Cisco CCNA 200-301 IP Connectivity Practice Questions

Free CCNA 200-301 IP Connectivity practice test questions

8 questions from this domain with answers and explanations - different from the samples on the main Cisco CCNA 200-301 page. Sign up free to practice the full set.

1. Question 1IP Connectivity

   Which routing protocol uses the Dijkstra Shortest Path First (SPF) algorithm to calculate the best path to a destination?

   • AEIGRP
   • BOSPFCorrect
   • CBGP
   • DRIPv2
   ✓ Correct answer: B

   OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) is a link-state routing protocol that builds a complete topology map (LSDB) of the network and then runs the Dijkstra Shortest Path First algorithm on each router independently to calculate the lowest-cost path to every destination. The SPF algorithm produces a loop-free tree rooted at the calculating router, with cost based on interface bandwidth. This is fundamentally different from distance-vector protocols like RIP and EIGRP, which use different algorithm approaches.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • AEIGRP uses the DUAL (Diffusing Update Algorithm) to calculate loop-free paths and successors - it is an advanced distance-vector protocol, not a link-state protocol using Dijkstra SPF.
   • CBGP (Border Gateway Protocol) uses path vector and policy-based selection rather than a shortest-path algorithm like Dijkstra - it selects routes based on attributes such as AS path, local preference, and weight.
   • DRIPv2 uses the Bellman-Ford distance-vector algorithm, counting hops as its metric - it does not build a topology database or run Dijkstra SPF.
2. Question 2IP Connectivity

   Orion Aerospace has three remote sites connected to headquarters. The network administrator wants to configure static routes that will only be used when the primary dynamic routing protocol routes fail. What type of static route should be configured?

   • AFloating static routeCorrect
   • BFully specified static route
   • CDefault static route
   • DSummary static route
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   A floating static route is configured with a higher administrative distance than the primary dynamic routing protocol. When the dynamic route is learned, the static route remains unused (floats). If the dynamic route fails, the floating static route becomes active.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BB is incorrect because fully specified routes do not necessarily serve as backups.
   • CC is incorrect because default routes do not provide specific backup paths.
   • DD is incorrect because summary routes aggregate multiple networks.
3. Question 3IP Connectivity

   A router already learns a default route from OSPF. An engineer adds 'ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 210' as a backup path. What does the trailing 210 accomplish?

   • AIt raises the route's administrative distance above OSPF's, so it is used only if the OSPF route goes awayCorrect
   • BIt sets the route's metric to 210, making OSPF prefer it over its own learned default
   • CIt limits the route to 210 seconds before the router removes it from the table
   • DIt tags the route with the value 210 so that a route map can match it during redistribution
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Administrative distance is how a router chooses between two sources offering the same prefix; the lower value wins. A static route defaults to 1 and would beat OSPF's 110 outright, taking over as the active default. Setting it to 210 puts it behind OSPF, so it sits inactive and is installed only when the OSPF-learned default disappears. That is the floating static route, and 'show ip route' will not display it at all while the OSPF default is present.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BThe value is administrative distance, not metric, and it is local to this router - OSPF never sees it and cannot prefer anything because of it.
   • CStatic routes do not age out; nothing in the ip route command sets a lifetime in seconds.
   • DA route tag is set with the 'tag' keyword and filters redistribution; it never changes route selection.
4. Question 4IP Connectivity

   An engineer configures a new OSPF router-id on a router whose OSPF process is already running. What must be done for the new router ID to take effect?

   • AClear the OSPF process with 'clear ip ospf process' or reload the routerCorrect
   • BNothing; the new router ID is applied to the running process immediately
   • CRemove and re-add every 'network' statement under the process
   • DShut and re-enable each OSPF-enabled interface one at a time
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   OSPF picks its router ID only at process startup and keeps it until the process restarts. After configuring a new 'router-id', IOS prompts that the change is not active until the process is reset. Running 'clear ip ospf process' (or reloading) restarts OSPF so the new ID is used.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BOSPF does not adopt a new router ID on the fly; the existing ID persists until the process is restarted.
   • CRe-adding network statements re-advertises subnets but does not force the router ID to be re-selected.
   • DBouncing interfaces reforms adjacencies but does not restart the OSPF process or change the router ID.
5. Question 5IP Connectivity

   A router has the following routes in its routing table for the destination 10.1.0.0: - OSPF route via 10.1.0.0/16 (AD 110) - Static route via 10.1.0.0/24 (AD 1) - EIGRP route via 10.1.0.0/24 (AD 90) Which route will the router use to forward a packet destined for 10.1.0.50?

   • AThe OSPF route because it was learned first
   • BThe static route because it has the lowest AD among the /24 matchesCorrect
   • CThe EIGRP route because it has the lowest metric
   • DThe OSPF route because it has the widest match
   ✓ Correct answer: B

   When multiple routes exist for the same destination, the router first selects the longest prefix match - both the static and EIGRP routes match 10.1.0.50 as /24, which is more specific than the OSPF /16 match. Among the two /24 routes, the router uses Administrative Distance to break the tie: the static route has AD 1 (lower is better) versus EIGRP's AD 90, so the static route is installed in the forwarding table and used to forward the packet to 10.1.0.50.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • AThe OSPF route at /16 loses to the /24 routes because longest prefix match takes priority over AD - a more specific /24 prefix always wins over a less specific /16, regardless of which protocol learned it first.
   • CThe EIGRP route at /24 has AD 90, which is higher than the static route's AD of 1 - metric is only compared between routes from the same routing protocol, not across different protocols or against static routes.
   • DThe OSPF /16 route has the widest (least specific) match, not the longest - routers prefer the longest (most specific) prefix match, so /24 beats /16 regardless of the protocol.
6. Question 6IP ConnectivitySelect all that apply

   Which two statements correctly describe the use of a floating static route? (Choose two.)

   • AIt is configured with an administrative distance higher than the primary route's sourceCorrect
   • BIt is installed in the routing table at all times, alongside the primary route itself
   • CIt becomes active only when the primary route is removed from the routing tableCorrect
   • DIt load-balances with the primary route to increase available bandwidth
   ✓ Correct answer: A, C

   By assigning a static route an administrative distance higher than the primary path (e.g., 'ip route ... 200'), it is kept out of the routing table while the primary route is valid. If the primary route disappears, the higher-AD floating route is installed, providing automatic backup.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BOnly the lowest-distance route is installed; the floating route is held back until that one goes.
   • DBecause only one route is active at a time, a floating static route does not load-balance with the primary.
7. Question 7IP Connectivity

   The output of 'show ip route' begins with 'Gateway of last resort is 203.0.113.1 to network 0.0.0.0'. What does this line indicate?

   • AThe router will drop all packets sent toward 203.0.113.1
   • B203.0.113.1 is a directly connected loopback on the router
   • CA default route is set, so unmatched packets go to 203.0.113.1Correct
   • DAll OSPF external routes are summarized toward 203.0.113.1
   ✓ Correct answer: C

   The 'Gateway of last resort' line reports that a default route (0.0.0.0/0) is installed and that packets not matching any more specific entry are forwarded to 203.0.113.1. If no default route existed, IOS would display 'Gateway of last resort is not set'. It is simply the next-hop used for otherwise-unmatched traffic.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • AA default route forwards unmatched traffic; it does not drop packets toward the next-hop.
   • B203.0.113.1 is the default route's next-hop, not necessarily a connected loopback.
   • DThe line describes the default route and has nothing to do with OSPF external summarization.
8. Question 8IP ConnectivitySelect all that apply

   Which two statements correctly describe using a Layer 3 switch with SVIs for inter-VLAN routing instead of router-on-a-stick? (Choose TWO.)

   • AGlobal 'ip routing' must be enabled to route between SVIsCorrect
   • BPackets are forwarded in hardware for higher throughputCorrect
   • CAll inter-VLAN traffic shares one trunk uplink
   • DEach VLAN needs a separate physical router interface
   • ESubinterfaces with 'encapsulation dot1q' replace the SVIs
   ✓ Correct answer: A, B

   On a multilayer switch, the global ip routing command must be enabled before SVIs will route between VLANs, and forwarding is performed by ASIC hardware for high throughput. This avoids the single-trunk bottleneck and CPU-based forwarding of router-on-a-stick. SVIs are logical VLAN interfaces and are not the same as router subinterfaces.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • CFunneling all inter-VLAN traffic through one trunk is the router-on-a-stick limitation, not the SVI method.
   • DUsing a separate physical interface per VLAN is the legacy multi-interface approach, not the SVI approach.
   • ESVIs are created with interface vlan; encapsulation dot1q subinterfaces belong to router-on-a-stick, not L3-switch SVIs.

How IP Connectivity is tested

This domain holds 175 of the 705 questions in the CCNA 200-301 bank, about 25%. The mix is 148 single-answer multiple choice and 27 multiple-response, so it is worth practising the formats as well as the content.

Once you have a few attempts recorded, CertGrid scores every domain separately and points you at the weakest one, so you can drill IP Connectivity on its own rather than re-running full-length mocks.

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CCNA 200-301 IP Connectivity FAQ