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Cisco CCNA 3.2 Cisco CCNA 3.1 Cisco CCNA 3.3
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Administrative Distance Calculator

OSPF against RIP, a static route against BGP, a floating static waiting its turn: work out which route the router installs.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

When several sources offer the same prefix, the router installs one by comparing: 1. **Administrative distance** first, lower wins. Cisco's defaults, from the lesson: connected 0, static 1, EIGRP summary 5, external BGP 20, internal EIGRP 90, OSPF 110, IS-IS 115, RIP 120, internal BGP 200. 2. **Metric** next, only between routes from the same source: OSPF cost, RIP hop count. Metrics from different protocols are not compared. A **floating static route** is a static route given a distance higher than the dynamic route it backs up, so it stays out of the table until that route is lost. Longest match, which picks among installed routes of different prefix lengths, is practised in the routing table decision game in this lesson.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

Cisco CCNA
3.2 Determine how a router makes a forwarding decision by default
3.1 Interpret the components of routing table
3.3 Configure and verify IPv4 and IPv6 static routing

Key terms

Administrative Distance
A value assigned to a route that indicates its trustworthiness or preference; lower values are preferred when multiple routes to the same destination exist.
Metric
A value used by a router to determine the preferred path to a destination when multiple routes exist; lower values typically indicate a more preferred route.
Floating Static Route
A static route configured with a higher administrative distance than the primary route, functioning as a backup that activates only when the preferred route is removed from the routing table.
Static Route
A routing table entry manually configured by an administrator that specifies a fixed path to a destination network and never changes unless the administrator modifies it. Static routes are simple and predictable but do not adapt automatically to network topology changes.
Routing Table
A database stored in a router that lists known network destinations, the metric (cost) to reach them, and the next-hop address or outgoing interface to forward packets toward those destinations. Routers consult this table for every packet they forward.

Topics

Routing Administrative Distance Metric Floating Static Route Route Selection Interactive Calculation

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