Match each routing concept to its most accurate meaning.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Value used to compare trust between route sources
Value used to compare candidate paths within a route source or protocol
Indicator of route specificity
Fallback route used when no better match exists
⚠ Common exam trap
The exam often tests your ability to distinguish between Administrative Distance and metric. Remember: AD compares routes from different sources (inter-protocol), while metrics compare routes from the same source (intra-protocol). Also, AD is not a measure of time or hop count.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Administrative Distance is a measure of the trustworthiness of a routing information source, such as a routing protocol or a static route.
Administrative Distance measures route source trustworthiness; Metric determines best path within a protocol; Convergence is the time to reach consistent routing; Route Summarization reduces routing table size; Floating Static Route acts as a backup; ECMP enables load balancing.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Administrative Distance is a measure of the trustworthiness of a routing information source, such as a routing protocol or a static route.
Why this is correct
Administrative Distance (AD) is a numeric value assigned to each route source (e.g., OSPF, EIGRP, static) to indicate its reliability. Lower AD values are preferred. This concept is fundamental for route selection when multiple routing protocols provide routes to the same destination.
Administrative Distance is the metric used by a routing protocol to determine the best path within that protocol.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because Administrative Distance is not a metric; it is a separate concept used to compare routes from different routing sources. Metrics (like hop count, bandwidth, delay) are used within a single routing protocol to select the best path.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked: 'What is the term for the value used by a routing protocol to compare routes within that same protocol to determine the best path?' then 'metric' would be correct, and this option could be rephrased as 'Metric is the value used by a routing protocol to determine the best path within that protocol.'
Administrative Distance is the time it takes for a routing protocol to converge after a network change.
Why it's wrong here
Administrative Distance is a static numeric value assigned to a route source (e.g., 110 for OSPF, 1 for a static route) to indicate its trustworthiness; it has no relation to timing or convergence. Convergence time reflects how quickly routers in a topology update their routing tables after a network change, which is governed by protocol-specific mechanisms such as hello timers, SPF recalculation, or DUAL finite-state machine processing. Confusing AD with convergence time would misidentify a route-selection preference as a performance metric, leading to incorrect troubleshooting of route selection versus network stability.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question were 'Match each routing concept to its most accurate meaning' and the options included 'Convergence time is the time it takes for a routing protocol to converge after a network change,' then option C would be correct.
Administrative Distance is the number of hops a packet takes to reach its destination.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because the number of hops is a metric used by RIP (Routing Information Protocol), not Administrative Distance. AD is a separate value that indicates the trustworthiness of the route source, not the path length.
When this WOULD be correct
In a question asking 'Which metric does RIP use to determine the best path?', option D would be correct because RIP uses hop count as its metric to select the best route.
Option-by-option analysis
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.
Why this is correct
Administrative Distance (AD) is a numeric value assigned to each route source (e.g., OSPF, EIGRP, static) to indicate its reliability. Lower AD values are preferred. This concept is fundamental for route selection when multiple routing protocols provide routes to the same destination.
Why this is wrong here
Administrative Distance is not a metric used within a routing protocol; it is a value assigned to the source of routing information (e.g., protocol or static route) to compare trustworthiness across different sources. Metrics like hop count or bandwidth are used within a protocol to select the best path.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked: 'What is the term for the value used by a routing protocol to compare routes within that same protocol to determine the best path?' then 'metric' would be correct, and this option could be rephrased as 'Metric is the value used by a routing protocol to determine the best path within that protocol.'
Why candidates choose this
Candidates often confuse Administrative Distance with routing metrics because both are numerical values used in route selection, leading them to think AD is a type of metric rather than a trustworthiness indicator.
Why this is wrong here
Administrative Distance is not related to convergence time; it is a value assigned to routing sources (e.g., protocols, static routes) to indicate their trustworthiness, not the time to converge after a network change.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question were 'Match each routing concept to its most accurate meaning' and the options included 'Convergence time is the time it takes for a routing protocol to converge after a network change,' then option C would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the concept of administrative distance with routing protocol characteristics like convergence time, especially if they have studied OSPF or EIGRP convergence metrics and mistakenly associate 'distance' with time.
Why this is wrong here
Administrative Distance is not a hop count; it is a numerical value assigned to routing sources (e.g., 0 for connected, 120 for RIP) to indicate trustworthiness. Hop count is a metric used by RIP, not a measure of administrative distance.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a question asking 'Which metric does RIP use to determine the best path?', option D would be correct because RIP uses hop count as its metric to select the best route.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse administrative distance with routing metrics like hop count, especially since both are numerical values used in routing decisions, leading to the mistaken belief that AD is a hop count.
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
| 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
Learn chapter
Interpreting HSRP and VRRP Operational Status
Key term
Static route
A static route is a manually configured path in a router's routing table that tells the router exactly where to send packets for a specific destination network.
Key term
Route summarization
Route summarization is a technique that combines multiple network routes into a single, more general route advertisement to reduce the size of routing tables and improve network performance.
About these practice questions
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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.