200-301 IP Routing Practice Questions

Question 1

What is the OSPF metric called?

Accepted Answer

Cost. OSPF uses cost as its internal metric. By default, cost is derived primarily from bandwidth.

Answer

Hop count

Answer

Distance

Answer

Feasible distance

Question 2

What is the effect of route summarization at an area boundary or redistribution point?

Accepted Answer

It combines multiple more-specific routes into a shorter prefix advertisement.. Summarization reduces the number of routes advertised by combining contiguous networks into a shorter prefix.

Answer

It increases the administrative distance of all routes.

Answer

It forces equal-cost load balancing across all paths.

Answer

It prevents the use of a default route.

Question 3

What is the purpose of a default route on a router?

Accepted Answer

To forward packets when no more specific match is found. A default route is used when no more specific route exists in the routing table.

Answer

To replace all directly connected routes

Answer

To advertise only loopback interfaces

Answer

To disable dynamic routing updates

Question 4

What is the main reason a default route is sometimes called a route of last resort?

Accepted Answer

It is used only when no more specific route matches the destination. A default route is called the route of last resort because the router uses it only when no more specific route matches the destination. In plain language, it is the fallback instruction the router follows when it does not have a better answer in the routing table. That makes it extremely useful for branch routers, Internet edge devices, and other places where unknown destinations should simply be sent to an upstream path.

The default route is not “last” because it is slow or because it is dangerous. It is last because it is the least specific match. As soon as the router finds a more specific prefix, that route takes precedence. This is a core route-selection concept and helps explain why default routes work so well alongside more detailed routing information.

Answer

It always has the highest bandwidth link

Answer

It is processed before all connected routes

Answer

It disables all dynamic routing protocols

Question 5

What is the main purpose of route summarization in a routed network?

Accepted Answer

To combine multiple routes into a smaller set of broader advertisements. Route summarization combines multiple more-specific routes into a smaller set of broader advertisements. In plain language, it helps reduce routing-table size and can simplify the information routers exchange with each other. This can improve scalability and reduce churn because the network does not need to advertise every small route individually when a broader summary is appropriate.

Summarization is not about creating VLAN tags or assigning DHCP leases. It is a routing design technique used to make route information more compact and manageable.

Answer

To force every subnet to use the default route only

Answer

To assign IP addresses dynamically to routers

Answer

To convert access ports into trunks

Question 6

What is the main reason route summarization can improve scalability in larger networks?

Accepted Answer

It reduces the number of routes that routers must carry and exchange. Route summarization can improve scalability because it reduces the number of individual routes that must be carried and exchanged. In plain language, instead of advertising many small routes separately, the network can often advertise a smaller set of broader prefixes. That reduces routing-table size and can simplify control-plane behavior. It also helps contain route-change noise in some designs because every small internal change does not necessarily need to be advertised individually as a separate route.

This does not mean summarization fixes every design problem, but it is a classic routing scalability tool. The best answer is the one that focuses on reducing and simplifying route information rather than confusing summarization with NAT, VLANs, or DHCP.

Answer

It forces every packet to use the default route

Answer

It automatically encrypts routing updates

Answer

It converts all access links into routed ports

Question 7

Which statement best describes the role of a router’s routing table?

Accepted Answer

It helps the router choose where to forward packets toward destination networks. A routing table contains the information a router uses to decide where to forward packets toward their destinations. In plain language, it is the router’s map of known networks and next-hop choices. When a packet arrives, the router checks the destination address against the routing table and uses the best matching entry to determine how to move the packet onward.

A routing table is not the same thing as a switch MAC table, and it is not primarily a record of passwords or logs. It is a forwarding decision structure. That is why the correct answer is the one focused on selecting paths to remote networks rather than on switching-only behavior or unrelated management tasks.

Answer

It stores secure user passwords for AAA login

Answer

It maps every MAC address on the LAN to a switch port

Answer

It defines STP root bridge election values

Question 8

What is the main reason a router uses the default route only after checking for more specific routes first?

Accepted Answer

Because the default route is the least specific match and is meant to be a fallback. A router uses the default route only after checking for more specific matches because routing logic is based on longest-prefix match. In plain language, the router prefers the route that most precisely describes the destination network. A default route is the least specific possible match, so it is kept as a fallback rather than a first choice.

That is what makes it useful as a route of last resort.

Answer

Because default routes always have the lowest bandwidth

Answer

Because default routes are processed only after STP converges

Answer

Because default routes can be used only on switches and not routers

Question 9

What is the main reason route administrative distance exists in Cisco routing logic?

Accepted Answer

To rank the trustworthiness of different route sources. Administrative distance exists so the router can rank the trustworthiness of different route sources. In plain language, if the router learns the same destination from multiple sources such as static routing and OSPF, it needs a way to decide which source to trust more before installing the route.

This is different from a metric, which usually compares paths inside one routing protocol. Administrative distance is a cross-source preference tool.

Answer

To identify the MAC address of the next hop

Answer

To determine trunk native VLAN behavior

Answer

To encrypt routing updates between routers

Question 10

Which statement best describes equal-cost multipath behavior in routing?

Accepted Answer

The router may install multiple equally good routes to the same destination and use them for forwarding. Equal-cost multipath allows a router to use more than one path to the same destination when those paths are considered equally good by the routing logic. In plain language, if the router sees multiple valid routes with the same cost or equivalent preference, it may install more than one and share traffic across them. This can improve redundancy and load distribution without requiring one path to sit idle.

This concept is important because learners often assume the router must always choose only one path. In reality, many routing environments support multiple equal paths simultaneously. The correct answer is the one that captures this multi-path forwarding behavior.

Answer

The router always discards all but the first route learned

Answer

Equal-cost multipath means every route source is trusted equally

Answer

Equal-cost multipath works only when no routing table exists

IP Routing