JNCIA-JUNOS Routing Fundamentals Practice Question
This JNCIA-JUNOS practice question tests your understanding of routing fundamentals. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Exhibit
show route 10.10.10.0/24
inet.0: 4 destinations, 4 routes (3 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
10.10.10.0/24 *[OSPF/10] 00:12:34, metric 2
via ge-0/0/0.0
[Static/15] 00:05:00
to 192.168.1.1 via ge-0/0/0.0
Refer to the exhibit. Why is the static route not active?
Exhibit
show route 10.10.10.0/24
inet.0: 4 destinations, 4 routes (3 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
10.10.10.0/24 *[OSPF/10] 00:12:34, metric 2
via ge-0/0/0.0
[Static/15] 00:05:00
to 192.168.1.1 via ge-0/0/0.0
A
The OSPF route has a lower metric.
Why wrong: Metric is only compared within OSPF, not across protocols.
B
The static route's next-hop is not reachable.
Why wrong: The next-hop 192.168.1.1 is shown as reachable via ge-0/0/0.0.
C
The static route is not committed.
Why wrong: The route is present in the routing table, so it has been committed.
D
The static route has a higher preference than the OSPF route.
Static preference 15 is higher (less preferred) than OSPF preference 10, so OSPF is active.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The static route has a higher preference than the OSPF route.
Option D is correct because Junos uses route preference (administrative distance) to select the active route when multiple routes to the same destination exist. By default, OSPF has a preference of 10, while a static route has a preference of 5. Since a lower preference value is more preferred, the static route should normally be active. However, the question indicates the static route is not active, which implies the static route's preference has been manually set higher than OSPF's preference (e.g., static route preference > 10), causing OSPF to be selected as the active route.
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 OSPF route has a lower metric.
Why it's wrong here
Metric is only compared within OSPF, not across protocols.
✗
The static route's next-hop is not reachable.
Why it's wrong here
The next-hop 192.168.1.1 is shown as reachable via ge-0/0/0.0.
✗
The static route is not committed.
Why it's wrong here
The route is present in the routing table, so it has been committed.
✓
The static route has a higher preference than the OSPF route.
Why this is correct
Static preference 15 is higher (less preferred) than OSPF preference 10, so OSPF is active.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse metric with preference, assuming a lower OSPF metric would override a static route, but in Junos, preference is the primary tiebreaker between different routing protocols, not metric.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The next-hop 192.168.1.1 is shown as reachable via ge-0/0/0.0.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Junos, route preference is a per-protocol or per-route administrative distance that determines which route is installed in the forwarding table when multiple routing protocols provide routes to the same prefix. The default preference for static routes is 5, and for OSPF internal routes it is 10. A static route can be configured with a higher preference (e.g., 'static route 0/0 next-hop 10.0.0.1 preference 15') to allow OSPF to be preferred, which is useful for floating static routes used as backup paths. The 'show route protocol static' command displays the preference value for each route.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 network engineer at a university connects two campus buildings via a fibre link. Both routers run OSPF, but no adjacency forms — even though both routers can ping each other. The engineer finds one router is in area 0 and the other in area 1. OSPF adjacency requires matching area numbers, hello/dead timers, and network type. IP reachability alone is not enough.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Routing Fundamentals — This question tests Routing Fundamentals — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The static route has a higher preference than the OSPF route. — Option D is correct because Junos uses route preference (administrative distance) to select the active route when multiple routes to the same destination exist. By default, OSPF has a preference of 10, while a static route has a preference of 5. Since a lower preference value is more preferred, the static route should normally be active. However, the question indicates the static route is not active, which implies the static route's preference has been manually set higher than OSPF's preference (e.g., static route preference > 10), causing OSPF to be selected as the active route.
What should I do if I get this JNCIA-JUNOS question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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