Question 471 of 2,152

Administrative Distance →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

BGP External Administrative Distance

This 300-410 practice question tests your understanding of administrative distance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A network engineer runs the following command to troubleshoot an Administrative Distance issue:

R1# show bgp ipv4 unicast 192.168.4.0/24

BGP routing table entry for 192.168.4.0/24, version 2 Paths: (1 available, best #1, table default) Advertised to update-groups: 1 Refresh Epoch 1 Local

10.1.1.2 from 10.1.1.2 (2.2.2.2)

Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 100, valid, external, best rx pathid: 0, tx pathid: 0x0

What does this output indicate?

A
The route is an internal BGP route with administrative distance 200.
Why wrong: The path shows 'external', indicating eBGP, which has AD 20.
B
The route is an external BGP route with administrative distance 20.
The output shows 'external', and eBGP routes have a default AD of 20.
C
The route has a local preference of 200, making it preferred.
Why wrong: Local preference is 100, not 200.
D
The route is not the best path because it is external.
Why wrong: The output says 'best #1', so it is the best path.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Quick Answer

The answer is that the BGP external administrative distance is 20. This is correct because the output shows the route is marked as "external" and "best," meaning it was learned from an eBGP neighbor, and by default Cisco IOS assigns an administrative distance of 20 to all eBGP-learned routes, which is lower than internal BGP’s distance of 200. On the Cisco CCNP ENARSI 300-410 exam, this concept tests your ability to interpret the `show bgp ipv4 unicast` output and distinguish between eBGP and iBGP path selection, often appearing in troubleshooting scenarios where a route is not preferred due to a higher administrative distance. A common trap is confusing the administrative distance with the metric or local preference—remember that AD is a route source trustworthiness value, not a path attribute. To lock it in, think: eBGP is external and eager, so it gets a low AD of 20; iBGP is internal and cautious, with a high AD of 200.

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 route is an external BGP route with administrative distance 20.

The output shows BGP route details including the path attributes. The administrative distance for BGP external routes is 20 by default, but this is not shown here. The output indicates the route is learned via eBGP and is the best path.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

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 route is an internal BGP route with administrative distance 200.
Why it's wrong here
The path shows 'external', indicating eBGP, which has AD 20.
✓
The route is an external BGP route with administrative distance 20.
Why this is correct
The output shows 'external', and eBGP routes have a default AD of 20.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The route has a local preference of 200, making it preferred.
Why it's wrong here
Local preference is 100, not 200.
✗
The route is not the best path because it is external.
Why it's wrong here
The output says 'best #1', so it is the best path.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Trap categories for this question

Command / output trap
The path shows 'external', indicating eBGP, which has AD 20.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A practitioner preparing for the 300-410 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which 300-410 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

Related 300-410 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Layer 3 Technologies practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Layer 3 Technologies.

EIGRP Troubleshooting practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to EIGRP Troubleshooting.

OSPF Troubleshooting (v2/v3) practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to OSPF Troubleshooting (v2/v3).

BGP Troubleshooting practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to BGP Troubleshooting.

Route Redistribution practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Route Redistribution.

Policy-Based Routing (PBR) practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Policy-Based Routing (PBR).

VRF-Lite practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to VRF-Lite.

Route Maps and Route Filtering practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Route Maps and Route Filtering.

Administrative Distance practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Administrative Distance.

Route Summarization practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Route Summarization.

Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD).

VPN Technologies practice questions

Practise 300-410 questions linked to VPN Technologies.

Practice this exam

Start a free 300-410 practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions 20 questions 30 questions 50 questions Timed 30

300-410 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this 300-410 question test?

Administrative Distance — This question tests Administrative Distance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The route is an external BGP route with administrative distance 20. — The output shows BGP route details including the path attributes. The administrative distance for BGP external routes is 20 by default, but this is not shown here. The output indicates the route is learned via eBGP and is the best path.

What should I do if I get this 300-410 question wrong?

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

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.