What is the purpose of a routing policy?

The purpose of a routing policy is to control the advertised routes and path selection in routing protocols. Routing policies are essential in managing how routes are selected and communicated between different routers within a network. They allow network administrators to define specific rules and preferences for route advertisement and selection based on various criteria such as the source of the route, performance metrics, or administrative preferences.

By implementing a routing policy, a network operator can influence which paths are preferred for traffic routing, potentially optimizing network performance, managing load balancing, and ensuring compliance with organizational requirements for data paths. This is particularly important in complex networks where multiple routes exist to a destination, as it can greatly affect the overall efficiency and reliability of the network.

Other options might touch upon aspects relevant to networking, but they do not encapsulate the primary function of routing policies as effectively as managing route advertisement and selection does.