City Hall wants unequal-cost multipath awareness historically associated with EIGRP, not only equal-cost paths. How does that differ from classic OSPF behavior?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
OSPF likes fair shares—same cost or you walk alone. EIGRP can loosen the belt with variance and share across unequal metrics. That is the classic multipath personality difference.
Full Explanation
Classic OSPF multipath installs multiple routes when SPF yields equal cost; unequal-cost paths are not part of ordinary OSPF ECMP behavior. EIGRP, by contrast, can install unequal-cost paths using the variance feature when feasible successors fall within the variance-adjusted metric range. City Hall’s desire for unequal-cost multipath awareness therefore maps to EIGRP variance behavior rather than classic OSPF equal-cost-only multipath—the distinction the stem asks you to identify.
The claim that OSPF always load-balances unequal-cost paths by default without any SPF calculation is false on both counts: SPF is central to OSPF, and unequal-cost sharing is not the default model. Saying EIGRP cannot install more than one path even when metrics are equal is wrong; EIGRP supports equal-cost multipath and, with variance, unequal-cost sharing. Claiming both protocols install unequal-cost paths automatically with identical configuration knobs erases the tested difference—variance is an EIGRP-centric tool in this ENCOR framing.
Exam caveat: variance alone is not enough—routes must be feasible successors (advertised distance less than the successor’s feasible distance) to avoid loops. OSPF traffic engineering or vendor-specific tricks are outside the classic comparison. Equal-cost OSPF ECMP still requires identical costs; tinkering with interface cost is how you deliberately equalize paths.
Operational check: on EIGRP civic WAN routers, identify feasible successors, apply a controlled variance, confirm unequal-cost paths install safely, and contrast with OSPF where only equal-cost routes appear in the routing table for the same destination family.