Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Practice Test

What is one primary benefit of network summarization?

1. It increases individual subnet size

2. It enhances the detail of routing tables

3. It prevents unnecessary routing updates

4. It allows for automatic IP address assignment

The correct answer is: It prevents unnecessary routing updates

Network summarization is a technique employed in routing to combine multiple contiguous subnets into a single summarized route. This approach primarily contributes to the efficiency of the routing process by reducing the number of routes a router has to maintain and advertise. One of the primary benefits of network summarization is that it minimizes the amount of routing information shared across a network. By summarizing routes, routers can prevent unnecessary routing updates. When a summarized route is announced, it includes the information for all the underlying subnets, which means that less detailed information needs to be sent across the network. This leads to decreased network congestion and reduced strain on router resources, as fewer individual routing entries need to be managed and processed. While other choices may discuss aspects of networking, they do not capture this critical function of network summarization in the way that preventing unnecessary routing updates does. For instance, increasing individual subnet sizes or enhancing the detail of routing tables is contrary to the purpose of summarization, which is to simplify and consolidate routing information. Additionally, while automatic IP address assignment is an important networking concept, it does not relate directly to the benefits of summarization. Thus, the primary benefit lies in reducing the complexity and overhead of routing updates through effective summarization.