Application Services

In small networks, service discovery is simple because devices share the same subnet. In enterprise and campus environments, however, network infrastructure introduces challenges such as increased multicast traffic from repeated mDNS/SSDP queries, VLAN segmentation that blocks discovery across network boundaries, and wireless optimizations that limit multicast to improve efficiency. Despite these constraints, mDNS and SSDP enable zero-configuration networking by supporting automatic service discovery, dynamic IP addressing, and hostname resolution without centralized DNS.

Application Services (previously referred to as AirGroup) in HPE Aruba Networking Central enables service discovery across modern enterprise wired and wireless networks. By utilizing mDNS and SSDP protocols, it enables client devices to reliably discover and access network services, even in environments with multiple VLANs and wireless access limitations. This capability is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional multicast‑based discovery protocols in large, segmented networks.

It centrally manages service discovery behavior, eliminating the need for manual configuration on individual devices. It enables cross‑VLAN service discovery by intelligently proxying and forwarding information without flooding the network with multicast traffic. Administrators can apply policy‑based controls to restrict service visibility based on user role, device type, network segment, or access location. Additionally, it provides location‑aware discovery so clients only see services relevant to their context, improving user experience and reducing unnecessary traffic. It also optimizes multicast handling in WLANs by selectively forwarding discovery traffic, ensuring reliable application access while maintaining wireless performance.

The policies provide granular control by enabling rule enforcement based on user roles and VLAN assignments. This ensures that service discovery protocols are accessible only to authorized users or devices within defined network segments. As a result, organizations can enhance security while maintaining proper resource isolation across the network.

It supports the following service discovery protocols:

• Bonjour (mDNS) for Apple devices

• DLNA (SSDP) for Android and other media devices

Supported Deployment Types

The table below summarizes the supported deployment models and details the service discovery behavior between clients and Advertising Servers.

Table 1: Deployment Types

Deployment Type	Client Connectivity	Server Connectivity	Support Status
Underlay	Wireless	WLAN	Supported
		Wired
	Wired	WLAN	Not Supported
		Wired
Overlay (AP based)	Wireless	WLAN	Supported
		Wired
	Wired	WLAN	Not Supported
		Wired

Wired and Wireless Advertising Servers

In wireless networks, a wireless Advertising Server is dynamically learned by the serving AP and advertised to clients within its one‑hop RF domain, subject to Application Services policy enforcement. This allows associated clients across neighboring APs within the broadcast domain to discover and access the service. The visibility scope for an Advertising Server is limited to a maximum of 50 APs.

• Leader AP for Wired Advertising Servers

  In AOS-10, the Leader AP mechanism optimizes control-plane signaling for wired Advertising Servers. For proper service discovery, the VLANs carrying wired Advertising Server traffic must be trunked to AP uplink ports.

  To minimize duplicate mDNS/SSDP updates from multiple APs within the same Layer 2 broadcast domain, AOS-10 elects a single Leader AP per wired Advertising Server. After initial learning, only the Leader AP propagates subsequent updates to HPE Aruba Networking Central, reducing unnecessary control-plane traffic, conserving AP resources, and optimizing WAN bandwidth utilization. Each wired Advertising Server is mapped to one Leader AP, and a single AP can serve as a Leader for up to 10 servers per VLAN.

• Migration from ArubaOS 8.x to AOS-10

  In AOS-10, Application Services are distributed at the AP level rather than centralized on gateways. To maintain consistent service discovery, VLANs associated with wired Advertising Servers must be extended to the AP access layer via trunked uplinks.

  During migration from ArubaOS 8.x to AOS-10, network design must be updated by removing Advertising Server VLANs from gateway-facing interfaces and extending them to AP-facing switch ports. This ensures correct Layer 2 reachability and enables APs to perform local service discovery and advertisement.

  Note:

  To support wired servers in underlay deployments, configure the list of APs under the Advertising Servers profile where the wired server is accessible. The server can only be discovered by clients connected to these APs.

Service Discovery Profile

A Service Discovery profile in defines how application services are discovered, advertised, and controlled across the network. It refers to the set of applications and protocols that HPE Aruba Networking Central's solution can detect, advertise, and manage across network segments such as VLANs and roles. It specifies which services are enabled, where they are advertised (for example, through selected APs in the Advertising Servers profile), and which clients can discover them. This ensures consistent service visibility across segmented networks while maintaining control, security, and efficient use of network resources.

Predefined and user-defined services can be configured within a Service Discovery profile. Administrators can enable or disable any or all services based on deployment requirements.

The profile includes seven predefined services available by default: AirPlay, AirPrint, Google Cast, Amazon TV, DIAL, DLNA Media, and DLNA Print. These built-in services simplify deployment by supporting commonly used applications in enterprise environments. In addition to predefined services, administrators can configure user-defined services to support custom applications that are not part of the default list. A user-defined service allows administrators to specify mDNS or SSDP service identifiers so that Application Services can discover and advertise these applications, extending service discovery beyond built-in capabilities.

Licensing for Application Services

Application Services is available as part of Foundation license. The following table lists the availability of service discovery profile types based on the license type.

Table 2: Licensing

Service Discovery Profile Type	Foundation License	Advanced License
Predefined Service Discovery Profile	Yes	Yes
User-defined Discovery Service Profile	Yes	Yes