Which of the following statements is false about OSPF area partitioning?

The statement that only Area Border Routers (ABRs) can function as Autonomous System Boundary Routers (ASBRs) is false. An ASBR is any OSPF router that injects external routes (from other routing protocols or static routes) into the OSPF domain. An ASBR can be an internal router within any area (including the backbone area) or it can also be an ABR. Its role is defined by its connection to an external network, not its position relative to OSPF areas.

B. This is a fundamental rule of OSPF multi-area design. All non-backbone areas must have a direct or virtual link connection to the backbone area (Area 0).
C. This is a primary advantage of OSPF areas. Area partitioning limits the scope of LSA flooding, reducing the LSDB size on routers and conserving CPU and memory resources.
D. This is a requirement for correct OSPF operation. All routers within the same OSPF area must maintain an identical LSDB for that area to calculate a consistent, loop-free intra-area topology.

1. Huawei HedEx Documentation, HCIA-Datacom V1.0 Training Material, "OSPF Basics", Section: "OSPF Router Roles". This section defines an ASBR as a router that exchanges routing information with other routing protocols and clarifies that it can reside in any area.

2. Moy, J. (1998). RFC 2328: OSPF Version 2. The Internet Society. Section 3.1, "Router types". The RFC defines an AS boundary router based on its function of importing external routes, without restricting its location to being an ABR.