Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
Exhibit
ip route 172.16.50.0 255.255.255.0 10.1.1.2 ip route 172.16.50.0 255.255.255.0 10.2.2.2 5 ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.3.3.2
R1 has these static routes configured. When the primary WAN path is up, which route will be installed in the routing table for traffic to 172.16.50.0/24?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
The route via 10.1.1.2
It has the lowest AD for that exact prefix.
B
Distractor review
The route via 10.2.2.2
That is a floating backup because its AD is higher.
C
Distractor review
The default route via 10.3.3.2
A default route is less specific than the /24 static routes.
D
Distractor review
Both routes load-balance automatically because the prefix is identical.
The administrative distances are different, so equal-cost load balancing does not occur here.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A frequent exam trap is believing that both static routes to the same prefix will load-balance traffic simply because they share the same destination network. This misconception ignores the role of administrative distance, which Cisco uses to select a single best route. Since the two static routes have different AD values (1 and 5), the router will not load-balance but will prefer the route with AD 1 exclusively. Misreading the floating static route as an active equal-cost path can lead to incorrect answers and misunderstandings about route failover behavior.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Administrative distance (AD) is a fundamental concept in Cisco routing that determines the trustworthiness of a route source. Each routing protocol and static route is assigned a default AD value, with static routes typically having an AD of 1. When multiple routes to the same destination prefix exist, the router compares their AD values and installs the route with the lowest AD into the routing table. This ensures that the most reliable and preferred path is used for forwarding traffic. In the scenario where R1 has two static routes to 172.16.50.0/24, one via 10.1.1.2 with AD 1 and another via 10.2.2.2 with AD 5, the router will install the route with AD 1 as the primary path. The route with AD 5 acts as a floating static route, which serves as a backup and only becomes active if the primary route fails. The default route via 10.3.3.2 is less specific and will not be chosen over the exact /24 static routes, regardless of its AD. A common exam trap is assuming that multiple static routes to the same prefix automatically load-balance traffic. However, Cisco routers do not perform equal-cost load balancing if the routes have different administrative distances. Only routes with equal AD and equal metrics are candidates for load balancing. Understanding this behavior is critical for designing reliable failover mechanisms using floating static routes and for correctly interpreting routing table entries during troubleshooting and exams.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Cisco routers prefer static routes with the lowest administrative distance when multiple routes to the same prefix exist.
- A static route with an administrative distance of 1 is considered more reliable and preferred over routes with higher administrative distances.
- Floating static routes use a higher administrative distance to act as backup routes that only install when the primary route fails.
- Default routes have the least specificity and are only used when no more specific route to the destination prefix exists.
- Cisco routing tables install only one best route per prefix based on administrative distance and prefix specificity, preventing automatic load balancing between routes with different ADs.
- Administrative distance is a Cisco proprietary value that ranks the trustworthiness of routing information sources, with lower values being preferred.
- When two static routes have different administrative distances, the route with the higher AD is ignored unless the lower AD route becomes unavailable.
- Exact prefix matches in routing take precedence over less specific routes such as default routes, regardless of administrative distance.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Related practice questions
Related 200-301 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
CCNA subnetting practice questions
Practise IPv4 subnetting, CIDR, masks, host ranges and subnet selection.
CCNA OSPF practice questions
Practise OSPF neighbours, router IDs, metrics, areas and routing-table interpretation.
CCNA VLAN practice questions
Practise VLANs, access ports, trunks, allowed VLANs and switching scenarios.
CCNA STP practice questions
Practise spanning tree, root bridge election, port roles and STP troubleshooting.
CCNA EtherChannel practice questions
Practise LACP, PAgP, port-channel behaviour and bundle requirements.
CCNA ACL practice questions
Practise standard and extended ACLs, permit/deny logic and traffic filtering.
CCNA NAT practice questions
Practise static NAT, dynamic NAT, PAT and inside/outside address translation.
CCNA DHCP practice questions
Practise DHCP scopes, relay, leases and troubleshooting.
CCNA show ip route practice questions
Practise routing-table output, longest-prefix match, AD and route selection.
CCNA show interfaces trunk practice questions
Practise trunk verification and VLAN forwarding across switches.
CCNA wireless security practice questions
Practise WLAN security, authentication and wireless architecture concepts.
CCNA IPv6 practice questions
Practise IPv6 addressing, routes, neighbour discovery and common IPv6 exam traps.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A router learns the same prefix from both OSPF and EIGRP. Which route is installed by default?
Question 2
A router shows this output: R1#show ip ospf neighbor Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface 10.1.1.2 1 FULL/DR 00:00:34 192.168.12.2 GigabitEthernet0/0 10.1.1.3 1 2WAY/DROTHER 00:00:39 192.168.12.3 GigabitEthernet0/0 Which statement is correct?
Question 3
What is the OSPF metric called?
Question 4
A non-root switch has two uplinks toward the root bridge. One path has a lower total STP cost than the other. What role will the lower-cost uplink have?
Question 5
A router interface applies this ACL inbound: 10 deny tcp any any eq 80 20 permit ip any any A user reports that web browsing to a server by IP address fails, but ping works. Which statement best explains the behavior?
Question 6
A router learns route 198.51.100.0/24 from OSPF with AD 110 and also has a static route to the same prefix configured with AD 150. Which route is installed?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-301 question test?
Cisco routers prefer static routes with the lowest administrative distance when multiple routes to the same prefix exist.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The route via 10.1.1.2 — The route with the lowest administrative distance wins when multiple routes to the same prefix exist. The route via 10.1.1.2 has AD 1, so it is preferred over the floating static route with AD 5. The default route is less specific and does not beat an exact /24 match.
What should I do if I get this 200-301 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.