CCNA 200-301

IP Connectivity

Exam Topics
 ARP Operation
 Route Selection
 Frame Rewrite
 IPv4 Static Routing
 IPv4 Default Routing
 IPv4 Floating Static Route
 IPv6 Static Routing
 IPv6 Default Routing
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Address Resolution Protocol

The purpose of ARP is to resolve (learn) an unknown MAC address from
a known IP address. The host endpoint must know the MAC address of a
remote server endpoint before data can be sent. That is required for
frame rewrite at all router hops between endpoints. ARP is a foundational
network addressing protocol that is part of IP protocol suite. Layer 3 hop
is any network device that provides routing services.

The host endpoint first checks for an entry in the local ARP cache that
has the server MAC address. The host sends an ARP request to the
default gateway if there is no entry in the local ARP cache.

The default gateway then sends a proxy ARP broadcast toward the
server. It is an ARP request sent on behalf of the host. Each router hop
then broadcasts an ARP request on their local subnet until it arrives at the
server. The server sends an ARP reply with the MAC address assigned to
server Ethernet network interface. The default gateway receives the ARP
reply and updates its local ARP table. In fact, all Layer 3 network devices
between endpoints update their ARP table as well. Layer 2 switches in
the forwarding path also update their MAC address table.

Figure 1 ARP Process

No
Check Local ARP Default
Proxy ARP
Cache Gateway

Server ARP Update ARP

Reply Table

ARP is required for communication between Layer 3 network devices as

well. For example, a router must know the MAC address of a neighbor
before sending routing updates, proxy ARP requests or data messages.
Frame rewrite of MAC addressing is required per hop between Layer 3
network devices.

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Example 1: New Host Session

Host-1 would like to initiate a new session with Server-1 on a remote
subnet. Where is the ARP request sent?

Figure 2 ARP Request

Answer
When a host endpoint initiates a session with a server on a different
subnet, the IP address is resolved first. The DNS request is first sent to
resolve or learn the server IP address. DNS server responds to host with
IP address of server in the DNS reply packet.

Host-1 then checks the local ARP cache to verify there is not an entry for
server-1. ARP entry is comprised of server IP address and associated
MAC address. The server is on a different subnet so host-1 sends an
ARP request to the default gateway (router-1).

Switch-1 is a Layer 2 device and forwards the ARP request to router-1.

The MAC address of router-1 (0000.000c.cccc) is sent to host-1 and
added to the local ARP cache. Host-1 then sends a second ARP request
to the default gateway requesting the MAC address of server-1.

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Router-1 checks the local ARP table first to verify if there is an entry for
server-1 . If there is no entry for server-1, then router-1 sends proxy ARP
request to router-2.

The default gateway IP address is configured with TCP/IP settings for

hosts. It is a standard IP parameter that DHCP configures to host and
server endpoints. Often hosts will connect to multiple different servers
and previous ARP requests have been sent. The default gateway MAC
address is already known and has an entry in the local cache.

Example 2: ARP Table Entry

What ARP cache entry is added to host-1 when it pings server-1?

Figure 3 ARP Table Cache

Network ARP table is comprised of IP address to MAC address bindings

(mappings) for endpoints and network (intermediate) devices. The default
gateway (router-1) responds with the IP address and MAC address
assigned to Gi0/0 interface. That is the LAN interface in the same subnet
as host-1. The host adds IP address 172.16.2.254/24 and MAC address
0000.000c.cccc to its local ARP cache.

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Routing Table Components

It is important to know how to read a routing table to verify that routing is
working correctly. The routing table is generated by a router based on
dynamically advertised routes (subnets) sent from neighbors. All locally
connected routes and static routes are included as well.

The directly connected route is a subnet based on the IP address

assigned to a local interface. It is automatically added to the routing table
when the interface is enabled. The local interface associated with the
subnet (route) is the exit interface for packets destined to that subnet.
Static routes including default and floating static routes are manually
configured. All routing tables are comprised of the following components.

1. Routing protocol code is the route source.

2. Network address is the destination subnet.
3. Administrative distance is trustworthiness of the route source.
4. Metric is the calculated path cost to the destination subnet.
5. Next hop is the IP address of a neighbor in the forwarding path.
6. Local interface is the exit interface to the next hop address.
7. Age is the amount of time the route has been installed.

router# show ip route

Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP

D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2
o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route

Gateway of last resort is 172.16.0.1 to network 0.0.0.0

172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets, 2 masks
C 172.16.1.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0/0
C 172.16.3.128/27 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
192.168.25.0/30 is subnetted, 2 subnets
O 192.168.2.1/24 [110/11] via 192.168.2.2, 00:01:12, Serial0/2
O 192.168.3.64/30 [110/15] via 192.168.1.65, 00:00:9,Serial0/3
S* 0.0.0.0/0 [1/0] via 172.16.0.1

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Routing Protocol Code

The protocol code assigned to a route signifies the source where the
route was learned. It is either a dynamic route, static route or connected
route. The output of show ip route command displays the routing table.

Table 1 Routing Protocol Codes

Route Source Protocol Code

OSPF O
OSPF Inter-Area IA
EGP E
EIGRP D
Static Route S
Default Route S*
Connected Route C
Host (/32) L

Network Address
This is the network address of a destination subnet for a routing entry. It
is referred to as a prefix in the routing table. Each IP packet has an
address field for source IP address and destination IP address. They do
not change between endpoints. They are host addresses assigned to
network interfaces. You cannot assign a network address to a network
interface. The router examines destination IP address field of an inbound
packet to learn the destination subnet. It then selects a route in the
routing table to forward packets.

Administrative Distance
This is the reliability of a route when compared with other route sources.
Each route type is assigned an administrative distance (AD). It is a value
used by the router for route selection. The route with lowest AD number is
installed when routes are advertised from multiple routing protocols .

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Metric
This is a value that is assigned to each route that is calculated based on
the route type. Metric is only considered for best path selection only when
multiple routes exist from the same routing protocol. Each routing protocol
calculated metric differently. OSPF is based on path cost or link
bandwidth. RIPv2 use hop count (number of hops) between endpoints.

Next Hop Address

There is a next hop address associated with each route for packet
forwarding purposes. It is IP address of a connected neighbor interface.
All routing decisions are made per hop on a forwarding path. The router
logic reads as - to reach this destination subnet, forward packet out local
interface that is connected to next hop neighbor with this IP address.

Local Interface
Each route entry is associated with a local interface and next hop address
used for packet forwarding. The local exit interface associated with that
route is connected to next hop neighbor for packets that are destined to a
subnet. The router is only concerned with identifying local exit interface to
use for packet forwarding.

Age
The route entry has an associated age (min) that is based on the amount
of time in the routing table. The route entry starts at zero when first
learned and is reset if the table is flushed.

Example
This is an OSPF route entry from a routing table with each component
defined. For example, 192.168.12.9 is the destination IP address in the IP
header. It is a host address and not a network (subnet) address.

O 192.168.12.8/30 [110/128] via 192.168.12.5, 00:35:36, Serial0/0

 Routing protocol code = O (OSPF)
 Destination subnet = 192.168.12.8/30
 Administrative distance = 110
 Metric = 128
 Next hop address = 192.168.12.5
 Local exit interface = Serial0/0
 Age = 00:35:36

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Route Selection
The router selects routes to install in the routing table. Sometimes there
are multiple routes advertised from multiple routing protocols to the same
destination. The administrative distance of a route determines the route
installed in the routing table.

The metric is used to select best path to a destination when multiple

paths exist. Metric only applies when there are multiple routes from the
same routing protocol to the same destination. The longest match rule
selects the route with the longest subnet mask (prefix) from routes
already in the routing table.

Step 1: Install route = lowest administrative distance

Step 2: Install route = lowest metric (same routing protocol)
Step 3: Select route = longest match rule (subnet mask)
Step 4: Packet discarded when no default route exists

Figure 4 Routing Table Lookup

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Administrative Distance
The router builds a routing table with multiple routes (prefixes). Each
route type is assigned an administrative distance and calculates a metric.
The administrative distance (AD) is a value based on the routing protocol
or route source. It is used by routers to select what route is installed in the
routing table. The administrative distance and metric assigned to a route
will determine what route is installed in the routing table.

The router installs the route with the lowest administrative distance. It is
considered when multiple routes exist from multiple routing protocols to
the same destination. Administrative distance is configurable to influence
route selection.

The route with the lowest AD is considered the most reliable (trustworthy).
Directly connected routes have the lowest administrative distance (0) and
are the most reliable. The directly connected route is a subnet based on
the IP address assigned to a local interface. It is automatically added to
the routing table when the interface is enabled.

The following are the default administrative distances for each routing
protocol and/or route type. Each routing entry in the routing table includes
the administrative distance and metric in brackets [AD / Metric].

Table 2 Administrative Distance (AD)

Route Type Administrative Distance

Directly Connected 0
Static Route 1
Default Route 1
eBGP 20
EIGRP 90
OSPF 110

IS-IS 115

RIPv2 120

Unknown 255

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Example
What is the administrative distance of the route to destination network
192.168.3.0/24?

router# show ip route

Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP

D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2
o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route

Gateway of last resort is 172.33.0.1 to network 0.0.0.0

10.1.0.0/24 is subnetted, 5 subnets
C 10.1.1.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0/0
C 10.1.5.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/1
C 10.1.6.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
C 10.1.7.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0/1
C 10.1.254.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback0
O 192.168.3.0/24 [110/64] via 192.168.1.1, Serial0/0

The command lists all network prefixes to subnet destinations. The router
would select the following route to destination subnet 192.168.3.0/24.

O 192.168.3.0/24 [110/64] via 192.168.1.1, Serial0/0

OSPF route with next hop 192.168.1.1 has an administrative distance of

110 and metric calculation of 64. Any route assigned an administrative
distance of 255 is not installed into the routing table. The router doesn't
trust the source of the route and considers it untrustworthy. The local exit
interface is Serial0/0 where packets are forwarded to next hop neighbor.

Example: Dynamic Routing Protocols

EIGRP, OSPF, and RIPv2 are advertising routes to the same destination.
What route is selected based on the following information?
EIGRP = [90/1252335]
OSPF = [110/10]
RIPv2 = [120/3]

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The route with lowest administrative distance is installed in the routing

table. EIGRP (90) has a lower administrative distance than OSPF (110)
or RIPv2 (120). The result is that EIGRP route is installed in the local
routing table. The metric is only considered for best path calculation when
multiple routes exist for the same routing protocol to same destination.

Example: Static Route

The following route types are advertising routes to the same destination.
What route is selected based on the following information?
OSPF = [110/27]
Static = [1/0]
Default = [1/0]
All routing sources are advertising a route to the same destination subnet.
The route with the lowest administrative distance (AD) is installed in the
routing table. In this example, the static route and default route have the
same lowest AD = 1. The router would select the static route since it is
always more specific than a default route.

Example: Connected Route

The following route types are advertising routes to the same destination.
What route is selected based on the following information?
Static Route = 172.16.1.0/27
Default Route = 172.16.1.0/27
Connected Route = 172.16.1.0/27
The directly connected route, with AD of zero (0) is considered most
reliable route to a destination. The subnet length is only considered when
selecting from multiple routes to the same destination already installed in
the routing table. It is referred to as longest match rule.

Example: Multiple Route Sources

What route is installed in the routing table from the following routes?

OSPF Route = 172.16.1.0/27

Static Route = 172.16.1.0/27
Default Route = 172.16.1.0/28
Connected Route = 172.16.1.0/29

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This example includes a dynamic route (OSPF), static routes and a

connected route. The route with lowest administrative distance is the
connected route. Each route however has a different subnet mask length,
and the router considers them routes to different destinations. All routes
are installed in the routing table and administrative distance value is not
relevant here.

Path Metric
The administrative distance and metric assigned to a route will determine
what route is installed in the routing table. Metric is a path cost assigned
to a specific route. Metric is only considered after administrative distance.
The route with the lowest metric is installed when there are multiple
routes from the same routing protocol to the same destination.

Each dynamic routing protocol calculates metric differently. For example,

OSPF calculates metric for each route that is based exclusively on link
bandwidth. Some routing protocols such as OSPF and EIGRP support
equal cost load balancing. That is enabled automatically when multiple
routes exist from the same routing protocol with the same lowest metric.
All routes are installed in the routing table and packets are forwarded
across multiple paths to a destination.

Example: OSPF Metric

Each routing table entry includes a square bracket with two values such
as [110/128]. The first entry is the administrative distance (110) and the
second entry is the metric (128). The route is OSPF and the metric is path
cost. There is a static route and a default route as well that are never
assigned any metric as denoted with zero (0) in brackets.

router# show ip route

192.168.12.0/24 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 4 masks

C 192.168.12.64/28 is directly connected, Loopback1
C 192.168.12.32/28 is directly connected, Ethernet0
C 192.168.12.48/28 is directly connected, Loopback0
O 192.168.12.236/30 [110/128] via 192.168.12.233, Serial0
S 172.16.100.0/24 [1/0] via 172.16.2.1
S* 0.0.0.0/0 [1/0] via 172.33.1.1

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Packet Forwarding
The longest match rule is used to select a route already installed in the
routing table as a forwarding decision. Each route has a specific prefix
(subnet mask) length. The route with the longest prefix is selected from
multiple routes within the same subnet range (destination). For example,
172.16.0.0/22 has a longer prefix than 172.16.0.0/18 and would be
selected to forward packets to 172.16.0.0 subnet destination.

Example 1: Longest Match Rule

Refer to the routing table. Where will router-1 send packets that have
destination IP address of 172.16.1.1?

router-1# show ip route

Gateway of last resort is 172.16.0.1 to network 0.0.0.0

172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets, 3 masks
C 172.16.1.0/25 is directly connected, Serial0/1
C 172.16.1.0/26 is directly connected, Serial0/1
C 172.16.1.0/27 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
172.16.254.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnet

The longest match rule is used to select a route already installed in the
routing table as a forwarding decision. Each route to a destination has a
specific network prefix (subnet mask) length. The route with the longest
subnet prefix is selected from multiple routes to the same destination. For
example, 172.16.1.0/27 has a longer route prefix than 172.16.1.0/26 and
172.16.1.0/25. As a result, that route prefix is selected for packets with
172.16.1.1 destination IP address.

Example 2: Longest Match Rule

What route is selected for destination IP address 192.168.1.10?

A. 192.168.1.0/28
B. 192.168.1.0/26
C. 192.168.1.0/25
D. 192.168.1.0/27

Answer (A)

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The longest match rule would select 192.168.1.0/28 route to destination

IP address 192.168.1.10. The packet is forwarded to the next hop and
local exit interface associated with the routing entry for that route.

Example 3: Destination Unreachable

Refer to the routing table output for router-1. How will router-1 forward a
packet with source IP address 172.16.3.1 and destination IP address
172.16.200.1?

router-1# show ip route

Gateway of last resort is not set

172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 4 subnets
C 172.16.1.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0/0
C 172.16.2.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0/1
C 172.16.3.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
C 172.16.4.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/1
S 172.16.100.0/24 [1/0] via 172.16.2.1
R 172.31.1.0/24 [120/3] via 172.16.1.2

The router makes a forwarding decision based on the destination IP

address. There is currently no route advertised for 172.16.200.1 in the
routing table of router-1. In addition, there is no default route (gateway of
last resort) configured either. The router will discard the packet and send
an ICMP destination unreachable error message.

Example 4: Longest Match Rule

Based on the routing table shown below, when the router receives a
packet destined to 192.168.1.65 where will the router forward the traffic?

router# show ip route

Gateway of last resort is 172.33.1.1 to network 0.0.0.0

192.168.1.0/24 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 4 masks
C 192.168.1.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
S 192.168.1.128/25 [1/0] via 192.168.2.1
S 192.168.1.64/26 [1/0] via 192.168.2.2
S 192.168.1.32/27 [1/0] via 192.168.2.3
S 10.254.254.254/32 [1/0] via 192.168.2.4
S* 0.0.0.0/0 [1/0] via 172.33.1.1

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The longest match is in effect when there are multiple routes to the same
192.168.1.65 destination. 192.168.1.64/26 route is the correct prefix with
the longest match subnet (/26). It is a static route (S) with 192.168.2.2 as
next hop address. The destination IP address 192.168.1.65 is within
192.168.1.128/25 route range as well. The /26 subnet prefix however is
longer than the /25 route.

S 192.168.1.64/26 [1/0] via 192.168.2.2

Example 5: Longest Match Rule

What is the next hop selected when forwarding packets to destination IP
address 192.168.2.1 based on the routing table?

router-1# show ip route

Gateway of last resort is 172.16.0.1 to network 0.0.0.0

172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets, 2 masks
C 172.16.1.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet1/1
C 172.16.2.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet1/2
C 172.16.3.128/27 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
192.168.25.0/30 is subnetted, 2 subnets
D 192.168.25.0/30 [90/2681856] via 192.168.25.2, Serial1/0
D 192.168.25.4/30 [90/1823638] via 192.168.25.5, Serial2/0
192.168.1.0/24 is variably subnetted, 3 subnets, 2 masks
O 192.168.1.0/24 [110/8] via 192.168.1.254, GigabitEthernet0/3
O 192.168.2.0/24 [110/11] via 192.168.3.2, Serial0/2
O 192.168.3.64/30 [110/15] via 192.168.1.65, Serial0/3
S* 0.0.0.0/0 [1/0] via 172.16.0.1

The longest match rule would select the following OSPF route with next
hop 192.168.3.2 IP address. In this example it is the only route available.
O 192.168.2.0/24 [110/11] via 192.168.3.2, Serial0/2

Example 6: Longest Match Rule

Router-1 must select route to forward packets with destination IP address
172.16.4.1. What is the routing method, next hop IP address and router
interface based on the routing table exhibit?

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router-1# show ip route

Gateway of last resort is not set

172.16.0.0/24 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masks

C 172.16.1.0/24 is directly connected, GigabitEthernet0/0
C 172.16.200.0/30 is directly connected, Serial0/0
C 172.16.200.16/30 is directly connected, Serial0/1
D 172.16.4.0/25 [90/1234567] via 172.16.200.18, Serial0/1
O 172.16.4.0/27 [110/64] via 172.16.200.2, Serial0/0
O 172.16.4.0/26 [110/32] via 172.16.200.17, Serial0/2

Answer
The router selects the route with the longest prefix (subnet) where there
are multiple routes to the same destination. It is referred to as the longest
match rule. The following OSPF route has the longest prefix (/27) to the
destination 172.16.4.0 subnet. The next hop address to forward packets
destined for 172.16.4.0 is 172.16.200.2 via Serial0/0 local interface.

O 172.16.4.0/27 [110/64] via 172.16.200.2, Serial0/0

All routes that have a different prefix length are considered different
destinations by the router. The router will install multiple routes from
different routing protocols as a result. The administrative distance only
applies to routes that have the same destination (same prefix length).

Per-Hop IP Addressing
The source and destination IP address do not change between endpoints.
They are written to the IP header at an originating endpoint only. For
example, packets originating at host-1 would have source IP address of
the host. The same packets would have destination IP address of the
server. Conversely, packets in the reverse direction would have server as
source IP address and host as destination IP address. The same occurs
with Telnet session initiated from a router for example. The local router
and neighbor router are endpoints for IP addressing.

Example: IP Packet Header

Refer to the network topology drawing. The host is sending data to an
application on server-1. What is source and destination IP address of
packets at P1 based on per hop addressing rules?

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Figure 5 Per Hop IP Addressing

There is a per hop forwarding path from host-1 to server-1. The source
and destination IP address do not change between host and server. The
source IP address is 192.168.1.1 (host) and destination IP address is
192.168.3.1 (server). MAC addressing is updated by each router hop.

 Source IP address = 192.168.1.1

 Destination IP address = 192.168.3.1

Frame Rewrite
As packets traverse the network through each routing hop there is frame
rewrite. When a data message arrives, the router examines IP header to
select a route for forwarding. Once the route is selected from the routing
table, then frame rewrite occurs.

The router strips off the Ethernet frame header and rewrites a new frame
with source and destination MAC address. Source MAC address is the
local exit Ethernet interface of router. The next hop neighbor Ethernet
interface MAC address is written to the new frame as destination MAC
address.

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Figure 6 Frame Rewrite

Example 1: Frame Rewrite

Refer to the network drawing. What is the source and destination MAC
address of the frame at P1 when it is forwarded to router-2?

Figure 7 Ethernet Frame Rewrite

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Consider that MAC addressing is required so that data messages arrive

at the correct destination. For example, the local switch connected to a
server would examine the incoming frame of a data message.

It is the destination MAC address that is used for forwarding frames to the
destination server. Layer 3 devices rewrite source and destination MAC
address per hop. The source MAC address for this example is derived
from router-1 interface Gi1/1. The destination MAC address is derived
from router-2 interface Gi1/1 and obtained from an ARP table lookup.

 Source MAC address = 0000.000c.cccc

 Destination MAC address = 0000.000d.dddd

Example 2: Frame Rewrite

Refer to the network topology drawing and output from the show arp
command on router-1. What frame rewrite occurs at P1 before packet is
forwarded to router-2?

Figure 8 Frame Rewrite on Serial Interfaces

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router-1# show arp

Protocol Address Age Hardware Addr. Type Interface

Internet 172.16.1.3 - 0000.000b.bbbb ARPA GigabitEthernet0/1

Internet 172.16.1.1 12 0000.000a.aaaa ARPA GigabitEthernet0/1
Internet 172.16.2.2 12 0000.000d.dddd ARPA
Internet 172.16.3.1 12 0000.1234.5678 ARPA

Answer
The output from show arp command lists the IP address and associated
hardware address. That includes all ARP requests performed by router-1.
Match the IP address from the network topology drawing with MAC
address in the ARP table.

There is an Aging field with (-) indicates the MAC address of interface
Gi0/1 on router-1. It does not age out from the table. The default ARP
entry aging timer is 240 minutes. At that point the entry is flushed and
new ARP request is required. The Interface field signifies where the MAC
address was learned.

The router will update (rewrite) the source and destination MAC address.
The router rewrites the source MAC address with the MAC address of
router-1 interface Gi0/1. The destination MAC address is rewritten with
interface Gi0/1 on router-2.

Serial interfaces do not have a MAC address. The router would assign
the MAC address of the Ethernet interface where frames arrived (were
learned) for source MAC address.

ARP Table Entry

Internet 172.16.1.3 - 0000.000b.bbbb ARPA GigabitEthernet0/1
Internet 172.16.2.2 12 0000.000d.dddd ARPA

Frame Rewrite
source MAC address = 0000.000b.bbbb
destination MAC address = 0000.000d.dddd

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Example 3: Frame Rewrite

Refer to the network drawing. What is the source and destination MAC
address at P1? What is the source and destination IP address at P2?

Figure 9 Per Hop Frame Rewrite

The source and destination MAC address are rewritten at each router
hop. The switch only examines the source and destination MAC address.
Host-1 sends a packet at P1 with MAC address of network interface as
source MAC address (0000.000a.aaaa). The destination MAC address at
P1 is router-1 interface Gi0/0 (0000.000b.bbbb). Layer 2 switches are
never the destination for a MAC address. They only forward frames and
must know the destination MAC address.

The source and destination IP address do not change as packets traverse

the network. The source IP address is 192.168.1.1 (host) and destination
IP address is 192.168.3.1 (server).

P1: source MAC address = 0000.000a.aaaa

P1: destination MAC address = 0000.000b.bbbb
P2: source IP address = 192.168.1.1 (host-1)
P2: destination IP address = 192.168.3.1 (server-1)

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Endpoints: Follow the Packet

The following explains how communication is enabled between endpoints
after DHCP server assigns IP addressing. In fact, DHCP, DNS and ARP
are address-based protocols used for TCP session setup. Once there is
TCP session established, routing can occur and data is sent between
endpoints as shown with Figure 10.

1. The host sends a DNS request for the IP address of server.

2. The host sends an ARP broadcast request to the default gateway

(router-1 interface IP address) for its MAC address.

3. There is a unicast packet sent from router-1 to host with the MAC
address assigned to default gateway interface.

4. ARP entry is added to the local ARP table of router-1 with the host IP
address and MAC address.

5. The host sends the first ICMP echo request to router-1 with
destination MAC address of the default gateway and destination IP
address of the server.

 source MAC address = host

 destination MAC address = router-1
 source IP address = host
 destination IP address = server

6. There is an ARP table lookup on router-1 for the server MAC address.
Since ARP table on router-1 has no entry for the server, first ICMP
echo request packet is dropped.

7. Proxy ARP request is sent from router-1 to the server for its MAC
address.

8. The server sends an ARP reply to router-1 with server MAC address
and router-1 updates the local ARP table.

9. The host sends a second ICMP echo request to router-1.

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Figure 10 Follow the Packet

10. ARP table lookup is performed on router-1 for the server MAC
address. In addition there is a routing table lookup for server subnet.
The router then rewrites (updates) packet IP address field and frame
MAC address field. The packet is then forwarded to next hop address
of router-2.

 source MAC address = router-1

 destination MAC address = router-2
 source IP address = host
 destination IP address = server

11. The packet arrives at router-2 where there is an ARP table lookup for
the server MAC address. In addition there is a routing table lookup for
server subnet to forward packets. The router rewrites the packet and
frame, before it is forwarded out the router interface connected to
switch-2.

 source MAC address = router-2

 destination MAC address = server
 source IP address = host
 destination IP address = server

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12. The packet arrives at switch-2 where there is a MAC address table
lookup for the server MAC address. The packet is forwarded out of
the switch port assigned to the server.

13. The server receive the packet and all headers are stripped off before
payload is forwarded to the application.

14. The server sends TCP ACK to the host for the next TCP window
sequence of packets for TCP-based applications only.

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IPv4 and IPv6 Static Routing

The purpose of a route is to enable end-to-end network connectivity
between endpoints. There is always a forward and reverse path between
endpoints. The routing table is comprised of multiple routes that are often
from different sources. The route type can be classified as either
connected, static or dynamic. The distinction is in how the local router
learns of the route. For example, connected routes are automatically
learned while static and default routes are manually configured.

Dynamic routes are learned from a directly connected neighbor that

advertises locally known routes. Most routes point to a subnet however
there are also host routes that are based on a host address. It is routers
and Layer 3 switches that are configured with routing services. There are
firewalls as well that support routing services. Consider as well that static
and dynamic routing support both IPv4 and IPv6 address space.

Connected Route
Connected routes are not manually configured or dynamic. They are
automatically added to a routing table. The route entry includes a local
network interface. Local router interfaces are configured with an IP
address that is within a particular subnet. Anytime routing services are
enabled, you will notice at least some connected routes in the routing
table. The router installs a corresponding local host route as well for each
connected interface. It is assigned a /32 subnet mask that indicates a
host route. For example, consider a local physical interface assigned
192.168.1.1/24 address. The connected route added to the routing table
is the following route entry. Connected routes have an administrative
distance of zero (0) and metric of zero (0).

C 192.168.1.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0

L 192.168.1.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/0

IPv4 Static Route

Static and connected routes are the most common route types. The static
route is an explicitly configured route. It is automatically added to the
routing table upon configuration. It has an administrative distance of 1
and metric of zero (0). That is lower than any dynamically learned route,
so they are preferred over dynamic routes to the same destination. Static
routes are not advertised to neighbors unless they are advertised through
a dynamic routing protocol.

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S 172.16.1.1 [1/0] via 192.168.1.1

The static route is more specific than a default route and selected for a
route to the same destination.

 The static route reads from left to right - to reach this destination
subnet, forward packets to this next hop address or exit this local
interface.

 The next hop is the IP address of connected neighbor network

interface.

 Local exit interface is an alternative to next hop address for packet

forwarding.

 Static routing must be configured in both directions to forward packets.

There is always an originating path and return path to enable end-to-
end connectivity between endpoints.

 Endpoints are assigned an IP address that has a destination subnet.

 Compared with dynamic routing there is more security, no routing

updates and less CPU usage. Manually configured routes are
managed and provide deterministic packet forwarding.

Static Route Configuration

Static routes are configured from global configuration mode. The
advantages are added security with manual routes and less updates
compared with dynamic routing protocols. The next hop to a destination
network (subnet) is configured as an IP address or local exit interface.

Figure 11 Static Routing Components

destination subnet mask next hop

The following example forwards all packets destined for 72.16.3.0/24

subnet to 172.16.12.1 next hop address. The router does a routing table
recursive lookup for an exit interface associated with that next hop.
That is a connected route since it is directly associated with a local
interface. The neighbor has a connected interface within same subnet.

router(config)# ip route 172.16.3.0 255.255.255.0 172.16.12.1

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Local Exit Interface

Alternatively, you can configure a local exit interface instead of next hop
address for routing. You would configure the local interface that is directly
connected to the next hop neighbor.

Figure 12 Static Route Local Interface

destination subnet mask local interface

The following example configures a static route with next hop as a local
exit interface. All packets destined for 192.168.1.0/24 are forwarded out
of local interface Gigabitethernet0/1. The local interface is connected to a
neighbor on the same subnet with a route to the destination.

router(config)# ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 Gig0/1

Example: Static Route

Refer to the network drawing. What are two configuration methods could
enable a static route to 192.168.3.0/24 subnet?

Figure 13 Static Route

Answer
The following two options would enable routing from 192.168.1.0/24
subnet to 192.168.3.0/24 subnet.

router-1(config)# ip route 192.168.3.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.2.2

router-1(config)# ip route 192.168.3.0 255.255.255.0 Serial1/0

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The first command configures a static route on router-1 with next hop
address of 172.16.2.2. The optional IOS command configures next hop
as local exit interface Serial1/0 on router-1. Wildcard masks are not used
when configuring static routes.

Example 2: Bidirectional Path Forwarding

Refer to the network topology drawing. There are no dynamic routing
protocols enabled on router-1 or router-2. What routing configuration is
required to enable routing between host and server subnets?

Figure 14 Bidirectional Forwarding Path

There are no dynamic routing protocols such as OSPF that automatically

advertise routes between neighbors. All routes between endpoints must
have a return or reverse path. The solution is to configure a static route
on each router for both directions.

router-1(config)# ip route 192.168.3.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.2.2

router-2(config)# ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.2.1

When hosts send data to the server, router-1 will use the static route with
next hop address to reach the server subnet. Conversely, when the
server returns data, router-2 will use the static route with next hop to the
host subnet. The following describes router logic for all packets that are
originating at a host.

Source Path
The first IOS command reads - to reach server destination subnet
192.168.3.0 forward packets to next hop 192.168.2.2 address.

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Reverse Path
The second IOS command reads - to reach host destination subnet
192.168.1.0 forward packets to next hop 192.168.2.1 address.

IPv6 Static Route

Cisco network devices support static routing for network interfaces that
are assigned an IPv6 address. The IOS syntax is different since it is
based on IPv6 addressing. There are the same components however of
destination network and next hop address or local interface. The structure
of 128-bit IPv6 addressing is quite different from IPv4 addressing. The
subnet mask of an IPv6 address is slash notation instead of dotted
decimal (255.255.255.0).

Table 3 IPv6 Route Type Examples

Route Type Example

network prefix /64
default route ipv6 route ::/0 2001:DB8:3C4D:2::1
point-to-point address /126
host route /128
floating static ipv6 route 2001:DB8::/32 Fa1/0 200
static route ipv6 route 2001:DB8:3C4D::/64 Gi1/1
fully specified static ipv6 route 2001:DB8:3C4D::/64 Gi1/1 FE80::2
host route /128
directly connected static ipv6 route 2001:DB8::/32 serial 1/0

IPv6 packet forwarding must first be enabled globally on the network

device with ipv6 unicast-routing command. The following configure an
IPv6 static route to destination network 2001:DB8:3C4D:1::/64 with next
hop address 2001:DB8:3C4D:2::1.

ipv6 unicast-routing
ipv6 route 2001:DB8:3C4D:1::/64 2001:DB8:3C4D:2::1

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The following command configure an IPv6 static route with next hop as a
local interface. The router forwards all packets out local interface Gig0/0
destined for network address (subnet) 2001:DB8:3C4D:1::/64.

ipv6 route 2001:DB8:3C4D:1::/64 Gigabitethernet0/0

The other option for configuring an IPv6 static route include the next hop
IPv6 address that is fully specified. It applies only to a broadcast
(Ethernet) network. The local interface must be specified as well when the
next hop is an IPv6 link-local (FE80::2) address.

ipv6 route 2001:DB8:3C4D::/64 Gig0/0 FE80::2

IPv4 Floating Static Route

Any static route configured with a higher administrative distance than a
static route is a floating static route. It is installed in the routing table only
when the standard static route is not available. That could result from a
link failure for example. The static route has a lower administrative
distance (1) compared with the floating static route. As a result, it is
selected and installed as the primary route.

The floating static route is typically configured to forward traffic across a

backup link for failover purposes. The floating static route with the higher
administrative distance (AD) of 200 for example, becomes active only
when the primary static route is not available. In fact, any administrative
distance higher than 1 would work. The following floating static route
configured as a backup link on a router.

ip route 172.16.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.1 200

 Destination subnet = 172.16.1.0

 Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0 (/24)
 Next hop IP address = 192.168.12.1
 Administrative distance = 200

There is a high number often assigned to a floating static route. That

prevents it from being inadvertently installed in the routing table ahead of
a dynamic route. That could occur for example, with an OSPF route that
has administrative distance of 110. Assigning AD 100 to a floating static
route would install it instead of an OSPF route to the same destination.

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Example: Floating Static Route

Refer to the network drawing. What IOS command will configure a
floating (backup) static route with AD 200 on router-1 to destination
network 192.168.3.0/24?

Figure 15 Floating Static Route

Answer
The primary link has a direct route from router-1 to 192.168.3.0/24 via
next hop 172.16.1.2 address on router-3. The floating static route is
installed in the routing table when the primary link fails. Traffic destined
for subnet 192.168.3.0 is then forwarded to router-2 using next hop
192.168.2.2 address.

The administrative distance of a static route is 1. The following IOS

command will configure a floating static route on router-1 to subnet
192.168.3.0/24 with administrative distance of 200. You could assign any
value greater than 1 to the static route. The much higher AD guarantees
that routes with a high AD are not inadvertently replaced by the floating
static route.

ip route 192.168.3.0 255.255.255.0 172.16.2.2 200

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 Destination network address = 192.168.3.0

 Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0 (/24)
 Next hop IP address = 172.16.2.2
 Administrative distance = 200

IPv4 Default Route

The default route is referred to as gateway of last resort in the routing
table. All packets are forwarded to the default route when there is no
route in the routing table. There is a next hop IP address specified with
the default route.

The default route reads from left to right – forward all traffic to this next
hop address when there is no route in the routing table to the destination
network. The default route is often configured as an external route for
forwarding packets to the internet. They are used as well for some branch
offices that only have a single link.

There is only a single route to all remote destinations. That minimizes the
routing table size and router CPU utilization. The administrative distance
of default and static routes is 1. In addition, both have the same metric of
zero. The following configuration is a default route with next hop address
of 172.33.1.1 to the internet. The default route will forward all packets with
an unknown destination to the next hop address.

ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.33.1.1

The router will discard packets when there is no destination route in the
routing table and no default route exists. ICMP destination unreachable
error message is then sent to the source. This is an example of a default
route installed in the routing table.

S* 0.0.0.0/0 [1/0] via 172.33.1.1

Cisco network devices also support default routing with interfaces that
have an IPv6 address. The following configuration is an IPv6 default route
with next hop 2001:DB8:3C4D:2::1 address. The next hop address is
assigned to the interface of an ISP router for an internet connection.

router(config)# ipv6 unicast-routing

router(config)# ipv6 route ::/0 2001:DB8:3C4D:2::1

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Example 1: Default Route

Refer to the network topology drawing. What route is required on router-1
to forward all internet traffic to ISP?

Figure 16 Default Forwarding Path to the Internet

Answer
The default route is used to forward packets when no specific route exists
in the routing table to a destination. The default route on router-1 forwards
all traffic to ISP next hop 172.16.2.2 when the destination is unknown.

router-1(config)# ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.33.1.2

It is common to assign a default route for internet access instead of

having external routes in a local routing table. The ISP router is
responsible for all return path traffic. The router will discard the packet
when there is no destination route in the routing table and no default route
is configured. The router sends an ICMP Destination Unreachable error
message to the source.

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Example 2: Default Route

Refer to the network topology drawing. What is the easiest solution to
enable routing between router-1 and the corporate data center?

Figure 17 Default Route to the Data Center

Answer
The easiest solution for connecting a branch office (router-1) to a data
center is with a default route. All packets with an external destination are
forwarded to the data center.

The following IOS global command configures a default route. All traffic is
forwarded to next hop 192.168.2.2 address. That is the IP address of the
data center router (DC-1) interface Gi1/1.

router-1(config)# ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.2.2

The use of static routes would require multiple configurations for each
destination. The default route will forward all packets arriving for any
destination address to the next hop IP address.

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