A packet from a company's branch office is destined to host 172.31.0.1 at headquarters. The sending router has three possible matches in its routing table for the packet: prefixes 172.31.0.0/16, 172.3

The correct answer is D. It sends the traffic via prefix 172.31.0.0/25. Longest prefix match routing is an algorithm where the router prefers the longest prefix in the routing table. In other words, the most specific prefix. When a router receives the IP packet, it compares the destination IP address bit-by-bit with prefixes in the routing table. The

Submitted by diego_uy· Mar 5, 2026IP Connectivity

Question

A packet from a company's branch office is destined to host 172.31.0.1 at headquarters. The sending router has three possible matches in its routing table for the packet: prefixes 172.31.0.0/16, 172.31.0.0/24, and 172.31.0.0/25. How does the router handle the packet?

Options

AIt sends the traffic via prefix 172.31.0.0/16
BIt sends the traffic via the default gateway 0.0.0.0/0
CIt sends the traffic via prefix 172.31.0.0/24
DIt sends the traffic via prefix 172.31.0.0/25

How the community answered

(35 responses)

A
3% (1)
B
9% (3)
C
17% (6)
D
71% (25)

Explanation

Longest prefix match routing is an algorithm where the router prefers the longest prefix in the routing table. In other words, the most specific prefix. When a router receives the IP packet, it compares the destination IP address bit-by-bit with prefixes in the routing table. The prefix with the most matching bits is the prefix that the router will use.

Topics

#longest prefix match#routing table#prefix length#routing decision

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