When are connected routes added?

• A. When a valid IP is on a valid interface
• B. When the interface is down
• C. When a static route is configured
• D. When DHCP assigns a route

Answer: (A)

Connected routes represent networks that are directly reachable through an interface. They are created automatically as soon as a valid IP address is assigned to a usable (up) interface, so the router knows which network sits on that side of the link. If the interface has no valid IP or is not up, that direct network isn’t considered reachable and the connected route isn’t added. A static route is a manually configured path to another network, which is different from the automatically created connected route. DHCP can provide an IP address, and if the interface is up, that enables the connected route to exist, but the mechanism being tested is the presence of an IP on a functioning interface, not the act of DHCP supplying a route.