Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The default OSPF priority number for routers is 1. This priority value is used in the process of electing the designated router (DR) and backup designated router (BDR) in a broadcast network environment, such as an Ethernet segment. The designated router is responsible for reducing OSPF protocol traffic by acting as a central point for the exchange of routing information.

If a router needs to be preferred as a designated router, the OSPF priority can be adjusted. A higher priority number increases the likelihood of a router becoming the DR, while a lower number reduces that chance. By default, if a router has a priority of 1, it is eligible to become the DR, but it is not guaranteed. A priority set to 0 will prevent the router from being elected as either a DR or BDR, while a priority of 255 indicates that the router should always be elected as the DR if it is operational.

Thus, the establishment of a default priority of 1 allows routers to actively participate in the OSPF neighbor relationship and flow of information while still providing a basis for priority adjustments by network administrators.