SELECTING A ROUTING PROTOCOL FOR YOUR NETWORK

Here are the current standards of routing protocols to choose from, overview information on each, and their pros and cons: Metric: Delay, bandwidth, reliability, and load Best for: Any size network Pros: Creates a loop-free network Converges quickly Uses little bandwidth for network updates Uses multiple metrics for accurate route selection Supports VLSM and CIDR

IGP: Interior Gateway Protocols RIP: Routing Information Protocol V2

Type: Distance-Vector, based on Bellman-Ford Algorithm Metric: Hop Count Best for: Only networks that have fewer than 15 hops Pros: Easy to configure and use V2 supports VLSM and CIDR Cons: Converges slowly on large networks Doesnt recognize bandwidth of links Doesnt support multiple paths for the same route Routing updates can require significant bandwidth because the entire routing table is sent Prone to routing loops

Con: Used in networks where all routers are Cisco brand routers: Cannot interoperate with non-Cisco routers.

EGP: Exterior Gateway Protocols BGP: Border Gateway Protocol V4

Note that BGP is used primarily to route Internet data. Type: Path-Vector, selecting the shortest AS Path Primary Metric: AS Path list Secondary Metrics (known as Attributes): Weight, Local preference, Multi-exit discriminator, Origin, AS Path, Next hop, Community Best for: Inter domain routing, routing between multiple autonomous systems (domains that are under their own routing administration and have their own routing policy controls). The Internet is an example of a network like this. Pros: Scales to large networks very well (At this time, there are over 125,000 BGP routes on the Internet and growing.) Supports VLSM and CIDR Creates a loop-free network Uses multiple metrics (attributes) for accurate route selection Cons: Routing table calculation can require larger amounts of CPU and RAM on routers More complex to administer as there are so many options that can be configuredmaking for a complex network Note: BGP can be used within an autonomous system and would then be called iBGP (Interior Border Gateway Protocol); between autonomous systems, it is known as eBGP (External Border Gateway Protocol). Note: Normally, a site would employ an IGP, such as OSPF, RIP, or EIGRP within its AS, and BGP between its AS and other ASs.

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OSPF: Open Shortest Path First V2

Type: Link-state, running the Dijkstra algorithm to calculate the shortest-path first (SPF) tree Metric: Calculates the cost to traverse router links to get to the destination, taking the bandwidth of the links into account Best for: Any size network, but scales well even to large networks Pros: Converges quickly when compared to a distance-vector protocol because the entire routing table is not sent Not prone to routing loops Supports VLSM and CIDR Supports a long list of optional features that other protocols do not Recognizes the bandwidth of a link and can automatically use the bandwidth of the interface as its cost for the link Cons: Routing table calculation can require larger amounts of CPU and RAM on routers More complex to administer as there are so many options that can be configuredmaking for a complex network

EIGRP: Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

Type: Hybrid Distance-Vector Protocol, using the DUAL algorithm (Diffusing Update Algorithm)

CONFIGURE AND USE RIP Overview

RIP is primarily used today in small networks due to its 16-hop count limitation, ease of configuration, and tendency toward routing loops in complex networks.

RIP version 2
ClassLESS, supports VLSM and CIDR Multicasts updates to neighbors on 224.0.0.9 Supports authentication with plaintext and MD5 Administrative Distance: 120

also represents the network interfaces on your router that will send out RIP router advertisements. Optionally, you can configure these common features: Configure the router to send and receive only a certain version of RIP: Version {1 | 2}. By default, the RIP routing process sends UDP broadcasts to contact remote routers. If you wish the router to communicate with neighbors on non-broadcast networks, use this statement: Neighbor {IP Address}. By default, RIP summarizes networks at network boundaries before advertising them. To disable this, use: No auto-summary. RIP uses split-horizon, by default. This means that, if RIP receives a router on a

RIP version 1
Broadcasts on UDP port 520 to 255.255.255.255. ClassFUL, doesnt support VLSM Distance vector Update sent every 30 seconds Uses split horizon with poison reverse to help prevent loops Administrative Distance: 120

Configure
1. To configure RIP, in global configuration mode, enter the command: Router rip. 2. Add the network that RIP will advertise and broadcast on Network X.X.X.X. The x.x.x.x represents the network you want to advertise to other RIP routers via RIP. The x.x.x.x

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