Why does EIGRP use queries?

EIGRP withdraws routing information by sending Update packets with an infinite metric value, not Query packets; queries are used to seek paths, not to remove them.

When a destination goes Active, EIGRP sends queries to all neighbors because split horizon suppresses those neighbors from advertising paths back toward the querying router during normal updates; the Query packet explicitly solicits a reply regardless of split horizon, allowing DUAL to learn of loop-free alternate paths that would otherwise remain hidden and unavailable.

EIGRP does not test existing alternate paths via queries; loop-free alternates are pre-computed using the Feasibility Condition and stored as feasible successors in the topology table, making them immediately available without querying.

EIGRP uses Hello packets to maintain neighbor liveness and adjacency state; queries serve the purpose of path discovery during Active state, not neighbor state verification.