CCNA IP Routing Practice Question
A network engineer is configuring HSRP on a pair of Cisco routers to provide first-hop redundancy for a subnet. The goal is to ensure that the router with the highest IPv4 address always becomes the active router, and that it automatically reclaims the active role after a failure. The engineer configures priority 100 on both routers. Which additional configuration is required to meet these objectives?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that priority alone determines active router selection and that preempt is only needed when priorities differ, but the trap here is that without preempt, even with equal priorities, the router with the higher IP address will not reclaim the active role after a failure.
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
✓
Configure the preempt command on both routers.
HSRP uses priority to determine the active router, but without the preempt command, a router with a higher priority will not take over the active role if it comes online after a failure. Since both routers have the same priority (100), the router with the highest IPv4 address will become active initially, but to ensure it automatically reclaims the active role after a failure, preempt must be enabled on both routers. This allows the router with the higher IP address (and equal priority) to preempt the current active router when it recovers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure priority 150 on one router and priority 50 on the other.
Why it's wrong here
Configuring priority 150 on one router and priority 50 on the other forces the router with priority 150 to become active, completely bypassing the mandated highest-IPv4-address election. With unequal priorities, HSRP ignores the IP comparison entirely, so the router with the highest address would remain in standby even if its address is higher. Additionally, these arbitrary values are unnecessary and harmful because they change the operational intent: the network wants IP-based election, not priority-driven election, and without preempt even a recovered priority-150 router would not automatically take back the active role.
- ✓
Configure the preempt command on both routers.
Why this is correct
With equal priority, HSRP elects the active router based on the highest IP address. The preempt command ensures that if a router with a higher IP address (and equal priority) recovers after a failure, it will preempt the current active router and reclaim the active role, as required.
- ✗
Configure the standby 1 priority 100 command on both routers.
Why it's wrong here
This is already implied by setting priority 100; it does not address the need for preemption. Both routers would remain in standby state without an active router because HSRP requires a priority difference or preempt to determine roles when priorities are equal.
- ✗
Configure the standby 1 priority 100 on one router and standby 1 priority 50 on the other.
Why it's wrong here
Setting standby 1 priority 100 on one router and 50 on the other makes the priority-100 router the active HSRP device solely because of its higher priority, so the IPv4 address tie-breaker is never evaluated. HSRP selects the active router by highest priority first, and only uses the IP address when priorities are equal; a 100/50 split directly contradicts the requirement that the highest IPv4 address must determine the active router. Furthermore, if the priority-100 router recovers after a failure, it will not resume the active role unless preempt is configured, which this option omits.
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.
✓Configure the preempt command on both routers.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
With equal priority, HSRP elects the active router based on the highest IP address. The preempt command ensures that if a router with a higher IP address (and equal priority) recovers after a failure, it will preempt the current active router and reclaim the active role, as required.
✗Configure priority 150 on one router and priority 50 on the other.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Configuring different priorities (150 and 50) would force the router with priority 150 to become active regardless of IP address, contradicting the requirement to use the highest IPv4 address for election. HSRP uses priority as the primary criterion; only when priorities are equal does the highest IP address break the tie.
Why candidates choose this
Students often think that setting a higher priority on one router is the standard way to control active router selection, but they overlook the specific requirement that the highest IP address must determine the active role. This option seems like a straightforward way to ensure one router is active.
✗Configure the standby 1 priority 100 command on both routers.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The command 'standby 1 priority 100' is already implied by setting priority 100; it does not enable preemption. With equal priority and no preempt, both routers will remain in standby state indefinitely because HSRP cannot determine an active router without a tiebreaker or preemption. The active router election requires either a priority difference or preempt to resolve the tie.
Why candidates choose this
Students might think that explicitly configuring the priority again is necessary or that it somehow enables preemption. They may confuse the priority command with the preempt command, assuming that setting priority automatically includes preemption behavior.
✗Configure the standby 1 priority 100 on one router and standby 1 priority 50 on the other.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Configuring different priorities (100 and 50) would make the router with priority 100 active regardless of IP address, which violates the requirement to use the highest IPv4 address for election. The requirement explicitly states that priorities must remain equal so that the highest IP address determines the active router.
Why candidates choose this
This option appears to be a common HSRP configuration where one router is given higher priority to be active. Students may not read the requirement carefully and assume that setting different priorities is the correct approach, missing the specific condition that the highest IP address should be the deciding factor.
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?”
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
OSPFv3 Single-Area Configuration for IPv6
Key term
HSRP
HSRP stands for Hot Standby Router Protocol, a Cisco proprietary protocol that allows multiple routers to work together as a single virtual router to provide default gateway redundancy.
Key term
IPv4 address
An IPv4 address is a unique 32-bit numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
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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.