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300-410 Practice Question: A BGP-speaking router R1 is redistributing BGP…
A BGP-speaking router R1 is redistributing BGP routes into EIGRP. R1 has configuration: router bgp 100 redistribute eigrp 100. Router R2, an EIGRP neighbor, shows: 'show ip route eigrp' includes some BGP routes but with high metrics. Traffic to those destinations is suboptimal. What is the root cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between missing default-metric (causing unreachable routes) versus a configured but excessively high metric (causing suboptimal routing), leading candidates to incorrectly assume the routes are missing rather than present with inflated 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
✓
R1 has a route-map that sets the metric to 100000 1000 255 1 1500, which is too high, causing suboptimal path selection.
The route-map explicitly sets a high composite metric (100000 1000 255 1 1500) for redistributed BGP routes into EIGRP. This high metric causes R2 to prefer other paths (if available) or to consider the route less optimal, leading to suboptimal traffic forwarding. The configuration snippet indicates that a route-map is applied during redistribution, which overrides any default-metric and directly inflates the metric.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
R1 has no default-metric configured for EIGRP, so redistributed BGP routes use the default metric of infinity, causing them to be unreachable.
Why it's wrong here
Without a default-metric, EIGRP does not redistribute BGP routes; they would not appear in the routing table.
- ✓
R1 has a route-map that sets the metric to 100000 1000 255 1 1500, which is too high, causing suboptimal path selection.
Why this is correct
High metric values make the route less preferred, leading to suboptimal routing.
- ✗
BGP routes have a lower administrative distance than EIGRP, so they are not installed.
Why it's wrong here
Administrative distance affects route selection between protocols, not the metric within EIGRP.
- ✗
R2 has a route filter that increases the metric for BGP-originated routes.
Why it's wrong here
No route filter is mentioned.
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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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.