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Cisco CCNA 3.2 Cisco CCNA 3.1 CompTIA Network+ 2.1
InteractiveNetworkFree

Specific Route or Default Route?

A table with one network and a default route, and a packet: does a specific route match, or the default? Five in a row.

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

About this interactive

The lesson's rule: - A router (or a host) first looks for a route whose network holds the destination. - If one matches, it uses it. - If none does, it uses the **default route**, 0.0.0.0/0, "the everything": send it to this next hop, usually toward the ISP. On a Windows host, `route print` shows the default route as destination 0.0.0.0 with mask 0.0.0.0, and its gateway is the default gateway `ipconfig` shows. Cisco calls the default route's next hop the gateway of last resort. Here /8, /16 and /24 mean the first one, two or three octets must match.

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
CompTIA Network+
2.1 Explain characteristics of routing technologies.

Key terms

Default Route
A catch-all routing entry represented as 0.0.0.0/0 (IPv4) or ::/0 (IPv6) that a router uses to forward packets when no more specific matching route exists in the routing table. It is typically configured to point toward the next-hop router or ISP connection.
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.
Default Gateway
The router that a device uses to send traffic to destinations outside its local network.
Gateway of Last Resort
The route configured on a Cisco router that it uses to forward packets when no more specific matching route exists in the routing table.

Topics

Default Route Routing Table Default Gateway Interactive Streak Sort

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