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06/10/2023, 22:14 Top 13 Most Asked OSPF Interview Questions - 2023

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Important OSPF Interview Questions and


Answers
February 18, 2023 by Aakriti

Whether you are preparing for Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) or Cisco
Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) exam, OSPF is one of the most important topics to
cover. Open Shortest Pathway First (OSPF) OSPF is the most important routing
protocol in the networking domain followed by BGP and MPLS.

In this blog, we have covered the most important OSPF interview questions and
answers. This is a helpful guide for you if you’re preparing to crack a Network Engineer
job position.

OSPF is a significant topic in both CCNP ENCOR (the core exam) and CCNP ENARSI
(the concentration exam). If you’re preparing for any of them, OSPF is an important
topic to consider.

Let’s begin with the basic to advanced OSPF questions to cover for you to crack OSPF
interviews like a pro.

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Top 13 Most Asked OSPF Interview Questions


with Answers - Interview Preprations

1. What is the OSPF routing protocol?


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Open Shortest Pathway First (OSPF) is an Open Standard Link State routing protocol.
It works with the help of Dijkstra algorithm to find the straight and the shortest paths.
It finds the best path between the source and the destination router. It follows that by
populating the routing table with resulting best paths.

2. Who developed the OSPF?

The OSPF was developed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It was earlier
developed as an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP). The primary aim of a protocol is to
move the packets within a large anonymous system or routing domain.

OSPF is a network layer protocol.

3. What are the main characteristics of OSPF?

Some of the most important characteristics of OSPF are as follows:

OSPF is a classless routing protocol.


It supports VLSM and CIDR.
It allows the creation of areas and autonomous systems.
It works on protocol number 89.
It is a network layer protocol.
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It uses multicast address 224.0.0.5 and 224.0.0.6 for updating to a router in


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case of normal communication.
It provides routing information to the TCP/IP model in the IP section.
It works on the Dijkstra SPF (Shortest Path First) algorithm to look for the
shortest path.
It uses cost as a metric that is computed on the basis of the bandwidth of the
link.
It supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
OSPF routers have an administrative distance of 110.
It supports unlimited Hop count.
It is more efficient in sending routing information than RIP (Routing information
Protocol).
OSPF forms neighbor relationships with adjacent routers in the same area.
OSPF advertises the status of directly connected links using the Link State
Advertisements (LSAs).
It does not advertise the distance to connected networks.
OSPF sends updates (LSAs) in the times when there is a change to one of its
links. It only sends the change during the updating process.

4. What is LSA in OSPF?

The LSAs (Link-State Advertisements) are used to exchange routing and


topology information to other local routers by OSPF routers.
While exchanging routes, the two neighboring routers send each other a list of
all the LSAs in their respective topology database.
The LSAs are exchanged between the two routers until all of them have the
same database of topology data.
Each router then checks its topology database and sends Link State Request
(LSR) message requesting all LSAs that were not found in its topology table.

5. What are the different LSA types in OSPF?

The different types of LSAs in OSPF are as follows:

LSA Type 1: Router LSA


Each router generates a Type 1 LSA that lists its active interfaces, IP addresses,
neighbors and the cost. LSA Type 1 is flooded only within an area.

LSA Type 2: Network LSA

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Type 2 LSA is sent out by the designated router (DR). It lists all the routers on
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the adjacent segment. Type 2 LSA are flooded only within an area. It contains
all the DR information.

LSA Type 3: Summary LSA


Type 3 LSAs are generated by Area Border Routers (ABRs) to advertise
networks from one area to the other areas in Autonomous System. It contains
the inter-area routes information.

LSA Type 4: Summary ASBR LSA


The ABR generates the type 4 LSA. It contains routes to ASBRs.

LSA Type 5: External LSA


External LSAs are generated by ASBRs. It contains routes to networks that are
external to current AS.

LSA Type 7: Not-So-Stubby Area LSA


Type 5 LSAs are not allowed by the stub areas. A Not So Stubby Area (NSSA)
allows advertisement of Type 5 LSA as Type 7 LSAs. Type LSA is generated by
an ASBR inside a Not So Stubby Area (NSSA) in order to describe routes
redistributed into the NSSA.

6. How to configure the OSPF routing protocol?

We use the following syntax to configure the OSPF routing


protocol: router(config)# router ospf 10

router(config-router)# network 12.1.1.0 0.0.0.225 area 0

router(config-router)# network23.1.0.0 0.0.255.255 area 1

router(config-router)# exit

Router ospf 10 command enables the OSPF process. Here “10” indicates the
OSPF process ID. This process ID can be different on neighbor routers.
Process ID allows multiple OSPF processes to run on the same router.
The second command configures 12.1.1.0/24 network in area 0.
The third command configures 23.1.0.0/16 network in area 1.

7. Mention the network types in the OSPF.

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The various types of networks in OSPF are: Contact us

Point-to-point:
The data packets are sent between exactly two routers.

Broadcast:
The data packets are sent from one router to multiple routers.

Non-broadcast:
The network in this type of network supports access to many devices. But it
does not allow the broadcast capability.

8. What is the difference between EIGRP and OSPF?

The differences between EIGRP and OSPF are as follows:

EIGRP OSPF

The full form of EIGRP is Enhances The full form of OSPF is Open
Interior Gateway Protocol. It is a hybrid Shortest Path First. It is a link-
type protocol. state protocol.

EIGRP needs very low CPU power and OSPF needs high processing
memory. power and memory.

It is based on Cisco Proprietary It is based on the IETF Open


standards. Standard.

The routing metrics consist of load, The routing metrics consist of


reliability, bandwidth and delay. interface bandwidth.

EIGRP allows summarization and


OSPF is possible only on ABR or
filtering. These are possible anywhere in
ASBR.
the network.

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9. What are the various OSPF router types?

There are four different types of OSPF routers:

Internal Routers (IR):


The Internal Routers are OSPF Routers whose interfaces belong to the same
area.

Backbone Routers (BR):


Backbone Routers are the OSPF Routers which act as Internal Router in Area 0.

Area Border Routers (ABR):


Area Border Routers are the OSPF Routers that have interfaces in more than
one area.

Autonomous System Boundary Routers (ASBR):


Autonomous System Boundary Routers are the OSPF Routers that advertise
external routes into the OSPF domain.

10. What is the role of topology and routing table used in OSPF?

The OSPF process is used to build and maintain three separate tables. These
are as follows:

Neighbor table:
The neighbor table consists of a list of all neighboring routers.

Topology table:
The topology table consists of a list of all possible routers to all known networks
within an area.

Routing table:
The routing table consists of the best route for each known network.

11. What are the issues resolved in OSPF by DR and BDR?

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DR and BDR act as the central point for exchanging OSPF routing information.
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Every non-DR and non-BDR router exchanges routing information with only the
DR and BDR. DR and BDR solve the following problems in OSPF:

Excessive LSA flooding on a broadcast segment


High number of Adjacencies on the MA network

12. What will be Hello/Dead timers in network having link capacity of


>T1 and <=T1?

For link above T1, i.e., 1.544 Mbps, Hello=10 seconds, Dead= 40 seconds.

For link = or below, Hello=30 seconds, Dead=120 seconds.

Dead interval is exactly four times than Hello. Its value cannot be set manually.

13. Can area 1 and area 2 exchange or advertise networks if they are
not connected to area 0 (Backbone area)? What do we need to do to
make it happen?

Area 1 and area2 can only exchange or advertise networks if they are connected to
area 0, or else the exchange of inter area routes won’t happen. Use the concept of
virtual link if it is not possible.

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FAQs

What is OSPF?

Open Shortest Pathway First (OSPF) is an Open Standard Link State


routing protocol. It works with the help of Dijkstra algorithm to find the
straight and the shortest paths.

What are the 4 types of OSPF routers?

What is the main function of OSPF?

What is full state in OSPF?

What layer is OSPF?

Which algorithm does OSPF use?

Is OSPF multicast?

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How to calculate cost in OSPF? Contact us

Blogs, CCIE, CCNP Route, CCNP Switching, Cisco Courses, Free Courses, Networking
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questions, ospf interview questions and answers ccie, ospf interview questions and
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wisdomjobs, What are the 7 stages of OSPF?, What are the four 4 types of OSPF
routers?, What are the OSPF packet types?, What is DR and BDR in OSPF?, What is
OSPF explain in interview?, What is stub area in OSPF?, What is the main purpose of
OSPF?, Which type of routing protocol is OSPF?
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