350-501 Networking Practice Question
An SP network is migrating from IS-IS narrow metrics to wide metrics. What is a key advantage of using wide metrics?
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
✓
Wide metrics support up to 2^24-1 link cost and TE metrics.
Wide metrics support values up to 2^24-1 (16,777,215) and allow Traffic Engineering (TE) metrics, unlike narrow metrics which are limited to 6 bits (max 63).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Wide metrics are backward compatible with narrow metrics without any configuration.
Why it's wrong here
Wide metrics require configuration and are not backward compatible by default.
- ✓
Wide metrics support up to 2^24-1 link cost and TE metrics.
Why this is correct
Wide metrics allow larger values and TE extensions.
- ✗
Wide metrics reduce SPF computation time.
Why it's wrong here
Wide metrics do not inherently reduce SPF time.
- ✗
Wide metrics enable BFD for faster convergence.
Why it's wrong here
BFD is independent of metric style.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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