Cisco Exam 200-301: Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions

Which Attribute Does a Router Use to Select the Best Path?

Question

Which attribute does a router use to select the best path when two or more different routes to the same destination exist from two different routing protocols?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

C

Administrative distance is the feature used by routers to select the best path when there are two or more different routes to the same destination from different routing protocols. Administrative distance defines the reliability of a routing protocol.

When a router receives multiple routes to the same destination from different routing protocols, it uses a selection process called "Route Selection" to choose the best path. This process is based on several criteria, such as the metric, administrative distance, and hop count.

The metric is a value assigned to a route based on specific criteria, such as bandwidth, delay, reliability, and cost. A routing protocol uses this value to calculate the best path to a destination. When two routes from different routing protocols have the same metric, the router then uses the administrative distance to select the best path.

Administrative distance (AD) is a value used by a router to determine the trustworthiness of a route. It is a numerical value assigned to each routing protocol, indicating its reliability or preference. When a router receives multiple routes to the same destination from different routing protocols, it selects the path with the lowest administrative distance.

For example, if a router receives two routes to the same destination, one from RIP (with an AD of 120) and one from OSPF (with an AD of 110), it will choose the route from OSPF because it has a lower AD.

Hop count is the number of routers a packet must pass through to reach its destination. Some routing protocols use hop count as a metric to determine the best path. When a router receives multiple routes to the same destination with the same metric and administrative distance, it selects the path with the fewest number of hops.

In conclusion, the answer to the given question is C. Administrative distance is the attribute a router uses to select the best path when two or more different routes to the same destination exist from two different routing protocols.