Question

Difficulty: MediumOSPFv2 Neighbor Adjacencies and Router ID

A network engineer inspects a Cisco router named Branch-R1 that was recently configured for OSPFv2 routing. The interface configuration and operational states on Branch-R1 are as follows:

- Loopback 0: 192.168.50.1/32 (Status: Administratively Down)
- Loopback 1: 10.10.10.1/32 (Status: Up/Up)
- GigabitEthernet 0/0: 172.16.200.1/24 (Status: Up/Up)
- GigabitEthernet 0/1: 10.200.1.1/30 (Status: Up/Up)

No manual OSPF router ID has been configured under the `router ospf 1` process. Which IP address will OSPFv2 select as the Router ID for Branch-R1 upon initialization?

  1. 10.10.10.1Answer
  2. B
    192.168.50.1
  3. C
    172.16.200.1
  4. D
    10.200.1.1

Answer

10.10.10.1 is selected as the OSPF Router ID because it is the highest IP address among active operational loopback interfaces.
OSPF Router ID election follows a strict hierarchy: 1) Manually configured router ID (`router-id` command), 2) Highest IPv4 address on an active (Up/Up) loopback interface, 3) Highest IPv4 address on an active (Up/Up) non-loopback/physical interface. Because Loopback 0 is administratively down, Loopback 1 (10.10.10.1) is the only active loopback interface and is selected.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Check for an explicitly configured OSPF router ID
No manual `router-id` command is configured under `router ospf 1`.
Explicit configuration takes precedence over automatic election logic.
2
Evaluate operational state of loopback interfaces
Loopback 0 is administratively down and ignored. Loopback 1 (10.10.10.1) is operational (Up/Up).
OSPF election logic only considers interfaces in an active Up/Up state.
3
Apply OSPF selection hierarchy
The active loopback address (10.10.10.1) is chosen over physical interface IP addresses.
Active loopbacks take precedence over physical interfaces regardless of IP numerical value.

Key Concept

OSPFv2 Router ID Selection Hierarchy
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