easyMultiple Choice
300-410 Practice Question: Runs the following command to troubleshoot an…
A network engineer runs the following command to troubleshoot an Administrative Distance issue:
R1# show ip route 172.16.0.0 255.255.0.0
Routing entry for 172.16.0.0/16 Known via "ospf 1", distance 110, metric 20, type intra area Last update from 10.1.1.2 on GigabitEthernet0/0, 00:00:05 ago Routing Descriptor Blocks:
* 10.1.1.2, from 2.2.2.2, 00:00:05 ago, via GigabitEthernet0/0
Route metric is 20, traffic share count is 1
What does this output indicate?
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 is an OSPF intra-area route with administrative distance 110, which is the default for OSPF.
The output shows an OSPF intra-area route with administrative distance 110, which is the default for OSPF. The metric is 20, and the route is learned from neighbor 2.2.2.2.
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 is an OSPF intra-area route with administrative distance 110, which is the default for OSPF.
Why this is correct
OSPF's default administrative distance of 110 applies to this intra-area route, as confirmed by the "distance 110" and "type intra area" fields in the output. The metric of 20 reflects the cumulative cost to 172.16.0.0/16, and the route was learned via OSPF process 1 on GigabitEthernet0/0.
- ✗
The route is an OSPF external route with administrative distance 110.
Why it's wrong here
The output states 'type intra area', so the route is intra-area, not external. External OSPF routes (type 1 or 2) would be labelled as such. The distance 110 is correct for OSPF, but the route type claim fails; external routes appear when redistributed into OSPF.
- ✗
The route has an administrative distance of 20 because it is an OSPF route.
Why it's wrong here
The output separates distance 110 from metric 20; administrative distance is 110, not 20. Metric 20 is the OSPF cost, an unrelated value. Confusing the two fields is tempting because both appear as numbers in the same line, but distance always denotes route source trustworthiness.
- ✗
The route is preferred over an EIGRP route with AD 90.
Why it's wrong here
Administrative distance 110 is worse than EIGRP's 90, so the OSPF route loses to any competing EIGRP route for the same prefix. The output confirms OSPF installed the route only because no EIGRP alternative existed. EIGRP preference would be the answer if the distance shown were lower.
Visual reference
Quick reference
Routing Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Metric | Max Hops | Algorithm | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIP v2 | Hop count | 15 | Bellman-Ford | Distance vector |
| OSPF | Cost (bandwidth) | Unlimited | Dijkstra (SPF) | Link state |
| EIGRP | Composite metric | Unlimited | DUAL | Hybrid |
| IS-IS | Cost | Unlimited | Dijkstra | Link state |
| BGP | Policy / attributes | Unlimited | Path vector | Path vector |
RIP's 15-hop limit makes it unsuitable for large networks. OSPF and EIGRP dominate modern enterprise deployments.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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