350-501 Networking Practice Question
A service provider router receives a route with a higher specific prefix length than the same prefix in the routing table. Which route will be preferred?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that administrative distance or metric can override the longest prefix match, leading candidates to incorrectly choose option A or B when the question explicitly states a higher specific prefix length.
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
✓
The more specific prefix.
C is correct because a router always prefers the most specific prefix (longest prefix length) when forwarding packets, regardless of administrative distance or metric. This is a fundamental rule of IP routing: the route with the longest subnet mask match is chosen first, as it represents the most precise path to the destination.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The route with higher administrative distance.
Why it's wrong here
AD is used when multiple protocols provide the same prefix length.
- ✗
The route with lower metric.
Why it's wrong here
Metric is compared after longest match and AD.
- ✓
The more specific prefix.
Why this is correct
Longest prefix match is the primary criterion in IP routing.
- ✗
The less specific prefix.
Why it's wrong here
Less specific prefixes are only used if no more specific match exists.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 350-501 question from scratch — 971 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-501 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 350-501 exam.