Which parameter would you tune to affect the selection of a static route as a backup, when a dynamic protocol is also being used?

Question

Options

• Ahop count
• Badministrative distance
• Clink bandwidth
• Dlink delay
• Elink cost

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  73% (24)
• C
  12% (4)
• D
  9% (3)
• E
  3% (1)

Explanation

Administrative distance (AD) is the metric routers use to rank the trustworthiness of routing sources - lower AD wins. By setting a static route's AD higher than the dynamic protocol's AD (e.g., setting a static route to AD 254 vs. OSPF's default AD of 110), the router will prefer the dynamic route during normal operation and only fall back to the static route if the dynamic route disappears - this is called a floating static route.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A. Hop count - a metric used internally by protocols like RIP to choose between routes of the same protocol, not to arbitrate between static and dynamic sources.
• C. Link bandwidth, D. Link delay, E. Link cost - these are metrics used within specific dynamic protocols (e.g., EIGRP, OSPF) to select the best path among routes learned by that protocol. They have no effect on whether a static route is preferred over a dynamic one.

Memory tip: Think of AD as each routing source's "credibility score" - the lower the score, the more the router trusts it. A floating static route is simply one you've made less credible on purpose by bumping its AD above the dynamic protocol's, so it only steps in when the dynamic route drops out.

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