350-501 Networking Practice Question
Which TWO conditions must be met for a BGP route to be considered valid and used for forwarding?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between a route being in the BGP table (valid) and being installed in the routing table (best path + reachable next hop), leading candidates to mistakenly think that any BGP table entry is automatically used for forwarding.
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 route must be the best path selected by BGP.
BGP only installs the best path into the routing table for forwarding. BGP selects a single best path from all available paths for a given prefix based on its path selection algorithm (e.g., highest weight, local preference, shortest AS path). Only this best path is considered valid for forwarding, even if multiple paths exist in the BGP table.
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 BGP synchronization must be enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Synchronization is deprecated.
- ✗
The AS path must not contain the router's own AS.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. This is for loop prevention but not a validity condition for best path selection.
- ✓
The route must be the best path selected by BGP.
Why this is correct
Correct. Only the best path is installed in the routing table.
- ✗
The prefix must be in the BGP table.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Being in the BGP table does not guarantee validity.
- ✓
The next-hop IP must be reachable via an IGP route.
Why this is correct
Correct. BGP checks next-hop reachability.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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