Static Routes require..."space"? What?

[RyanB]

So..i paid good money for a practice exam ($140 CAD) from what Cisco considers a reputable company. They even sell the exams on their website....

Here is one of the many questionable questions/answers I encountered:

- Which two statements describe the benefits of static routing?

• Correct 1: Static routing provides ease of routing table maintenance in smaller networks...etc
• Correct 2: A static route requires 16 octets of space with just over three kilobytes of overhead.

*Ahem*...I'm sorry what?

- Apparently, this is their explanation (quoted):

• Static routing requires very little space. It needs 16 octets of space with just over 3 kb of overhead.

Can anybody explain how this could possibly be a viable answer?

I searched for this term, the CLOSEST result I could find is:

Consider a network with 200 network segments. Every 30 seconds, as required
by the RIP specification, the routers all send an update containing 
reachability information for all 200 of these segments. With each route 
taking 16 octets of space, plus a small amount of overhead, the minimum size
for an update in this network is over three kilobytes. 

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/tip/Advantages-of-static-routing

Did this recommended practice exam seriously just misinterpret that paragraph..or have a I gravely misunderstood static routing for my entire life?

[Flavio Miranda]

Hi @RyanB

Sorry to disappoint  you but this statement is indeed correct. I could find this in many place.

 The paragraph you read is about RIP and not static route.

https://books.google.com.br/books?id=bRUSmr7GCI4C&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=A+static+route+requires+16+octets+of+space&source=bl&ots=SWSQ_lZNg_&sig=adkIEnETuuJtfaSWsvadZbOq5f0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2xqXt0bLXAhVEkJAKHR9iAHUQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=A%20stati...

quires%2016%20octets%20of%20space&f=false

-If I helped you somehow, please, rate it as useful.-

[RyanB]

That is entirely my point, this information is about RIP routes - not static ones. Even the link you just sent me from that book is referencing the same content as my link, and it too is about RIP routes.

I think you misread what im saying in my original post.

[Flavio Miranda]

The link I send is about : Advantages of Static Routing.

There´s no RIP in there. 

[RyanB]

Yes, and if you actually read it, it is LITERALLY the exact same sentence as what I quoted in my original post from another website, in addition, it comparing RIP routes to static routes.

"Consider a network with 200 network segments. Every 30 seconds, as required
by the RIP specification, the routers all send an update containing
reachability information for all 200 of these segments. With each route
taking 16 octets of space, plus a small amount of overhead, the minimum size
for an update in this network is over three kilobytes. "

[Jon Marshall · Accepted solution]

I agree, the answer makes little sense and seems to have been provided by someone who doesn't fully understand what they are referencing. 

I think what they are trying to say is an advantage of static routing is that no updates are required between routers hence saving on network bandwidth and router resources having to process the updates but that is not what that answer is saying. 

I would be as confused as you if I came across that in a test.

Jon

[Hulk8647]

What were the other answer choices.?

[RyanB]

The other options for the question were:

1. The packet travels a smaller distance and is secured with two-way authentication. (obviously incorrect)
2. Static routing is independent of the network size
3. Static routing is suitable for multiple router topologies.

I was torn between #2 and #3 when doing the practice exam as I feel both are correct to a certain degree.

The explanation provided for why these answers are incorrect are:

• Static routing is never independent of network size. it will be very hard to implement on larger networks spanning multiple regions. So it is dependent on network size. 
• Static routing is not suitable for multiple router topologies because it will be very difficult to configure, maintain and troubleshoot a large network with multiple routers manually.

Both explanations, in my opinion, expand far beyond the simple wording provided as options for answers in the question.

Any size network can utilize static routing, static routing IS independent of the network size. The issue is that it is not as scalable as dynamic routing if your plan is to only use statics. However, no where in the answer does it say that the network must use ONLY static routing. A massive network FULL of dynamic routing protocols can certainly still use static routing in areas where applicable.

Also, any topology can also use static routing, like a hub-and-spoke or full mesh, etc (or at least thats what I assume they mean by topology). It's not like configuring a full mesh topology suddenly means you can never use static routes again.

I was simply blown away when I go and get 93% on the practice exam and see these bogus questions marked wrong. I have already emailed their support team about a handful of other questions I discovered that are fundamentally wrong as well.

I would steer clear from purchasing MeasureUP practice tests, im trying to get my money back.

[RyanB]

Thank you Jon, good to know im not going insane.

[karim.salem]

By the way, they didn't correct that till now.. i was googling that and i fount your post.. the problem is that even the link they reference to mention that static routing require very little overhead.

http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2180210&seqNum=5