By default, static routes are not retained in the forwarding table when the routing process shuts down. When the routing process starts up again, any routes configured as static routes must be added to the forwarding table again. To avoid this latency, routes can be flagged as retain, so that they are kept in the forwarding table even after the routing process shuts down. Retention ensures that the routes are always in the forwarding table, even immediately after a system reboot.