Which type of routes are manually configured by the network administrator as the only path to a destination?

• A. Dynamic routes
• B. Static routes
• C. Gateway routes
• D. Default routes

Answer: (B)

Fixed, manually configured routes give a single, unchanging path to a destination; these are static routes. They’re entered by the network administrator and are not learned or updated by routing protocols. Because the path is explicit, the router will use that exact next-hop for traffic to the specified destination, making it deterministic and predictable. This is useful in simple networks or when you need complete control over which path traffic takes, such as routing to a specific gateway or network. Dynamic routes, learned through protocols like OSPF or BGP, can change based on network conditions and may offer multiple paths, so they aren’t the “only path” that a destination would use. A default route is a catch-all static entry used only when there isn’t a more specific route, so it doesn’t describe having a dedicated, sole path to a particular destination.