Question

Difficulty: HardOSPFv2 Neighbor Adjacencies and Router ID

Two Cisco routers, R1 and R2, are connected via a direct GigabitEthernet link. R1 has been configured with an explicit OSPF router ID of 1.1.1.1. Router R2 has no explicit router ID configured under its OSPF process, but has the following active interfaces:
- Loopback0: 10.10.10.1/32 (up/up)
- Loopback1: 10.20.20.1/32 (up/up)
- GigabitEthernet0/0: 172.16.1.1/24 (up/up)

Which two conditions or behaviors accurately reflect the OSPFv2 Router ID selection and neighbor adjacency formation process between R1 and R2? (Select two.)

  1. Router R2 automatically selects 10.20.20.1 as its OSPF router ID because it is the highest IP address among active loopback interfaces.Answer
  2. Hello intervals, Dead intervals, Area IDs, and subnet masks must match between R1 and R2 for a neighbor relationship to form across the link.Answer
  3. C
    Router R2 selects 172.16.1.1 as its router ID because active physical interface IP addresses take precedence over virtual loopback interfaces.
  4. D
    An MTU mismatch between R1 and R2 will block Hello packet exchange entirely, keeping the neighbor state permanently in DOWN.

Answer

The correct statements are that R2 automatically selects 10.20.20.1 as its router ID (highest IP address among active loopbacks), and that Hello intervals, Dead intervals, Area IDs, and subnet masks must match between the neighbors to establish adjacency.
Router ID selection follows a strict order: explicit 'router-id' command > highest active loopback IP > highest active physical interface IP. Since R2 has active loopback interfaces, 10.20.20.1 is selected as the highest loopback IP. Additionally, OSPF neighbor formation strictly requires matching Hello/Dead timers, Area ID, Subnet Mask, and Authentication flags in exchanged Hello packets.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the OSPF Router ID election logic for R2
Since no explicit 'router-id' command exists, OSPF evaluates active loopbacks. Loopback1 (10.20.20.1) is higher than Loopback0 (10.10.10.1).
Loopback interfaces take precedence over physical interfaces, and the highest IPv4 address among loopbacks is chosen.
2
Evaluate mandatory OSPF Hello packet fields for neighbor adjacency
Hello timer, Dead timer, Area ID, Subnet Mask (on multiaccess/point-to-point), and authentication credentials must match in incoming Hello packets.
Mismatches in any of these primary Hello fields prevent routers from transitioning past the INIT state.
3
Analyze the impact of MTU mismatches
MTU is negotiated in DBD packets during ExStart state, not in initial Hello exchanges.
Hello packets are exchanged successfully despite MTU mismatches, but adjacency fails during database description synchronization.

Key Concept

OSPFv2 Router ID Precedence and Hello Packet Neighbor Adjacency Requirements
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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