Cisco ENCOR Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Enterprise Network Core Technologies!

GLBP, or Gateway Load Balancing Protocol, utilizes the multicast group address 224.0.0.102. This specific multicast address is reserved for GLBP to facilitate communication among gateways in a local area network (LAN). When a GLBP router sends messages, such as hello packets to establish neighbor relationships and load balancing information, it uses this multicast address to reach all routers participating in the GLBP group.

The significance of using this multicast address is that it allows multiple routers to receive GLBP traffic simultaneously. This is essential for the protocol as it maintains an active communication channel among all routers in a GLBP group to ensure synchronized operations. Each of the other multicast addresses listed serves different network protocols or functionalities, making them unsuitable for GLBP's requirements. The specific selection of 224.0.0.102 for GLBP is a critical detail in understanding how this protocol operates within a multi-gateway environment.