Courseiva
hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

300-410 Practice Question: Is troubleshooting IPv6 routing issues between…

A network engineer is troubleshooting IPv6 routing issues between two routers connected via a serial link. Router R1 and Router R2 are running OSPFv3. The OSPFv3 adjacency is not forming. Router R1 has the following relevant configuration:

interface Serial0/0

ipv6 address 2001:DB8:1::1/64 ipv6 ospf 1 area 0 !

Router R2 shows: debug ipv6 ospf hello output indicates that R2 is receiving Hello packets from R1, but the neighbor state remains INIT. What is the root cause?

⚠ Common exam trap

Cisco often tests the misconception that OSPFv3 requires matching global IPv6 subnets or process IDs, when in fact the adjacency is built using link-local addresses and the process ID is locally significant.

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 serial interface has a mismatched network type, such as point-to-multipoint, which prevents adjacency formation on a point-to-point link.

On a point-to-point serial link, OSPFv3 defaults to the point-to-point network type. If one side is configured as point-to-multipoint (or another non-broadcast type), the routers will not form a full adjacency because the Hello protocol and neighbor discovery mechanisms differ. The debug output shows R2 receives Hellos from R1 but stays in INIT, which indicates that R2 does not see its own Router ID in the Hello packet's neighbor list — a classic symptom of network type mismatch on a serial interface.

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 OSPFv3 process ID does not match between R1 and R2.

    Why it's wrong here

    OSPFv3 process IDs are locally significant; they do not need to match.

  • The serial interface has a mismatched network type, such as point-to-multipoint, which prevents adjacency formation on a point-to-point link.

    Why this is correct

    A network type mismatch can cause Hello packets to be ignored or not processed correctly, leading to INIT state.

  • The IPv6 address on the serial interface is not in the same subnet as R2's address.

    Why it's wrong here

    Serial links typically use link-local addresses; global addresses are not required for adjacency.

  • The OSPFv3 hello interval is set to a non-default value that is not supported on serial links.

    Why it's wrong here

    Hello intervals can be adjusted; the issue is more fundamental.

Visual reference

R1 R2 R3 R4 10 100 10 100 OSPF picks R1→R2→R4 (cost 20) over R1→R3→R4 (cost 200)

Quick reference

Routing Protocol Comparison

ProtocolMetricMax HopsAlgorithmType
RIP v2Hop count15Bellman-FordDistance vector
OSPFCost (bandwidth)UnlimitedDijkstra (SPF)Link state
EIGRPComposite metricUnlimitedDUALHybrid
IS-ISCostUnlimitedDijkstraLink state
BGPPolicy / attributesUnlimitedPath vectorPath vector

RIP's 15-hop limit makes it unsuitable for large networks. OSPF and EIGRP dominate modern enterprise deployments.

Go deeper

Related to this question

About these practice questions

One of 1,966 original 300-410 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

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.