This SSCP practice question tests your understanding of network and communications security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 company uses a hub-and-spoke VPN topology with a central site and multiple branch offices. The central site's firewall is being upgraded. Which technology can provide link redundancy with automatic failover for the VPN connections?
STP
Why wrong: STP prevents loops in Layer 2 networks.
VRRP
Why wrong: VRRP provides default gateway redundancy.
OSPF
Why wrong: OSPF can reroute but is not tied directly to VPN failover.
BGP
BGP can be used to manage multiple VPN paths and failover automatically.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
BGP
BGP is correct because it supports dynamic routing and can be configured with multiple paths to provide automatic failover for VPN connections in a hub-and-spoke topology. When the central site's firewall is upgraded, BGP can reroute traffic through alternate paths without manual intervention, ensuring link redundancy. This is achieved through BGP's path selection algorithm and the ability to advertise multiple routes via different VPN tunnels.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
STP
Why it's wrong here
STP prevents loops in Layer 2 networks.
VRRP
Why it's wrong here
VRRP provides default gateway redundancy.
OSPF
BGP
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse VRRP (a first-hop redundancy protocol) with VPN failover, but VRRP only provides gateway redundancy at the local subnet, not dynamic routing or failover across multiple VPN tunnels between sites.
Detailed technical explanation
BGP supports multiple paths and can be configured with features like BGP multipath and BGP fast external failover (using BGP keepalive timers, default 60 seconds, or BFD for sub-second detection) to enable automatic failover for VPN tunnels. In a hub-and-spoke topology, BGP can advertise the same prefixes from multiple spokes to the hub, and the hub can select the best path based on attributes like local preference or AS-path length, allowing seamless failover when a firewall or link goes down. Real-world deployments often use BGP with DMVPN or IPsec tunnels to provide scalable and resilient site-to-site connectivity.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Network and Communications Security — This question tests Network and Communications Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: BGP — BGP is correct because it supports dynamic routing and can be configured with multiple paths to provide automatic failover for VPN connections in a hub-and-spoke topology. When the central site's firewall is upgraded, BGP can reroute traffic through alternate paths without manual intervention, ensuring link redundancy. This is achieved through BGP's path selection algorithm and the ability to advertise multiple routes via different VPN tunnels.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 SSCP exam.
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