mediumMultiple Choice
CCNP Practice Question: Consider the following configuration: router bgp…
Consider the following configuration:
router bgp 65000
bgp router-id 192.168.0.1
neighbor 10.0.0.2 remote-as 65001 neighbor 10.0.0.2 ebgp-multihop 2 neighbor 10.0.0.2 update-source Loopback0
!
interface Loopback0 ip address 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.255
What is missing for this BGP session to establish?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that ebgp-multihop alone ensures connectivity, but the trap here is that candidates forget BGP requires IP reachability in the routing table for the neighbor address, not just a configured multihop value.
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
✓
A route to reach 10.0.0.2 is missing; the neighbor must be reachable via the routing table.
For an eBGP session to establish, the neighbor IP address (10.0.0.2) must be reachable via the routing table. The configuration uses `ebgp-multihop 2` and an update-source of Loopback0, but there is no route (static or dynamic) to reach 10.0.0.2, so the TCP connection cannot be initiated. Without reachability, BGP will remain in the Idle state.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A route to reach 10.0.0.2 is missing; the neighbor must be reachable via the routing table.
Why this is correct
BGP establishes sessions over TCP port 179, so the router must have a valid route to 10.0.0.2 in its IPv4 unicast routing table before attempting the connection. Without that route, packets destined for the neighbor are dropped, the TCP three-way handshake never completes, and the BGP session remains Idle. This would happen even if the neighbor has reachability to this router, because BGP requires bidirectional IP reachability.
- ✗
The ebgp-multihop value should be 1 for a directly connected neighbor.
Why it's wrong here
The ebgp-multihop command is only needed when the EBGP peer is not directly connected at the IP layer; for a directly connected peer using the physical interface address, the default TTL of 1 is correct. However, this configuration uses a loopback as the update source, so the source and destination addresses are not on a common subnet and packets must traverse intermediate hops with an increased TTL. Setting ebgp-multihop 2 is therefore appropriate, not an error.
- ✗
The remote-as must be the same as the local AS for EBGP.
Why it's wrong here
EBGP is defined by the fact that the peers belong to different autonomous systems, so the remote-as must be different from the local AS value. Here the local AS is 65000 and the remote neighbor is in AS 65001, which is exactly the relationship EBGP is designed for. If the AS numbers were identical, the session would be iBGP, which has different rules and would be incorrect for this external relationship.
- ✗
The router-id must be the same as the update-source interface IP.
Why it's wrong here
The router-id is an arbitrary 32-bit value used to identify the BGP speaker in the network and is chosen independently of the update-source interface's IP address. It participates in loop prevention and best-path selection, but BGP does not compare the router-id to the neighbor's destination address during session establishment. A router can use a loopback address as its router-id that is different from the source loopback used in the neighbor statement.
Visual reference
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-401 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 350-401 exam.