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350-401 The maximum hop count for EIGRP? Practice Question
What is the maximum hop count for EIGRP?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the EIGRP hop count limit of 255 to catch candidates who confuse it with RIP's 15-hop limit or mistakenly think EIGRP has no hop count restriction due to its advanced metric-based loop prevention.
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
✓
255
EIGRP uses a maximum hop count of 255 to prevent routing loops, though in practice it relies on its DUAL algorithm and feasible successor logic rather than hop count as a primary loop-prevention mechanism. This value is hard-coded in the protocol and cannot be changed, unlike RIP's 15-hop limit.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
100
Why it's wrong here
100 is the default hop count, but the maximum is 255.
- ✓
255
Why this is correct
EIGRP uses a maximum hop count of 255, which is encoded as a single octet in the route metric field, with 255 specifically reserved to indicate an unreachable route. This satisfies the constraint of limiting routing loops within an autonomous system, as EIGRP’s feasible successor logic and Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL) prevent counting to infinity beyond this hard limit.
- ✗
15
Why it's wrong here
15 is the maximum hop count for RIP.
- ✗
Unlimited
Why it's wrong here
EIGRP has a finite hop count limit of 255.
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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