Which feature of HSRP allows it to appear as a single virtual gateway to hosts?

In Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), the feature that enables it to present itself as a single virtual gateway to hosts is virtual IP addressing. HSRP allows multiple routers to work together to provide a high-availability solution for routed networks. When hosts are configured with the virtual IP address as their default gateway, they do not need to know the specifics of the actual physical routers participating in HSRP.

The virtual IP address serves as a stable point of reference that remains constant, even if the active router changes due to a failover event. This seamless transition contributes to network reliability, as hosts will continue to send packets to the same virtual IP address irrespective of which router is currently active in the HSRP group.

This capability is essential for ensuring that network communication remains uninterrupted in the event that the primary gateway becomes unavailable, as the standby router will take over the responsibilities while maintaining the same virtual IP address.