Which statement defines the default gateway?

Which statement defines the default gateway?

• A. The IP address on a Layer 3 device that serves as an access point to/from a network
• B. The IP address of a host's NIC
• C. The MAC address of the router
• D. The broadcast address of the local subnet

Answer: (A)

The default gateway is the IP address on a Layer 3 device that serves as the access point to/from the local network. In practice, it’s the router’s IP address on your subnet that devices use as the next-hop when a destination is not on the local subnet. Your device forwards non-local traffic to this gateway, and the gateway handles routing it toward the correct external network. The gateway is typically found by ARP on the local network to map the router’s IP to its MAC, enabling actual frame delivery. The other options don’t fit because the host’s NIC IP is the device’s own address, not the route to other networks; the MAC address of the router is a hardware address, not the gateway’s IP; and the broadcast address is used to reach all hosts on the local subnet, not to route traffic to other networks.

The default gateway is the IP address on a Layer 3 device that serves as the access point to/from the local network. In practice, it’s the router’s IP address on your subnet that devices use as the next-hop when a destination is not on the local subnet. Your device forwards non-local traffic to this gateway, and the gateway handles routing it toward the correct external network. The gateway is typically found by ARP on the local network to map the router’s IP to its MAC, enabling actual frame delivery. The other options don’t fit because the host’s NIC IP is the device’s own address, not the route to other networks; the MAC address of the router is a hardware address, not the gateway’s IP; and the broadcast address is used to reach all hosts on the local subnet, not to route traffic to other networks.