Question 256 of 1,389
CCNA IP Routing Practice Question
Network Topology
You are connected to R1. The network requires HSRP for default gateway redundancy on subnet 192.168.1.0/24. R2 should be the active router, and R1 the standby. Currently, both routers show as active. Configure R1 with priority 90, enable preempt, ensure the virtual IP is 192.168.1.254, and configure tracking of interface GigabitEthernet0/1 (subnet 203.0.113.0/30) so that if R1's tracked interface goes down, its priority decreases by 20. Verify the final state with 'show standby brief'.
⚠ Common exam trap
Trap: Candidates may think that increasing priority ensures redundancy, but the requirement specifies R2 as active, so R1's priority must be lower. Also, ensure the tracked interface is the correct one (Gig0/1) and the decrement value matches exactly.
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
✓
interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 20
The scenario requires R2 to be the HSRP active router. By default, both routers have priority 100, and HSRP election would select the router with the higher IP address as active if priorities are equal. To ensure R2 becomes active, R1's priority must be lowered to 90. Additionally, tracking interface GigabitEthernet0/1 with a decrement of 20 is configured so that if R1's uplink fails, its priority drops to 70, further preventing it from becoming active. The correct configuration on R1 sets priority 90, enables preempt, and tracks the correct interface with decrement 20. Options B, C, and D are wrong because: B sets a higher priority (110) which would make R1 active; C uses an incorrect decrement of 30; and D tracks the wrong interface (Gig0/0 instead of Gig0/1).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 20
Why this is correct
This configuration correctly sets R1's HSRP priority to 90, enables preempt, and tracks interface GigabitEthernet0/1 with a decrement of 20. With priority 90, R1 becomes standby (R2 with default priority 100 becomes active). If the tracked interface fails, priority drops to 70, ensuring R2 remains active.
- ✗
interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 110 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 20
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because setting priority to 110 makes R1 the active router (higher priority than R2's default 100), but the requirement is for R2 to be active. The priority should be lower than R2's.
- ✗
interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 30
Why it's wrong here
This configuration fails because the tracked-interface decrement is set to 30 instead of the required 20. With a base priority of 90, R1 is already below R2's default priority of 100, so R1 is the standby router; if GigabitEthernet0/1 goes down, the priority would drop to 60 rather than 70. That larger-than-specified decrement does not change the active/standby roles (R2 remains active either way), but it violates the explicit tracking decrement requirement and would cause an unnecessarily low priority if subsequent tracking events occur, potentially affecting any other HSRP-dependent behavior.
- ✗
interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/0 20
Why it's wrong here
This configuration incorrectly tracks GigabitEthernet0/0, which is the same interface on which HSRP is configured. Tracking the HSRP interface itself is invalid because if GigabitEthernet0/0 goes down, the HSRP session on that interface is already lost, so the tracking mechanism has no meaningful effect and cannot provide the intended failover trigger. The requirement explicitly specifies tracking GigabitEthernet0/1 (the upstream interface), which would detect a WAN/upstream failure while keeping the LAN-facing HSRP interface operational, allowing a clean transition of the virtual IP to the active router.
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.
✓interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 20Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
This configuration correctly sets R1's HSRP priority to 90, enables preempt, and tracks interface GigabitEthernet0/1 with a decrement of 20. With priority 90, R1 becomes standby (R2 with default priority 100 becomes active). If the tracked interface fails, priority drops to 70, ensuring R2 remains active.
✗interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 110 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 20Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The priority value is higher than the default, which would make R1 active instead of standby.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think increasing priority ensures redundancy, but the requirement specifies R2 as active, so R1's priority must be lower.
✗interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/1 30Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The decrement value does not match the required 20; it is 30.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the decrement value or think a larger decrement provides better failover, but the exact value must match the requirement.
✗interface GigabitEthernet0/0 standby version 2 standby 1 ip 192.168.1.254 standby 1 priority 90 standby 1 preempt standby 1 track GigabitEthernet0/0 20Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The tracked interface is wrong; it should be GigabitEthernet0/1, not GigabitEthernet0/0.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly track the HSRP interface thinking it monitors the HSRP state, but tracking should be on an upstream interface to detect connectivity loss.
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
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Last reviewed: Jun 6, 2026
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