When learning multiple routes from the same routing protocol, what is used to determine which route is preferred?

In networking, when a router learns about multiple routes to the same destination from the same routing protocol, the preferred route is determined using the metric associated with those routes. The metric is a value that indicates the "cost" of using that routing path, which can be based on various factors like bandwidth, delay, load, and hop count, depending on the specific routing protocol.

Routing protocols such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), RIP (Routing Information Protocol), and EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) all utilize metrics to evaluate and choose the best path to forward packets. For instance, OSPF uses a cost based on the interface bandwidth, while RIP uses hop count as its metric.

While Administrative Distance (AD) is important in determining the trustworthiness of a routing source when routes from different protocols are compared, it is the metric that directly influences the choice of the preferred route among multiple options learned from the same protocol. Options focusing on reliability or cost could be components of other metrics but do not themselves determine route preference in this context.