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CCNA IP Routing Practice Question
Drag and drop the following steps into the correct order for the router's routing table lookup process when forwarding a packet to a destination IP address, including the best-path selection logic.
⚠ Common exam trap
Do not confuse the order of tie-breakers: administrative distance is always considered before metric. Also, remember that routing table lookup uses longest prefix match, not first match like ACLs.
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
✓
1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest administrative distance. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest metric.
The routing table lookup first matches the destination with the longest prefix, then applies tie-breakers: lowest administrative distance, then lowest metric, to determine the best path for forwarding.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest administrative distance. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest metric.
Why this is correct
This sequence correctly describes Cisco's route selection algorithm. The router first identifies the most specific route (longest prefix) to the destination. Among those matching routes, the one with the lowest administrative distance is trusted because AD reflects the source's reliability. If multiple routes still exist with equal AD, the lowest metric (e.g., OSPF cost or EIGRP composite metric) breaks the tie.
- ✗
1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest metric. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest administrative distance.
Why it's wrong here
Although it correctly uses longest prefix first, this sequence inverts the subsequent tie-breakers. Administrative distance is the first tie-breaker among equally specific prefixes because it indicates the protocol's trustworthiness; a route with a higher AD but lower metric would not be selected over a lower-AD route. The router only considers metric when comparing routes from the same protocol or same AD, so this ordering is impossible in practice.
- ✗
1. Match the destination IP address with any prefix in the routing table (first match). 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest administrative distance. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest metric.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because IP routing uses longest prefix match, not first match. The forwarding table is structured to select the prefix with the most network bits matching the destination, ensuring the most specific network entry takes precedence. First-match semantics are characteristic of ACLs, where entries are evaluated in order, not of routing tables. Even if AD and metric were correctly ordered, using first match could send packets toward a less specific, incorrect next hop.
- ✗
1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest metric. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the highest administrative distance.
Why it's wrong here
This sequence makes two errors. It places metric before administrative distance, but AD is the primary tie-breaker for equally specific prefixes because it reflects the trustworthiness of the route source. Additionally, it says to select the highest AD, which is opposite of the correct behavior: a lower AD indicates a more trusted source, so it is always preferred. Therefore, this option would incorrectly favor less reliable routing information.
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.
✓1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest administrative distance. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest metric.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
This sequence correctly describes Cisco's route selection algorithm. The router first identifies the most specific route (longest prefix) to the destination. Among those matching routes, the one with the lowest administrative distance is trusted because AD reflects the source's reliability. If multiple routes still exist with equal AD, the lowest metric (e.g., OSPF cost or EIGRP composite metric) breaks the tie.
✗1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest metric. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest administrative distance.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The order of tie-breakers is reversed; administrative distance takes precedence over metric.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates often confuse the order of tie-breakers, thinking metric is more important because it is a direct measure of path cost.
✗1. Match the destination IP address with any prefix in the routing table (first match). 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest administrative distance. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the lowest metric.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The lookup process uses longest prefix match, not first match. This is a fundamental difference from ACL processing.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse routing table lookup with ACL processing, where the first matching entry is used.
✗1. Match the destination IP address with the longest prefix in the routing table. 2. If multiple routes match, select the route with the lowest metric. 3. If still multiple routes, select the route with the highest administrative distance.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Administrative distance is evaluated before metric, and lower AD is preferred. Higher AD indicates less trustworthy routes.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates might think that 'higher' is better due to other contexts (e.g., higher bandwidth is better), but for AD, lower is better.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
OSPFv3 Single-Area Configuration for IPv6
Key term
Routing table
A routing table is a data set stored in a router or host that contains information about network paths and is used to determine where to forward data packets.
Key term
IP address
An IP address is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 200-301 question from scratch — 1,389 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.