350-501 Services Practice Question
A service provider has a network with multiple PE routers providing MPLS L3VPN services. Customers are complaining that some remote sites are unreachable after a recent software upgrade on PE1. Upon investigation, you notice that PE1 is receiving BGP VPNv4 routes from the route reflector, but some routes are not being installed in the VRF routing table. PE1 is configured with BGP additional-path capability and has a route policy that selects only the best path. The VRF on PE1 has import and export route targets configured correctly. The missing routes have a higher local preference but are not selected due to a tie-break in BGP path selection. Which action should be taken to ensure that all valid routes are installed in the VRF?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between enabling BGP additional-path capability globally and actually configuring the VRF to accept multiple paths; candidates mistakenly think that enabling additional-path alone is sufficient, but the route policy must be adjusted to allow multiple paths into the VRF routing table.
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
✓
Configure BGP additional-paths for the VRF and adjust the route policy to allow multiple paths.
B is correct because the issue is that PE1 is configured with BGP additional-path capability but has a route policy that selects only the best path. When BGP path selection ties on local preference and other attributes, additional-path send/receive capability allows multiple paths to be considered, but the route policy must be adjusted to permit multiple paths into the VRF. Without this, only the single best path is installed, even if valid alternative paths exist.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reset the BGP session between PE1 and the route reflector.
Why it's wrong here
Resetting the session does not change path selection logic.
- ✓
Configure BGP additional-paths for the VRF and adjust the route policy to allow multiple paths.
Why this is correct
Additional-paths allows multiple BGP paths to be installed in the VRF.
- ✗
Disable route target filtering on PE1 to import all routes.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling RT filtering would import routes from other VRFs, breaking isolation.
- ✗
Increase the local preference on the route reflector for the missing routes.
Why it's wrong here
Local preference is already higher; the issue is that only one path is selected.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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