CCNA IP Routing Practice Question
A network engineer notices that R1 is using the static route to 192.168.10.0/24 via next-hop 10.1.1.2 instead of the OSPF route via 10.2.2.2, even though the OSPF path has lower latency. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between administrative distance and metric, trapping candidates who assume lower latency or lower metric always determines the best path, when in fact AD is evaluated first for routes from different sources.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The static route has a lower administrative distance than the OSPF route.
R1 prefers the static route over the OSPF route because static routes have a default administrative distance (AD) of 1, whereas OSPF has a default AD of 110. Since a lower AD indicates a more trustworthy route, the static route is installed in the routing table regardless of metric or latency. The OSPF route, despite having lower latency, is not used because AD is evaluated before metric.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The static route has a lower administrative distance than the OSPF route.
Why this is correct
Administrative distance is the first criterion used to select routes from different routing protocols. A static route has an AD of 1, while OSPF has an AD of 110. The lower AD wins, so the static route is installed in the routing table and used for forwarding, regardless of the OSPF path's better performance.
- ✗
The OSPF route has a higher metric than the static route.
Why it's wrong here
Static routes do not have a metric in the same sense as OSPF (they may use an administrative weight or cost field, but it is not compared with OSPF's metric). Even if they did, administrative distance is compared first, so the OSPF route would never reach metric comparison.
- ✗
Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) is disabled for OSPF.
Why it's wrong here
ECMP is a load-balancing feature that distributes traffic across multiple equal-cost routes within OSPF. It does not influence route selection between a static route and an OSPF route. The presence or absence of ECMP does not change the fact that the static route has a lower AD.
- ✗
The static route is configured with a higher next-hop IP address, so it is preferred.
Why it's wrong here
Route preference is never based on the numeric value of the next-hop IP address. The routing table uses administrative distance, then metric, and then load balancing rules. A higher IP address in the next-hop field does not make a route more preferred.
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.
✓The static route has a lower administrative distance than the OSPF route.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
Administrative distance is the first criterion used to select routes from different routing protocols. A static route has an AD of 1, while OSPF has an AD of 110. The lower AD wins, so the static route is installed in the routing table and used for forwarding, regardless of the OSPF path's better performance.
✗The OSPF route has a higher metric than the static route.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Common misconception that metrics are compared across different routing protocols. In reality, AD is evaluated first, and only routes from the same protocol with equal AD are compared by metric.
✗Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) is disabled for OSPF.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Mistaking ECMP as the mechanism for selecting between two routes from different sources; in this scenario, the static route's AD disqualifies the OSPF route entirely.
✗The static route is configured with a higher next-hop IP address, so it is preferred.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Misunderstanding that IP addresses, not administrative distance or metrics, influence path selection.
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?”
Visual reference
Quick reference
Routing Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Metric | Max Hops | Algorithm | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIP v2 | Hop count | 15 | Bellman-Ford | Distance vector |
| OSPF | Cost (bandwidth) | Unlimited | Dijkstra (SPF) | Link state |
| EIGRP | Composite metric | Unlimited | DUAL | Hybrid |
| IS-IS | Cost | Unlimited | Dijkstra | Link state |
| BGP | Policy / attributes | Unlimited | Path vector | Path vector |
RIP's 15-hop limit makes it unsuitable for large networks. OSPF and EIGRP dominate modern enterprise deployments.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
OSPFv3 Single-Area Configuration for IPv6
Key term
Latency
Latency is the time delay between a request being sent over a network and the response being received, often measured in milliseconds.
Key term
OSPF
OSPF is a link-state routing protocol used to find the best path for data packets to travel across IP networks, like a smart GPS that recalculates routes when traffic changes.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-301 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-301 exam.