Chapter 5 Routing Protocols: IGRP

Building a Network
To Be Reliable provide error detection and ability to correct errors To Provide Connectivity incorporate a variety of hardware & software products so they can function together To Be Easy To Use users need to have no concern for the networks structure and implementation To Be Easy To Modify allow itself to evolve and adapt as needs change Be Easy To Implement must follow industry standards and allow a variety of configurations

Path Determination
Usually the responsibility of the router

Path Determination
Enables a router to evaluate the available paths to a destination and establish best path for the packet Most routing protocols use simply use the shortest and best path Analogy Packet routing is like driving a car: Routers through the use of protocols make path decisions based on routing tables, and people driving cars determine their paths by reading road signs

Metrics
Routing tables must be updated and accurate Each routing protocol interprets the best path in its own way Protocol generates a value, METRIC, for each path through the network Smaller the metric the better the path Metrics differ depending on the protocol being used

Metrics

Metrics

Metrics

Router Forwarding Decisions

Router examines the packets destination protocol address it either knows or does not know how to forward to the next hop Does not know and no default route assigned - the packet is typically dropped Network portion of IP address used by router within the network cloud The source and destination IP addresses never changes as a packet traverses the network

Router Forwarding Decisions

Network portion of the address is used to make path selection Router responsible for passing the packet to the next network along the path Switching function allows the router to accept a packet on one interface and forward it another interface

Routing Protocols
ROUTED protocols moved over a network
TCP/IP IPX AppleTalk ROUTING protocols route routed protocols through a network
IGRP EIGRP OSPF BGP OSI routing Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking(APPN) Intermediate Systemto-Intermediate System(IS-IS) RIP

Routing Protocols Continued

End systems (computers) use routed protocols to talk to each other
IP

Routers (intermediate systems) use routing protocols to talk to each other about networks and paths

Multi-Protocol Routing
Routers are capable of supporting multiple independent routing protocols
Allows routers to deliver packets from several routed protocols over the same data links
TCP/IP IPX Apple Talk
IGRP RIP

Differentiating Routing Protocols from One Another

Can be differentiated from one another by:
Particular goals of the designer Various types - each has a different effect on the network Routing protocols use a variety of metrics to identify best paths

Routing Protocols
Interior Protocols
Used for routing information within networks that are under a common administration All IP interior protocols must be specified with a list of associated networks before routing can occur CISCO supports RIP and IGRP

Exterior Protocols

Used to exchange information between networks Require the following before routing can begin

EGP and BGP

List of neighbor routers List of networks to advertise as directly reachable

Goals of Routing Protocols

Optimal Route
Select best route Depends on metric and metric weighting Efficiency is important when software implementing the routing protocol must run on a computer with limited resources Should perform correctly at all times

Simplicity and Efficiency

Robustness

Hardware failures, high load conditions and incorrect implementation

Goals of Routing Protocols Continued

Rapid Convergence
Must converge rapidly
Speed and ability of a group of devices to agree on the topology after a change has occurred

Flexibility
Quickly and accurately adapt to a variety of network circumstances

Routing Loops
Packet continues to bounce back and forth between to devices until:
Device is updated Packet is switched the maximum number of times allowed

Different routing protocols have different maximums

IGRP has a maximum hop count of 255 it defaults to 100 Usually set to 50 or less

Static and Dynamic Routing

Classifications of Routing Protocols

Most can be classified into three basic approaches
Distance vector routing
IGRP and RIP

Determines the direction and distance to any link in the network

Link-state routing (shortest path first) Hybrid approach

EIGRP

Re-creates exact topology of the entire network

OSPF, IS-IS, NLSP

Combines both aspect of link-state and distance vectoring

Classes of Routing Protocols

IP Routing Configuration
Any routing protocol must follow two steps:
Create routing process with one of the router commands Configure the protocol specifics

Interior routing protocols also must have a list of networks specified before routing begins IGRP requires an AS (Autonomous System) number

IP Routing Configuration
Choosing a routing protocol consider the following:
Network size and complexity Network traffic levels Security needs Reliability needs Network delay characteristics Organizational policies Organizational acceptance of change

IGRP Overview

IGRP Metrics
CISCO proprietary developed to supercede RIP Distance vector interior routing protocol Uses a combination of metrics Network delay, bandwidth, reliability and load all factored into the routing decision

IGRP Continued
Provides a wide range for its metrics For example

Default values related to weightings for IGRP give the most importance to bandwidth makes IGRP superior to RIP Contrast with RIP(does not weigh metrics) it only uses one

Reliability value between 1 and 255 Bandwidth values reflecting speeds from 1200 bps to 10 Gbps Delay value from 1 to 224

Distance-Vector Routing

IGRP Operation
Goal of IGRP was create a robust protocol for routing within an AS IGRP uses a combination of userconfigurable metrics IGRP advertises three types of routes:
Interior System Exterior

IGRP OperationInterior Routes

Interior routes between subnets in the network attached to a router interface If the network attached to router is not subnetted IGRP does NOT advertise interior routes Subnet information is not included in IGRP updates

IGRP Operation-System Routes

Routes to other major networks within AS Router derives system routes from directly connected interfaces and system route information from other routers that use IGRP System routes do NOT include subnetting information

IGRP Operation-Exterior Routes

Routes to networks outside the AS that are considered when identifying the gateway of last resort Router uses the gateway of last resort if it does not have a better route If AS has more than one connection to an external network - different routers can choose different exterior routers as the gateway of last resort

Autonomous Systems

Command Sequence for Enabling IGRP on a Router

Features that Enhance Stability of IGRP - Holddowns

Used to avoid routing loops in the network Effect of increasing topology convergence time Used to prevent regular update messages from reinstating a route that may have gone bad Tell routers to hold down any changes that might effect routes for some period of time Period of time is calculated to be just greater than time to update entire network

Features that Enhance Stability of IGRP Split Horizons

Occur when router tries to send information about a route back in the direction that it came Helps prevent routing loops Implemented in IGRP

Features that Enhance Stability of IGRP Poison Reverse Updates

Intended to defeat larger routing loops Poison reverse updates are sent to remove the route and place it in holddown Poisoning the route can speed convergence

IGRP Metrics and routing Updates

IGRP uses several types of metric information For each path through an AS IGRP records:
Segment with lowest bandwidth Accumulated delay Smallest maximum transmission unit (MTU) Reliability and load

IGRP Metrics and routing Updates

Bandwidth by default is given the most importance Router running IGRP sends updates every 90 seconds Declares route inaccessible if an update from first router is not sent within 3 update periods (270 seconds) after 5 update periods (450 seconds) router removes the route from the routing table Uses flash update and poison reverse to speed up convergence

IGRP Metrics and routing Updates

Flash Update
Sending of update sooner than standard periodic update interval

Poison Reverse Updates

Intended to defeat larger routing loops Sent to remove a route and place it in holddown

IGRP Maximum Hop Count

Maximum hop count 255 Normally set lower than the default of 100 Should be number at least greater than the maximum number of routers a route might have to go through

The End