zeroconf (Zero configuration networking), is a techniques that automatically creates a usable Internet Protocol (IP) network without manual operator intervention or special configuration servers. 169.254.0.0/255.255.0.0 route is part of zeroconf under RHEL 6 / CentOS 6 or older versions. To see current routing table, enter:

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# route -n

Sample outputs:

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Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
74.8x.4y.zz     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.248 U     0      0        0 eth1
10.10.29.64     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.192 U     0      0        0 eth0
169.254.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.0.0     U     1002   0        0 eth0
169.254.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.0.0     U     1003   0        0 eth1
10.0.0.0        10.10.29.65     255.0.0.0       UG    0      0        0 eth0
0.0.0.0         74.8x.yy.zz     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth1

Every time the server or Linux desktop boots, the zeroconf route 169.254.0.0 is enabled and added to the kernel routing table. To disable zeroconf route under RHEL / CentOS / Fedora Linux, enter:

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# vi /etc/sysconfig/network

Append the following directive:

NOZEROCONF=yes
Save and close the file. Reboot the system / server or restart the networking service:

Verify routing table, enter:

route -n

ip route