CCNA IP Connectivity: 425 practice questions

12 of the 425 IP Connectivity questions in the Certsqill CCNA bank, shown in full below. Each one carries an explanation for every option, not just the correct one — the wrong answers are where the marks go.

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1. The virtual gateway works: What is the best conclusion?

1. HSRP is preventing hosts from using their physical router addresses.

   HSRP does not prevent physical-address management or routing; the displayed failure is upstream reachability.
2. The virtual gateway works; inspect upstream forwarding. ✓

   Hosts reach the HSRP virtual address, while the active router lacks a route toward the remote destination.
3. Hosts require a new default gateway because the configured virtual address is unusable.

   Successful pings to 10.12.20.1 demonstrate that the configured virtual gateway is usable.
4. The standby router must become active before remote traffic can work.

   The standby role is normal; failover cannot create a missing route on the active router.

HSRP answers gateway redundancy, but the active router still needs a usable route upstream.

2. Configure 10.50.20.0/24 through next hop 192.0.2.2: Which configuration correctly adds the required static rou

1. Configure 192.0.2.2/32 through destination network 10.50.20.0/24.

   This reverses destination and next-hop roles, creating no route for the remote network.
2. Create an IPv6 route for 10.50.20.0/24 using the same next hop.

   The destination is IPv4, so IOS requires IPv4 static-route syntax rather than IPv6 route configuration.
3. Configure 10.50.20.0/24 through next hop 192.0.2.2. ✓

   The route specifies the remote prefix and reachable IPv4 next hop required for static forwarding.
4. Use the connected transit interface as the destination.

   A static route destination must identify the remote network, not the interface or transit network itself.

A static IPv4 route names the remote prefix and forwards it to the reachable next hop.

3. R2 drops the packet because no matching route exists: What forwarding outcome should be expected?

1. R2 sends the packet to its local OSPF process for recursive delivery.

   An OSPF process does not forward packets without an installed routing-table entry and next hop.
2. R2 forwards through the DR immediately.

   A DR does not supply a forwarding path to a router that has no OSPF adjacency or installed route for the destination.
3. R2 drops the packet because no matching route exists. ✓

   The area mismatch prevents the OSPF route from being learned, and R2 has neither a specific route nor a default route for the remote LAN.
4. R2 forwards using OSPF cost despite the area mismatch.

   Area compatibility is required before OSPF can form the adjacency and advertise the remote prefix; cost comparison cannot override that failure.

The area mismatch prevents route installation, so R2 drops the packet without another route.

4. 192.0.2.4: For destination 10.30.0.40, which next hop is selected?

1. 192.0.2.3

   The /24 route matches the destination, but the matching /27 is more specific.
2. 192.0.2.2

   The /16 route matches, but longer matching prefixes take precedence during forwarding lookup.
3. 192.0.2.1

   The default route has the lowest AD but is less specific than all matching 10.30.0.0 routes.
4. 192.0.2.4 ✓

   10.30.0.32/27 is the longest matching prefix for 10.30.0.40, so its next hop wins.

The /27 route is the longest match for 10.30.0.40, overriding less-specific routes despite AD values.

5. An OSPF-learned route: What does the code `O` identify?

1. An administrative static route with metric thirty.

   Static routes use S, while the bracketed 110/30 represents OSPF administrative distance and metric.
2. An IPv6 route using a link-local next hop.

   The displayed IPv4 prefix and O code describe IPv4 OSPF, not an IPv6 route.
3. An ordinary directly connected route.

   Connected routes use the C code; O specifically indicates the OSPF routing source.
4. An OSPF-learned route. ✓

   The O code identifies a route learned through OSPF rather than a connected or static source.

The `O` code denotes an IPv4 route learned through OSPF.

6. Run `show standby brief` on the routers: Which verification step directly identifies the HSRP active and stand

1. Check the VLAN 30 MAC address table.

   A MAC table shows learned source locations, not HSRP state, priority, or active and standby roles.
2. Run `show standby brief` on the routers. ✓

   This command summarizes HSRP groups, virtual addresses, local states, and active or standby roles.
3. Inspect `show interfaces trunk` for the wireless access point.

   Trunk status verifies VLAN carriage, but not which router is HSRP active.
4. Run `show ip ospf neighbor` on the access switch.

   OSPF neighbor output does not identify HSRP state or ownership of the virtual gateway.

`show standby brief` directly summarizes HSRP group states and active ownership.

7. IPv4 traffic destined for an otherwise unmatched network: Which traffic uses the IPv4 default route, assuming

1. Traffic destined for 10.90.4.8.

   The connected 10.90.0.0/16 route is more specific and therefore handles this destination locally.
2. IPv6 traffic destined for an otherwise unmatched network.

   An IPv4 default route cannot forward IPv6 traffic, and no IPv6 default route exists here.
3. Traffic destined for 172.16.40.22.

   The static 172.16.40.0/24 route is more specific than the IPv4 default route.
4. IPv4 traffic destined for an otherwise unmatched network. ✓

   The IPv4 default route matches destinations lacking any more-specific installed IPv4 route.

The IPv4 default handles only unmatched IPv4 destinations after more-specific routes are considered.

8. Configure R2’s interface hello 10 and dead 40 timers: Which action satisfies that goal?

1. Raise R1’s interface priority to match R2’s priority.

   Interface priority affects broadcast DR election, not hello and dead timer compatibility on point-to-point links.
2. Configure R2’s interface hello 10 and dead 40 timers. ✓

   Matching R2’s hello and dead intervals with R1 satisfies the stated remaining OSPF compatibility requirement.
3. Change R2’s OSPF process ID to match R1’s process ID.

   OSPF process IDs are locally significant and need not match between neighboring routers.
4. Enable OSPF passive-interface on R2’s point-to-point link.

   A passive interface suppresses hellos, preventing adjacency rather than resolving timer incompatibility.

Matching R2’s hello and dead intervals with R1 is the smallest required compatibility change.

9. 192.0.2.1: After the more-specific routes remain unavailable for that destination, which next hop is selected?

1. 192.0.2.2

   The destination is not within 172.20.0.0/16, so that specific route cannot match.
2. 192.0.2.3

   The destination is outside 192.168.40.0/24, leaving this route unmatched.
3. No next hop; the packet is dropped immediately.

   The installed 0.0.0.0/0 route provides a valid fallback for this unmatched IPv4 destination.
4. 192.0.2.1 ✓

   10.31.3.41 matches neither specific prefix, so the installed default route is selected.

Neither specific prefix matches, so the IPv4 default route forwards the destination through 192.0.2.1.

10. Run `show running-config | include ip route` to inspect: Select TWO valid verification steps.

Select two. More than one option is correct — every correct one is ticked below.

1. Run `show interfaces counters errors` to confirm the /20 mask.

   Interface error counters report transmission statistics and do not verify route masks or forwarding selection.
2. Run `show arp 10.60.4.25` to calculate the route prefix.

   ARP displays Layer 2 neighbor resolution, not the route prefix length or selected routing entry.
3. Run `show ipv6 route 10.60.4.25` to verify the IPv4 prefix.

   The IPv6 routing table cannot verify an IPv4 route or its dotted-decimal mask.
4. Run `show running-config | include ip route` to inspect the configured static-route mask. ✓

   The running configuration displays the configured static route and its dotted-decimal mask, confirming the /20 prefix.
5. Run `show ip route 10.60.4.25` to inspect the matching route. ✓

   The IPv4 lookup displays the route selected for that destination, including its prefix, next hop, and route source.

Inspect the configured static mask and the IPv4 route lookup.

11. It changes preference but does not displace the current: What limitation applies to simply increasing R1's HSR

1. It lowers R2's effective priority but leaves R2 active until tracking detects another failure.

   Changing R1's configured priority does not automatically lower R2 or require another tracked failure; preemption controls takeover.
2. It changes preference but does not displace the current active router without preemption. ✓

   A higher priority alone does not cause R1 to take over an existing active role; HSRP preemption must be enabled.
3. It restores gateway activity but does not repair R1's upstream routing.

   Priority affects HSRP role selection, but the stated limitation is that priority alone does not reclaim an existing active role.
4. It makes R1 active only after R2's hold timer expires again.

   Timer expiration does not make a higher-priority recovered router take over unless preemption is enabled.

Higher priority alone does not reclaim an existing HSRP active role; preemption is required.

12. Verify the current path with `show ip route 203.0.113.77`: Which TWO actions are safest?

Select two. More than one option is correct — every correct one is ticked below.

1. Configure `ip route 203.0.113.0 255.255.255.0 198.51.100.2`.

   This route redirects every IPv4 destination in the /24, violating the requirement to change only one server.
2. Verify the current path with `show ip route 203.0.113.77` before applying the host route. ✓

   The lookup confirms the current matching entry and supports a scoped change without altering unrelated forwarding.
3. Configure `ip route 203.0.113.77 255.255.255.255 198.51.100.1`.

   This host route preserves the old next hop and therefore does not implement the required alternate path.
4. Configure `ipv6 route 2001:db8:203:113::/64 2001:db8:51::2`.

   This is valid IPv6 static-route syntax, but it changes IPv6 forwarding and does not affect the required IPv4 destination.
5. Configure `ip route 203.0.113.77 255.255.255.255 198.51.100.2`. ✓

   A /32 static route is more specific than the existing /24 and redirects only 203.0.113.77 through the required next hop.

Verify the current lookup, then add an IPv4 /32 through 198.51.100.2.

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