Which three conditions does the Junos OS use to create a figure-of-merit value for each...

In Junos OS, the figure-of-merit is an internal numerical value used by the BGP Route Damping mechanism to quantify the stability of a specific BGP route. When a route " flaps " (becomes unstable), the Junos OS increases this value by assigning a specific penalty based on the type of event that occurred:

The route is withdrawn (Option A): When a BGP neighbor sends a withdrawal message for a prefix, Junos assigns a significant penalty—typically 1,000 by default—to the route ' s figure-of-merit.

The route is readvertised (Option C): When a previously withdrawn route is announced again by the neighbor, the Junos OS adds another penalty to the figure-of-merit value to track the continued instability.

The route ' s path attributes changed (Option E): If a route remains reachable but its BGP attributes (such as the AS Path or Community) change, it is considered a flap. Junos assigns a smaller penalty—typically 500 by default—for this attribute change.

As the figure-of-merit accumulates and exceeds a predefined suppress threshold , the route is suppressed and no longer used for forwarding. Over time, the value decreases according to a configured half-life until it falls below a reuse threshold , at which point the route becomes active again. Factors like local preference or the origin (IBGP/EBGP) do not trigger these internal penalty increments for the figure-of-merit.