When using a routed configuration, the real server must point to the LTM as the ________.

The NTP server provides time synchronization and plays no role in directing server response traffic back through the BIG-IP.

The DNS server resolves hostnames to IP addresses and is not involved in routing return traffic through the LTM.

The Virtual IP is the front-end address the BIG-IP exposes to clients, not the server-side self IP that real servers use as a gateway.

WINS is a legacy NetBIOS name resolution service and has no relevance to traffic routing in a BIG-IP deployment.

When deployed in routed mode, real servers must have their default gateway set to the BIG-IP self IP address on the server-side VLAN. This ensures all response packets from servers return through the BIG-IP, which then translates the destination address back to the original client IP and maintains connection state. Without this, return traffic bypasses the LTM and causes asymmetric routing failures that break sessions.