Which source generally has the lowest Administrative Distance, indicating higher trust?

Which source generally has the lowest Administrative Distance, indicating higher trust?

• A. Static
• B. OSPF
• C. Direct Connection
• D. RIP

Answer: (C)

Administrative distance is a value that indicates how trustworthy a routing source is. The smaller the distance, the more preferred the route. Directly connected routes are the most trusted because the router knows these paths by virtue of its own interfaces—there's no routing protocol or external source involved. This is why they have the lowest administrative distance, typically 0. Static routes are still trusted, but not as definitive as a directly connected route, so they have a slightly higher distance (commonly 1). Dynamic routing protocols assign higher defaults—OSPF is usually 110 and RIP is 120. So, among the options, the source tied to the actual directly connected network most generally carries the lowest administrative distance, making it the most trusted source.

Administrative distance is a value that indicates how trustworthy a routing source is. The smaller the distance, the more preferred the route.

Directly connected routes are the most trusted because the router knows these paths by virtue of its own interfaces—there's no routing protocol or external source involved. This is why they have the lowest administrative distance, typically 0.

Static routes are still trusted, but not as definitive as a directly connected route, so they have a slightly higher distance (commonly 1). Dynamic routing protocols assign higher defaults—OSPF is usually 110 and RIP is 120.

So, among the options, the source tied to the actual directly connected network most generally carries the lowest administrative distance, making it the most trusted source.