350-501 Networking Practice Question
An ISP is deploying BGP confederations to reduce iBGP mesh requirements. Which of the following statements about BGP confederations are true? (Choose two.)
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 next-hop attribute is unchanged across confederation boundaries
BGP confederations divide an AS into sub-ASes. eBGP-like behavior is used between sub-ASes, but the AS_PATH length calculation treats the confederation as a single AS. The sub-AS number is appended to the AS_PATH with a special type code, but the AS_PATH length for best path selection ignores confederation segments.
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 next-hop attribute is unchanged across confederation boundaries
Why this is correct
Next-hop is not changed; it remains the same as iBGP.
- ✗
The AS_PATH length calculation includes confederation segments when selecting the best path
Why it's wrong here
Confederation segments are ignored in AS_PATH length comparison.
- ✗
Confederations use a special type of eBGP between sub-ASes, but they retain the IGP metric across the confederation
Why it's wrong here
Next-hop and IGP metric are unchanged, but the statement is misleading; the correct description is that confederation peers behave like eBGP but the AS_PATH is handled specially.
- ✗
The MED attribute is replaced by a confederation-specific metric
Why it's wrong here
MED is still used and compared only if routes are from the same AS.
- ✓
Confederations allow an AS to be divided into multiple sub-ASes to reduce iBGP peering
Why this is correct
Each sub-AS runs iBGP internally, and eBGP between sub-ASes reduces full mesh.
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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.