Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
An engineer configures a floating static route to 0.0.0.0/0 with an administrative distance of 200 while OSPF is providing a default route. What is the intended behavior?
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 static default route acts as a backup and becomes active only if the OSPF default route is lost.
This is correct because the higher administrative distance makes the static route float behind OSPF.
B
Distractor review
The static default route overrides OSPF immediately because it is manually configured.
This is wrong because the higher administrative distance prevents it from overriding OSPF during normal operation.
C
Distractor review
Both default routes must always load-balance together.
This is wrong because routes from different sources do not automatically load-balance in this scenario.
D
Distractor review
The router ignores both defaults because they overlap.
This is wrong because overlapping defaults are normal and route preference resolves the choice.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A common exam trap is assuming that a manually configured static route always takes precedence over dynamic routes like OSPF. Candidates might think the static default route immediately overrides the OSPF default route simply because it is manually set. However, the administrative distance controls route preference, and a floating static route with a higher administrative distance (200) remains inactive while the OSPF route (distance 110) is available. Misunderstanding this can lead to incorrect answers about route selection and fail to recognize the backup role of floating static routes.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
A floating static route is a static route configured with an administrative distance higher than the dynamic routing protocol's default distance, ensuring it acts as a backup path rather than the primary route. In this scenario, the static default route to 0.0.0.0/0 is assigned an administrative distance of 200, which is higher than OSPF's default administrative distance of 110. This means the router prefers the OSPF-learned default route under normal conditions and only uses the static route if the OSPF route becomes unavailable. Administrative distance is a key Cisco routing concept that determines the trustworthiness of routing information from different sources. When multiple routes to the same destination exist, the router selects the route with the lowest administrative distance. By configuring a floating static route with a higher administrative distance, the static route remains in the routing table but is suppressed in favor of the dynamic route unless the dynamic route fails. This design provides redundancy without disrupting normal routing operations. The exam trap here is misunderstanding the role of administrative distance and assuming that a manually configured static route always overrides dynamic routes. In reality, the higher administrative distance assigned to the floating static route prevents it from immediately overriding the OSPF route. This ensures network stability by avoiding route flapping and unintended traffic shifts. Practically, floating static routes are widely used in Cisco networks to provide backup paths that activate only during dynamic route failures.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- A floating static route uses a higher administrative distance than dynamic routing protocols to act as a backup route.
- OSPF has a default administrative distance of 110, which is lower than the floating static route's 200, making OSPF preferred.
- The router selects the route with the lowest administrative distance as the primary forwarding path.
- Static routes with higher administrative distances do not override dynamic routes unless the dynamic route is lost.
- Administrative distance determines route preference when multiple routes to the same destination exist.
- Floating static routes provide redundancy by activating only when the preferred dynamic route is unavailable.
- Overlapping default routes do not cause the router to ignore them; route preference resolves which route is used.
- Manually configured static routes do not automatically override dynamic routes if their administrative distance is higher.
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?
A floating static route uses a higher administrative distance than dynamic routing protocols to act as a backup route.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The static default route acts as a backup and becomes active only if the OSPF default route is lost. — The intended behavior is that the static default route stays in reserve and becomes active only if the OSPF-learned default route disappears. In plain language, the administrator wants a backup path, not a replacement for the normal OSPF path. By assigning the static route a higher administrative distance than OSPF, the router treats it as less trustworthy during normal operation. This is a standard floating-static design. The static route is still configured, but it does not normally appear as the preferred forwarding choice until the lower-distance route is lost. That is the key operational purpose of the configuration.
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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