In which way are EIGRP and OSPF similar?

Question

Options

• AThey both support unequal-cost load balancing.
• BThey both support MD5 authentication for routing updates.
• CThey both support autosummarization.
• DThey have similar CPU usage, scalability, and network convergence times.

• A
  5% (2)
• B
  93% (40)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

EIGRP vs. OSPF Similarity: MD5 Authentication

Both EIGRP and OSPF support MD5 authentication to verify the integrity and source of routing updates, ensuring that routers only accept updates from trusted neighbors - this shared security feature makes option B correct.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is incorrect because only EIGRP supports unequal-cost load balancing (via the variance command); OSPF only supports equal-cost load balancing.
• C is incorrect because autosummarization is an EIGRP feature; OSPF does not support automatic route summarization - it must be configured manually at area boundaries.
• D is incorrect because EIGRP and OSPF differ significantly in these areas - EIGRP generally converges faster and uses less CPU due to its DUAL algorithm, while OSPF can be more CPU-intensive with SPF recalculations in large networks.

Memory Tip: Think of MD5 as the "mutual handshake" - both protocols need to verify who they're talking to, regardless of their other differences. If you remember that security is universal, you'll recall that both routing protocols share MD5 authentication as a common trait.

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