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300-410 Practice Question: Is troubleshooting a PBR route-map that is…
A network engineer is troubleshooting a PBR route-map that is supposed to set the next-hop for traffic from a specific source to a different next-hop. The route-map is applied to the incoming interface, and the ACL matches the traffic. However, the engineer notices that the traffic is still being forwarded using the routing table. The engineer checks the route-map and sees that the 'set ip next-hop' command points to an IP address that is not reachable. What is the most likely result?
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
✓
PBR will fall back to the routing table and forward the packet normally.
If the next-hop in a PBR set command is not reachable (i.e., not in the routing table), PBR will fall back to the routing table for forwarding. PBR does not drop the packet; it uses the default routing decision.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
PBR will fall back to the routing table and forward the packet normally.
Why this is correct
When the set ip next-hop address is unreachable, policy-based routing cannot forward the packet and reverts to the routing table, so traffic follows the normal path. This explains why the engineer still sees routing-table forwarding despite the ACL matching correctly.
- ✗
The packet will be dropped because PBR cannot forward it.
Why it's wrong here
PBR does not drop the packet when the set next-hop is unreachable; it reverts to the routing table and forwards normally. Dropping is tempting because an invalid next-hop sounds fatal, and it would be correct if the route-map used 'set interface' with a down interface or a deny statement matched.
- ✗
The router will send an ICMP unreachable message to the source.
Why it's wrong here
An unreachable next-hop does not generate ICMP unreachables; the router simply falls back to the routing table, which is exactly the symptom described. ICMP unreachable is tempting because it is the normal response when a destination host cannot be reached, but that occurs during forwarding, not PBR next-hop validation.
- ✗
The route-map will be ignored and all traffic will be dropped.
Why it's wrong here
The route-map is not ignored wholesale, and traffic is not dropped; only the set clause fails, so normal destination-based forwarding resumes. This is tempting because an unreachable next-hop appears to invalidate the entry, but it would be correct only if the ACL itself failed to match the traffic.
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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.