CCNA IP Routing Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Use a static route with administrative distance 1

  Why it's wrong here

  AD 1 is the default administrative distance for a standard static route, meaning it is considered highly trustworthy—more trustworthy than any dynamic protocol, including OSPF's AD 110. If you configure a static route with AD 1, it will immediately be placed in the routing table as the preferred path, and the OSPF route will be ignored even when OSPF is fully operational. That defeats the requirement to use the static route only when OSPF fails, because the static route would become the primary, not the backup. To make it a backup, the AD must be greater than 110.

  When this WOULD be correct

  In a scenario where a question asks for the configuration of a static route that should always take precedence over any dynamic routing protocols, setting the administrative distance to 1 would be correct. For example, if the question specifies that the static route must be the primary route under all circumstances, this option would apply.

• ✓

  Use a static route with administrative distance higher than 110

  Why this is correct

  Administrative distance (AD) directly controls which route source is preferred, regardless of metric, and OSPF's default AD is 110. If you configure a static route with an AD higher than 110, for example 120, the router will install the OSPF route in the routing table as long as it exists. When the OSPF route is removed or fails, the router then installs the static route as a fallback, because it is the only remaining candidate. This creates a floating static route: active only when the primary dynamic route is unavailable.

• ✗

  Use a static route with metric 0

  Why it's wrong here

  In Cisco IOS, the metric (or cost) is a value used by dynamic routing protocols such as OSPF and EIGRP to select the best path among routes learned from the same protocol. A static route's metric is not compared against OSPF metrics; instead, the router compares administrative distance first, and only if two routes have the same AD does it consider metric. Setting metric 0 therefore does not make the static route a backup, because the OSPF route with AD 110 will always be preferred while it is present. The static route would only be used if the OSPF route disappears, but that is true regardless of the metric value.

  When this WOULD be correct

  In a scenario where the question asks for the configuration of a static route that should always be preferred over any OSPF routes, a static route with a metric of 0 would be correct, as it would ensure that the static route is always used.

• ✗

  Redistribute the static route into OSPF

  Why it's wrong here

  Redistributing a static route into OSPF advertises that route as an OSPF external route (type E1 or E2) to other routers in the OSPF domain, but it does not change the local router's own route-selection logic. The local router still compares the static route and the OSPF route based on administrative distance: the OSPF route with AD 110 beats the static route with default AD 1, so the static route is never used as long as OSPF is up. Redistribution also has a side effect of potentially causing routing loops or suboptimal paths elsewhere, and it does not create the intended backup behavior. The correct backup mechanism is a floating static route with an AD higher than that of OSPF.

  When this WOULD be correct

  In a scenario where the question asks how to ensure static routes are advertised within an OSPF domain for redundancy, redistributing the static route into OSPF would be correct. This would allow the static route to be used alongside OSPF routes, providing an alternative path when needed.

Option-by-option analysis

Why each answer is right or wrong

Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 200-301 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.

Analysis generated from the official 200-301blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”

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