Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A router learns 192.168.30.0/24 from OSPF and also has a static route to 192.168.30.0/24 with administrative distance 200. Which route is installed in the routing table while both are available?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
The OSPF route
This is correct because OSPF's administrative distance is lower than 200.
B
Distractor review
The static route
This is wrong because the static route has been configured with a much higher administrative distance.
C
Distractor review
Both routes equally for load balancing
This is wrong because equal installation is not expected with these differing distances.
D
Distractor review
Neither route, because they conflict
This is wrong because routers can choose one preferred source for the same prefix.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A common exam trap is assuming that static routes always take precedence over dynamic routes because their default administrative distance is 1. In this question, the static route’s administrative distance is manually set to 200, which is higher than OSPF’s default 110. Many candidates mistakenly select the static route, overlooking that a higher administrative distance means lower preference. This trap tests your understanding that administrative distance values can be adjusted to create floating static routes that serve as backups rather than primary routes.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Administrative distance (AD) is a key concept in Cisco routing that determines the trustworthiness of a route source. Each routing protocol and route type has a default AD value, with lower values indicating more preferred routes. OSPF, a dynamic routing protocol, has a default AD of 110, while static routes have a default AD of 1 unless manually configured otherwise. In this scenario, the static route has been assigned an AD of 200, which is higher than OSPF’s AD, making it less preferred. When a router learns multiple routes to the same destination prefix, it compares their administrative distances to decide which route to install in the routing table. The route with the lowest AD is selected as the primary path. Here, the OSPF route with AD 110 is preferred over the static route with AD 200. The static route acts as a floating static route, serving as a backup that only becomes active if the OSPF route fails or is withdrawn. A common exam trap is assuming that static routes always override dynamic routes due to their default AD of 1. However, when a static route’s AD is manually increased above that of a dynamic route, it becomes a backup route. This design is intentional for redundancy. Practically, the router installs only the route with the lowest AD, and the higher-AD static route remains in the configuration but inactive unless the preferred route disappears.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Administrative distance determines the trustworthiness of routing information sources and influences route selection in Cisco routers.
- OSPF uses a default administrative distance of 110, which is lower than a manually configured static route with an administrative distance of 200.
- When multiple routes to the same prefix exist, the router installs the route with the lowest administrative distance into the routing table.
- A static route with a higher administrative distance than a dynamic route acts as a floating static route, providing backup routing.
- Cisco routers do not install multiple routes with different administrative distances to the same prefix simultaneously for load balancing.
- Manually increasing the administrative distance of a static route allows network engineers to control route preference and failover behavior.
- The routing table always reflects the most preferred route based on administrative distance, regardless of route type or source.
- Understanding administrative distance is critical to designing reliable routing failover and avoiding unintended route selection.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A router learns the same prefix from both OSPF and EIGRP. Which route is installed by default?
Question 2
A router shows this output: R1#show ip ospf neighbor Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface 10.1.1.2 1 FULL/DR 00:00:34 192.168.12.2 GigabitEthernet0/0 10.1.1.3 1 2WAY/DROTHER 00:00:39 192.168.12.3 GigabitEthernet0/0 Which statement is correct?
Question 3
What is the OSPF metric called?
Question 4
A non-root switch has two uplinks toward the root bridge. One path has a lower total STP cost than the other. What role will the lower-cost uplink have?
Question 5
A router interface applies this ACL inbound: 10 deny tcp any any eq 80 20 permit ip any any A user reports that web browsing to a server by IP address fails, but ping works. Which statement best explains the behavior?
Question 6
A router learns route 198.51.100.0/24 from OSPF with AD 110 and also has a static route to the same prefix configured with AD 150. Which route is installed?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-301 question test?
Administrative distance determines the trustworthiness of routing information sources and influences route selection in Cisco routers.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The OSPF route — The OSPF route is installed because its default administrative distance of 110 is lower than the static route’s configured administrative distance of 200. In practical terms, the static route has been intentionally made a backup. It is present in the configuration, but it does not become active while the lower-distance OSPF route is healthy. This is a classic floating-static design question. The important point is that route-source preference depends on administrative distance when the prefix length is the same.
What should I do if I get this 200-301 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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