ITGN235
Principles of Networking
Routing Protocols
Objectives
Advantages and disadvantages of Static
Routing
Describe the role of dynamic routing
protocols and place these protocols in the
context of modern network design
Identify several ways to classify routing
protocols
Describe how metrics are used by routing
protocols and identify the metric types
used by dynamic routing protocols
Determine the administrative distance of
a route and describe its importance in the
routing process
Introducing Routing
Routing is the process that a router uses to forward
packets toward the destination network.
A router makes decisions based upon the destination
IP address of a packet.
In order to make the correct decisions, routers must
learn the direction to remote networks.
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Configuring Static Routes by
Specifying Next-Hop Addresses
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Static Routing
Advantages of static routing
It can backup multiple
interfaces/networks on a router
Easy to configure
No extra resources are needed
More secure
Disadvantages of static routing
Network changes require manual
reconfiguration
Does not scale well in large topologies
Routing Protocol
Router
Switch
Router Router
Router
Router
Switch What is
an optimal
route ?
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Dynamic Routing Protocols
Function(s) of Dynamic Routing
Protocols
Dynamically share information between
routers
Automatically update routing table
when topology changes
Determine best path to a destination
Dynamic Routing Protocols
The purpose of a dynamic routing
protocol
Discover remote networks
Maintaining up-to-date routing
information
Choosing the best path to destination
networks
Ability to find a new best path if the
current path is no longer available
Classifying Routing Protocols
Dynamic routing protocols are grouped
according to characteristics
Examples include:
RIP (Routing Information Protocol)
IGRP (Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)
EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing
Protocol)
OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)
IS-IS (Intermediate System - Intermediate
System)
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
Autonomous System is a group of
Classifying Routing Protocols
Types of routing protocols:
Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP)
Used for routing inside an autonomous
system
Used to route within the individual
networks themselves
Examples: RIP, EIGRP, OSPF
Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGP)
Used for routing between autonomous
systems
Example: BGP
Classifying Routing Protocols
Classifying Routing Protocols
IGP: Comparison of Distance Vector &
Link State Routing Protocols
Distance vector
routes are advertised as vectors of distance
& direction
incomplete view of network topology
Generally, periodic updates
Link state
complete view of network topology is
created
updates are not periodic
Classifying Routing Protocols
Classful
routing
protocols
Do NOT send subnet
mask in routing updates
Classless routing
protocols
Do send subnet mask in
routing updates
Routing Protocols Metrics
Metric
A value used by a routing protocol to
determine which routes are better than others
Routing Protocols Metrics
Metrics used in IP routing protocols
Bandwidth
Cost
Delay
Hop count
Load
Reliability
Routing Protocols Metrics
The Metric Field in the Routing Table
Metric used for each routing protocol
RIP - hop count
IGRP & EIGRP - Bandwidth (main, used
by default), Delay, Load, Reliability
IS-IS & OSPF – Cost, Bandwidth (Cisco’s
implementation)
Routing Protocols Metrics
Administrative Distance of a Route
Purpose of a metric
It’s a calculated value used to determine the
best path to a destination
Purpose of Administrative Distance
It’s a numeric value that specifies the
preference of a particular route (the lower, the
better)
Administrative Distance of a Route
Identifying the Administrative Distance (AD) in
a routing table
It is the first number in the brackets in the
routing table
Administrative Distance of a Route
Dynamic Routing Protocols
RIP Characteristics
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Router Configuration
The router command starts a routing process.
The network command is required because it enables the
routing process to determine which interfaces participate
in the sending and receiving of routing updates.
An example of a routing configuration is:
GAD(config)#router rip
GAD(config-router)#network
172.16.0.0
The network numbers are based on the network class
addresses, not subnet addresses or individual host 22
Problem: Routing Loops
Routing loops can occur when inconsistent routing tables are
not updated due to slow convergence in a changing network.
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Problem: Counting to Infinity
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Solution: Define a Maximum
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IGRP
Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) is a
proprietary protocol developed by Cisco.
Some of the IGRP key design characteristics:
It is a distance vector routing protocol.
Routing updates are broadcast every 90
seconds.
Bandwidth (default), load, delay and
reliability are used to create a composite
metric. 26
Configuring IGRP
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Routing Metrics
Graphics
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OSPF Term: Area
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OSPF Term: Link Cost
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