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.

• ✗

  A floating static route is configured with a lower administrative distance than the primary dynamic route.

  Why it's wrong here

  This is incorrect because a floating static route is meant to be a backup, and it must therefore have a higher administrative distance (AD) than the primary route. If its AD were lower, it would be preferred by the routing table, effectively overriding the dynamically learned route. That would defeat the purpose of a backup path and could cause traffic to use an inferior or static path during normal operation. For a true floating design, the static route must be configured with a greater AD to remain inactive unless the primary route fails.

• ✓

  A floating static route uses an administrative distance greater than that of the primary dynamic route.

  Why this is correct

  This is the fundamental characteristic of a floating static route. By assigning an AD higher than the primary route's AD, the static route becomes less preferred, so it will not appear in the routing table while the dynamic route is alive. A typical example is configuring a static route with AD 150 when OSPF is running at AD 110; the static route only takes over if the OSPF route is withdrawn. This mechanism allows the router to automatically switch to a backup path when the primary path is lost.

• ✗

  The administrative distance of a floating static route must be less than 1.

  Why it's wrong here

  This is impossible because the administrative distance is an integer from 0 to 255, and 0 is reserved for directly connected interfaces. Even the default AD for a static route is 1, not less than 1. A floating static route must actually have an AD greater than the primary dynamic route, which means it typically uses values like 150 or 200, depending on the routing protocol. Therefore, the correct config requires an AD higher than the primary route's AD, never less than 1.

• ✓

  A floating static route becomes active only when the primary route is removed from the routing table.

  Why this is correct

  Since the floating static route possesses a higher administrative distance than the dynamic route, the routing table will always prefer the lower-AD primary route. As long as the primary route is valid and present, the static route is not installed. However, if the primary route is deleted from the routing table due to a link failure or protocol convergence, the router will then insert the static route and use it for forwarding. This behavior ensures seamless failover to the backup path without manual intervention, although the process is not instantaneous.

• ✗

  Floating static routes automatically adjust their administrative distance based on network conditions.

  Why it's wrong here

  Administrative distance is a fixed, manually configured value that expresses the believability of a route source; it does not change over time or adapt to network conditions. A floating static route's AD is set by the administrator during configuration and remains constant unless someone changes it. In contrast, dynamic routing protocols may adjust their metrics based on topology changes, but the AD itself never self-adjusts. The only automatic process is the route selection logic that removes the primary route when it disappears and uses the floating static route as a fallback.

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?”