Packet Capture for AOS-CX Switches

Perform a live packet capture on any interface of a supported AOS-CX switch. Ensure you have write permissions on your account to start a packet capture.

Packet Capture Support

Packet captures are supported on the following AOS-CX devices:

  • The switch model is CX-4100i, CX-6000, CX-6100, CX-6200, CX-6300, CX-6400, CX-5420, CX-8100, or CX-8360.

  • The target switch runs a minimum firmware version of 10.16.1050.

  • If you plan to use packet filtering (IPV4 or MAC), ensure the following:

    • The switch runs a minimum firmware version of 10.17.1020 or 10.18.1000.

    • The switch model is CX-6200, CX-6300, CX-6400, CX-5420, CX-8100, or CX-8360.

Starting a Packet Capture

To start a packet capture, use the Troubleshooting page.

  1. In the HPE Aruba Networking Central landing page, select a site from the Sites menu.

    Alternatively, you can click the expand icon on the Sites menu to search for a site from the list.

    The site dashboard is displayed along with site health, device, and client information.

  2. Click Network.

    The Unified Device List (UDL) view is displayed for the site.

  3. To access the troubleshooting page for an AOS-CX switch, complete one of the following steps:

    • From the Devices table in list view, click anywhere on the particular device row under Any or Switches tab.

      The selected AOS-CX switch panel is displayed on the left.

    • From the Devices table in list view, click the particular device under the Switches tab.

      The selected AOS-CX switch context page is displayed.

  4. Click the troubleshooting icon .

    The Troubleshoot page is displayed for the AOS-CX switch, and the Tests tab is selected by default in the left panel.

  5. Open the Live Monitoring tab. By default, Packet Capture is selected.

  6. Depending on the context used to access the Troubleshoot page, enter the following information:

    • Client context—No information required.

    • Device context—Enter the client name.

    • Site context—Enter the device and client name.

  7. The following filters can be used to customize the packets captured. Using filters reduces capture size and improves efficiency.

    • MAC—Filter packets based on Source MAC address, Destination MAC address, Wildcard mask, VLAN ID, and EtherType.

    • IPV4—Filter packets based on Source IP address with mask, Destination IP with mask, Protocol, Source Port, and Destination Port.

    Note: Setting filters for only source or only destination will result in unidirectional packet captures. For example, if a Source MAC address filter is applied, packets originating from the source MAC address alone are captured. If a Destination MAC address filter is applied, packets routed to the Destination MAC address are captured.

  8. Click Start.
    A packet capture is initiated. HPE Aruba Networking Central supports only one packet capture at a time. The packet capture ends automatically if any limits are breached:

    • 15 minutes have elapsed.

    • The packet capture file exceeds 10 MB.

    • 5000 packets are captured.

  9. Click Stop to end the packet capture.

  10. When processing is complete, click Download to save the packet capture to your local system.
    HPE Aruba Networking Central retains these files for up to seven days. Download the files from the History tab.