What is the outcome of a higher administrative distance in routing?

A higher administrative distance in routing indicates that a route is less preferred compared to routes with lower administrative distances. Administrative distance is a value used by routers to rank the trustworthiness of information received from different routing protocols. When a router receives information about the same destination through various protocols, it uses the administrative distance to decide which route to use.

If a route has a higher administrative distance, it typically indicates that the source of the route is less reliable or less preferred. Therefore, in scenarios where a router has access to multiple routes, it will select the route with the lowest administrative distance. Consequently, routes with higher administrative distances may be effectively ignored in favor of those with more favorable and lower distances, which can lead to improved routing decisions and overall network efficiency.

This concept is essential for network professionals to understand, as it assists in determining the most efficient and reliable paths for data transmission within a network. The other options imply scenarios that do not align with how administrative distances function in routing protocols.