity and forwarding rate than the CX 6300, which may affect the performance of the network.

References: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_CX6300Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_OC6400Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_OC6200Series.pdf https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/ds/DS_OC6100Series.pdf

MSTP Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol. MSTP is an IEEE standard protocol for preventing loops in a network with multiple VLANs. MSTP allows multiple VLANs to be mapped to a reduced number of spanning-tree instances. configuration ID consists of two parameters: name and revision. The name is a 32-byte ASCII string that identifies the MSTP region, which is a group of switches that share the same configuration ID and VLAN-to-instance mapping. The revision is a 16-bit number that indicates the version of the configuration ID. By default, the MSTP configuration ID name is set to the switch IMC address, which is a unique identifier derived from the MAC address Media Access Control address. MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. of the switch.References:https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_86_Web_Help/Content/arubaos-solutions/mstp/mstp.htm

QoS Quality of Service (QoS) is a set of techniques that manage network resources and provide different levels of service to different types of traffic based on their requirements. QoS can improve network performance, reduce latency, increase throughput, and prevent congestion. concept and its definition. Here is my answer:

QoS Concept:

Best Effort Service

Class of Service

Differentiated Services

WMM ====================== Definition:

d) A method where traffic is treated equally in a first-come, first-served manner a) A method for classifying network traffic at Layer 2 by marking 802.1Q VLAN Ethernet frames with one of eight service classes b) A method for classifying network traffic at Layer 3 by marking packets with one of 64 different service classes c) A method for classifying network traffic using access categories based on the IEEE 802.11e QoS standard

Short But Comprehensive Explanation of Correct Answer Only: The correct match between QoS concept and its definition is as follows:

Best Effort Service: This is a method where traffic is treated equally in a first-come, first-served manner without any prioritization or differentiation. This is the default service level for most networks and applications that do not have specific QoS requirements or guarantees. Best Effort Service does not provide any assurance of bandwidth, delay, jitter, or packet loss.

Class of Service: This is a method for classifying network traffic at Layer 2 by marking 802.1Q VLAN Ethernet frames with one of eight service classes (0 to 7). These service classes are also known as IEEE 802.1p priority values or PCP Priority Code Point (PCP) is a 3-bit field in the 802.1Q VLAN tag that indicates the priority level of an Ethernet frame . Class of Service allows network devices to identify and handle different types of traffic based on their priority levels. Class of Service is typically used in LAN Local Area Network (LAN) is a network that connects devices within a limited geographic area, such as a home, office, or building environments where Layer 2 switching is predominant.

Differentiated Services: This is a method for classifying network traffic at Layer 3 by marking packets with one of 64 different service classes (0 to 63). These service classes are also known as DiffServ Code Points (DSCP) DiffServ Code Point (DSCP) is a 6-bit field in the IP header that indicates the service class of a packet . Differentiated Services allows network devices to identify and handle different types of traffic based on their service classes. Differentiated Services is typically used in WAN Wide Area Network (WAN) is a network that connects devices across a large geographic area, such as a country or continent environments where Layer 3 routing is predominant.

WMM: This is a method for classifying network traffic using access categories based on the IEEE 802.11e QoS standard. WMM stands for Wi-Fi Multimedia and it is a certification program developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to enhance QoS for wireless networks. WMM defines four access categories (AC): Voice, Video, Best Effort, and Background. These access categories correspond to different priority levels and contention parameters for wireless traffic. WMM allows wireless devices to identify and handle different types of traffic based on their access categories.

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_service https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/qos_dfsrv/configuration/xe-16/qos-dfsrv-xe-16-book/qos-dfsrv-overview.html https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/quality-of-service-qos/qos-packet-marking/10103-dscpvalues.html https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless-mobility/wireless-lan-wlan/81831-qos-wlan.html https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-wmm

The advantage of Layer 2 MAC authentication is that it does not require any setup or configuration on the client device. The network devices (like switches or access points) perform the authentication automatically based on the MAC address of the device when it tries to connect to the network.

EAP-TEAP is a tunnel-based authentication method that supports both device and user authentication within a single RADIUS session. ClearPass 6.9 supports EAP-TEAP as an authentication method for Windows 10 clients.References:https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ClearPass/6.9/Guest/Content/CPPM_UserGuide/EAP-TEAP/EAP-TEAP.htm

For the requirement to authorize both device and user credentials within one Radius session, the correct solution would be ClearPass 6.9 with EAP-TEAP (EAP-Tunneled Extensible Authentication Protocol). EAP-TEAP is a tunneling protocol that creates a secure communication channel between the client and the server, allowing for the transmission of multiple authentication transactions within a single session. This capability is particularly useful in scenarios where both user and device credentials need to be verified before granting access to network resources, providing an additional layer of security and ensuring that both the user and the device are authorized to access the network.

The 802.1x authentication process begins after the client device completes the 802.11 association with the access point but before the WPA 4-Way Handshake. This is part of the EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) process, which authenticates the device before allowing full network access.