JNCIS-ENT BGP Practice Question
During BGP path selection on a Junos device, two paths are received for the same destination prefix. Path A has a MED of 50 received from a peer in AS 65001, and Path B has a MED of 10. Both AS paths have a length of 2. The router is not configured with 'always-compare-med'. Which path will be preferred by default?
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
✓
MED will be ignored during path selection because the paths originate from different autonomous systems, and the selection will proceed to subsequent tie-breakers.
By default, BGP only compares MED (Multi-Exit Discriminator) values for paths originating from the *same* neighboring Autonomous System unless 'always-compare-med' is configured. Since Path A and Path B come from different ASNs, MED is skipped, and the selection process moves to the next criteria.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Path B, because it has a lower MED value of 10 compared to Path A's MED of 50.
Why it's wrong here
MED is not compared across different ASNs by default.
- ✗
Path A, because lower MED is only preferred if 'compare-router-id' is enabled.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect; MED comparison is independent of router-id.
- ✓
MED will be ignored during path selection because the paths originate from different autonomous systems, and the selection will proceed to subsequent tie-breakers.
Why this is correct
Correct. MED comparison is restricted to routes from the same AS unless 'always-compare-med' is set.
- ✗
Path A will be preferred because Junos always favors higher MED values for eBGP paths.
Why it's wrong here
Junos follows standard BGP path selection where lower MED is preferred, when compared.
About these practice questions
This JNCIS-ENT question is part of Courseiva's 506-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Juniper Networks exam blueprint
This JNCIS-ENT practice question is part of Courseiva's free Juniper Networks 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 JNCIS-ENT exam.