Question 1mediummulti select
Full question →mediummulti selectObjective-mapped
Which two statements accurately describe OSPF route selection or behavior at the CCNA level?
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
OSPF uses cost as its metric for choosing paths within OSPF.
This is correct because cost is the standard OSPF metric.
B
Distractor review
OSPF compares its metric directly against EIGRP metrics across protocols.
This is wrong because metrics from different protocols are not compared directly in that way.
C
Best answer
OSPF route preference versus other route sources involves administrative distance.
This is correct because administrative distance is used when comparing route sources across protocols.
D
Distractor review
OSPF process IDs must match between all neighboring routers.
This is wrong because OSPF process IDs are locally significant.
E
Distractor review
OSPF can never install equal-cost paths.
This is wrong because OSPF can support equal-cost multipath behavior.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A frequent exam trap is confusing OSPF’s cost metric with administrative distance or thinking that OSPF process IDs must match between neighbors. Many candidates incorrectly believe that OSPF compares its metric directly against EIGRP metrics or that process IDs are globally significant. This misunderstanding leads to wrong answers because OSPF cost is only used internally within OSPF to select the best path, while administrative distance is used to compare routes from different protocols. Also, OSPF process IDs are locally significant identifiers and do not need to match for adjacency to form.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a link-state routing protocol that uses cost as its metric to determine the best path to a destination within an OSPF domain. The cost metric is calculated based on the bandwidth of the outgoing interface, with higher bandwidth interfaces having lower cost values. This allows OSPF to select the most efficient route by summing the costs of all links along a path and choosing the route with the lowest total cost. When OSPF routes are compared to routes learned from other routing protocols, the router uses administrative distance (AD) to decide which route to install in the routing table. Administrative distance is a value that rates the trustworthiness of a routing source, with lower values being preferred. OSPF has a default AD of 110, which means if a route from another protocol has a lower AD, it will be preferred over OSPF. This mechanism ensures consistent and predictable routing decisions across multiple protocols. A common exam trap involves confusing OSPF’s cost metric with administrative distance or assuming OSPF process IDs must match between neighbors. In reality, OSPF cost is used only within OSPF for path selection, while administrative distance compares routes across protocols. Additionally, OSPF process IDs are locally significant and do not need to match on neighboring routers. Understanding these distinctions helps avoid mistakes and clarifies how OSPF behaves in practical Cisco network environments.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- OSPF uses cost as its metric to calculate the best path within the OSPF routing domain based on interface bandwidth.
- Administrative distance is used to compare and select routes from different routing protocols, including OSPF versus EIGRP.
- OSPF process IDs are locally significant and do not need to match between neighboring routers to establish adjacency.
- OSPF supports equal-cost multipath (ECMP) routing by installing multiple routes with the same cost in the routing table.
- OSPF does not compare its cost metric directly against metrics from other routing protocols like EIGRP.
- A lower administrative distance value causes a route to be preferred when multiple protocols provide routes to the same destination.
- OSPF cost is calculated by summing the cost of all outgoing interfaces along a path, favoring higher bandwidth links.
- OSPF routes are installed in the routing table only if they have the lowest administrative distance compared to other sources.
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.
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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?
OSPF uses cost as its metric to calculate the best path within the OSPF routing domain based on interface bandwidth.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: OSPF uses cost as its metric for choosing paths within OSPF. — Two core OSPF ideas matter a lot: OSPF uses cost as its metric for path selection within the protocol, and OSPF routes are compared against other route sources using administrative distance when cross-protocol decisions are needed. In plain language, cost helps OSPF choose between OSPF paths, while administrative distance decides whether OSPF should win against a different source. The wrong answers usually confuse cost with administrative distance or treat process IDs as if they must match globally.
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.
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