ArubaOS-CX VSX Configuration: Active-Active Switch HA

Aruba Virtual Switching Extension (VSX) is HPE's active-active high-availability technology for AOS-CX aggregation and core switches. Instead of stacking into a single control plane, two VSX peers keep independent data planes and synchronize key state such as MAC and ARP tables over a dedicated control link, presenting themselves as one virtual switch where it matters. Because configuration is synced from the primary to the secondary, VSX also gives a pseudo single-pane-of-glass management model. This article walks through a minimal two-switch VSX deployment with a multi-chassis LAG (MC-LAG) downlink.

VSX Building Blocks

• Roles: one switch is primary, the other secondary; the primary owns configuration synchronization.
• Keepalive: a Layer 3 path (usually a dedicated link or the management network) used to detect peer health.
• Inter-Switch Link (ISL): a high-bandwidth link (physical or LAG) between the peers carrying control traffic and, when needed, data.
• Multi-Chassis LAG: a LAG whose member ports are split across both peers, seen by the downstream device as a single LACP bundle.

Configuration Example

Prepare the keepalive link and the ISL first. In this example ports 1/1/49-1/1/50 are used for the keepalive and the ISL respectively, with LAG 128 as the inter-switch link.

switch(config)# interface 1/1/49
switch(config-if)# description VSX KEEPALIVE LINK
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
switch(config-if)# ip address 1.1.1.1/30
switch(config)# interface lag 128
switch(config-lag-if)# description VSX INTER-SWITCH-LINK
switch(config-lag-if)# lacp mode active
switch(config-lag-if)# no routing
switch(config-lag-if)# vlan trunk allowed all
switch(config-lag-if)# no shutdown
switch(config)# interface 1/1/50
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
switch(config-if)# lag 128

On the peer switch, repeat the same configuration with IP address 1.1.1.2/30 on the keepalive port. Then enable VSX and set the role on each switch:

switch(config)# vsx
switch(config-vsx)# role primary
switch(config-vsx)# keepalive peer 1.1.1.2 source 1.1.1.1
switch(config-vsx)# inter-switch-link lag 128
switch(config-vsx)# exit

The secondary uses role secondary with the keepalive addresses reversed. VSX is now operational; use show vsx status to confirm both peers are up and synchronized.

Creating a Multi-Chassis LAG for a Downstream Device

An MC-LAG is a LAG created with the multi-chassis keyword, with its physical members distributed across the two peers:

switch(config)# interface lag 10 multi-chassis
switch(config-lag-if)# description DOWNSTREAM-SWITCH
switch(config-lag-if)# lacp mode active
switch(config-lag-if)# vlan trunk allowed 10,20
switch(config-lag-if)# no shutdown
switch(config)# interface 1/1/1
switch(config-if)# lag 10
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)# interface 1/1/2
switch(config-if)# lag 10

The same LAG ID and configuration must exist on both peers; the downstream device bundles its two uplinks through normal LACP and both links stay active, unlike an STP-blocked design. For access-port oriented deployments, review our comparison of ArubaOS-CX access vs trunk VLAN scenarios with LAG.

Synchronizing Configuration with VSX-Sync

Global and interface-level features can be synced from the primary to the secondary so operational changes apply once:

switch(config-vsx)# vsx-sync aaa sflow snmp static-routes time dns ssh
switch(config-if)# vsx-sync access-lists policies qos vlans rate-limits
switch(config-if-vlan)# vsx-sync active-gateways policies

Active gateway (virtual IP) support on VLAN interfaces is what enables an active-active default gateway without VRRP, mirroring the VLT peer-routing model on Dell OS10 VLT.

Verification

show vsx status
show vsx brief
show vsx configuration
show lacp 10
show mac-address-table

Check that the ISL and keepalive are up, the role matches the intended primary/secondary, and the MC-LAG shows its members bundled on both peers. Before upgrading or rebooting one peer, confirm VSX sync is complete so the remaining switch can carry traffic; the initial AOS-CX bring-up procedure is covered in our HPE Aruba AOS-CX initial configuration guide.

原文链接：https://arubanetworking.hpe.com/techdocs/AOS-CX/10.14/HTML/vsx/Content/Chp_Start/get-sta-wit-vsx.htm