mediumMultiple Choice
300-410 Practice Question: The default BGP administrative distance for…
What is the default BGP administrative distance for routes learned from an external peer (eBGP) in Cisco IOS-XE?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing eBGP AD (20) with iBGP AD (200) or with common IGP values like OSPF 110 and RIP 120 — candidates must memorize the full AD table.
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
✓
20
Cisco IOS-XE assigns eBGP routes a default administrative distance of 20, making them more trusted than internal BGP (iBGP, AD 200) and most IGPs except connected and static routes. This low value reflects that eBGP routes come from external peers and are typically preferred over iBGP-learned routes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
20
Why this is correct
In Cisco IOS-XE, the default administrative distance for eBGP routes is 20, which is lower than iBGP’s 200 and interior protocols like OSPF (110) or EIGRP (90). This value directly satisfies the stem’s constraint of “routes learned from an external peer (eBGP)” by ensuring eBGP-learned prefixes are preferred over those from most IGPs, reflecting the design principle that external paths should be trusted more than internal redistributions.
- ✗
200
Why it's wrong here
Cisco IOS-XE assigns eBGP routes an administrative distance of 20, not 200; 200 is the default for iBGP-learned routes. It tempts because 200 is a genuine BGP distance value, so recalling that BGP uses 20 and 200 without separating the external and internal cases produces this error.
- ✗
110
Why it's wrong here
110 is the administrative distance assigned to OSPF, not eBGP. The question asks specifically about routes learned from an external BGP peer, which Cisco IOS-XE defaults to 20. OSPF's 110 applies when comparing OSPF routes against other protocols in the routing table, so this value would only be correct for an OSPF question.
- ✗
120
Why it's wrong here
120 is the default administrative distance for RIP, not eBGP. It is tempting as another common routing AD, but eBGP uses 20; 120 applies to RIP-learned routes, so it is wrong for external BGP peers.
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This 300-410 question is part of Courseiva's 1,401-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 300-410 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 300-410 exam.