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Commonly confused · Routing & Switching

Administrative Distance vs Metric: What's the Difference?

Administrative distance ranks the trustworthiness of route sources and is used when different protocols offer a route to the same prefix. A metric compares paths learned within the same routing protocol to pick the best one.

Administrative Distance

Full definition
vs
Administrative DistanceMetric
ComparesRoutes from different sources/protocolsRoutes from the same protocol
Lower is betterYesYes
ScopeLocal to the router; not advertisedCalculated and often advertised by the protocol
ExamplesConnected 0, static 1, eBGP 20, EIGRP 90, OSPF 110, RIP 120OSPF cost, EIGRP composite, RIP hop count
AppliedBefore metricAfter AD picks the protocol
ConfigurableYes, e.g. floating static routesYes, e.g. interface cost or bandwidth
Remember it

AD picks which source to believe; metric picks which path within that source.

Exam tip

Route-selection order is heavily tested: longest prefix match first, then lowest administrative distance, then lowest metric. A /28 always beats a /24 regardless of AD.

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