Routing and Routing Protocols

Chapter 06 (Routing and Routing Protocols)

Overview
Routing is a set of directions to get from one network to another. These directions, also known as routes, can be dynamically given to the router by another router, or they can be statically assigned to the router by an administrator.
This module introduces the concept of dynamic routing protocols, describes the classes of dynamic routing protocols, and gives examples of protocols in each class.
A network administrator chooses a dynamic routing protocol based upon many considerations. These include the size of the network, the bandwidth of available links, the processing power of the routers, the brands and models of the routers, and the protocols that are used in the network. This module will provide more details about the differences between routing protocols that help network administrators make a choice.


This module covers some of the objectives for the CCNA 640-801, INTRO 640-821, and ICND 640-811 exams. -




Students who complete this module should be able to perform the following tasks:
• Explain the significance of static routing
• Configure static and default routes
• Verify and troubleshoot static and default routes
• Identify the classes of routing protocols
• Identify distance vector routing protocols
• Identify link-state routing protocols
• Describe the basic characteristics of common routing protocols
• Identify interior gateway protocols
• Identify exterior gateway protocols
• Enable Routing Information Protocol (RIP) on a router



6.1 Introduction to Static Routing
6.1.1 Introduction to 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. All devices along the way use the destination IP address to send the packet in the right direction to reach its destination. To make the correct decisions, routers must learn how to reach remote networks. When routers use dynamic routing, this information is learned from other routers. When static routing is used, a network administrator configures information about remote networks manually.

This page will describe routing and explain the differences between static and dynamic routing.


Since static routes are configured manually, network administrators must add and delete static routes to reflect any network topology changes. In a large network, the manual maintenance of routing tables could require a lot of administrative time. On small networks with few possible changes, static routes require very little maintenance. Static routing is not as scalable as dynamic routing because of the extra administrative requirements. Even in large networks, static routes that are intended to accomplish a specific purpose are often configured in conjunction with a dynamic routing protocol.
The next page will explain static route operations.
6.1.2 Static route operation
This page will explain how static routes operate and how they are created.
Static route operations can be divided into these three parts:
• Network administrator configures the route
• Router installs the route in the routing table
• The static route is used to route packets.
An administrator must use the ip route command to manually configure a static route. The correct syntax for the ip route command is shown in Figure .


In Figures and , the network administrator of the Hoboken router needs to configure a static route to the 172.16.1.0/24 and 172.16.5.0/24 networks on the other routers. The administrator could enter either of two commands to accomplish this objective. The method in Figure specifies the outgoing interface. The method in Figure specifies the next-hop IP address of the adjacent router. Either of the commands will install a static route in the routing table of Hoboken.
The administrative distance is an optional parameter that indicates the reliability of a route. A lower value for the administrative distance indicates a more reliable route. A route with a lower administrative distance will be installed before a similar route with a higher administrative distance. The default administrative distance when using a static route is 1. In the routing table, it will show the static route with the outgoing interface option as being directly connected. This is sometimes confusing, since a true directly connected route has an administrative distance of 0.





To verify the administrative distance of a particular route, use the show ip routeaddress command, where the ip address of the particular route is inserted for the address option. If an administrative distance other than the default is desired, a value between 0 and 255 is entered after the next-hop or outgoing interface as follows:
waycross(config)#ip route 172.16.3.0 255.255.255.0 172.16.4.1 130
If the router cannot reach the outgoing interface that is being used in a route, the route will not be installed in the routing table. This means if that interface is down, the route will not be placed in the routing table.
Sometimes static routes are used for backup purposes. A static route can be configured on a router that will only be used when the dynamically learned route has failed. To use a static route as a backup, set a higher administrative distance than the dynamic routing protocol.
The Lab Activities will show students how static routes are created and used to troubleshoot networks.
The next page will teach students how to configure static routes.
6.1.3 Configuring static routes
This page lists the steps used to configure static routes and gives an example of a simple network for which static routes might be configured.
Use the following steps to configure static routes:
Step 1 Determine all desired prefixes, masks, and addresses. The address can be either a local interface or a next hop address that leads to the desired destination.
Step 2 Enter global configuration mode.
Step 3 Type the ip route command with a prefix and mask followed by the corresponding address from Step 1. The administrative distance is optional.
Step 4 Repeat Step 3 for all the destination networks that were defined in Step 1.
Step 5 Exit global configuration mode.
Step 6 Use the copy running-config startup-config command to save the active configuration to NVRAM.


The example network is a simple three-router configuration. Hoboken must be configured so that it can reach the 172.16.1.0 network and the 172.16.5.0 network. Both of these networks have a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
Packets that have a destination network of 172.16.1.0 need to be routed to Sterling and packets that have a destination address of 172.16.5.0 need to be routed to Waycross. Static routes can be configured to accomplish this task.





Both static routes will first be configured to use a local interface as the gateway to the destination networks. Since the administrative distance was not specified, it will default to 1 when the route is installed in the routing table.
The same two static routes can also be configured with a next-hop address as their gateway. The first route to the 172.16.1.0 network has a gateway of 172.16.2.1. The second route to the 172.16.5.0 network has a gateway of 172.16.4.2. Since the administrative distance was not specified, it defaults to 1.
The Lab Activity will help students learn how to configure static routes.
The next page will explain how default routes are configured.
6.1.4 Configuring default route forwarding
This page will show students how to configure default static routes.
Default routes are used to route packets with destinations that do not match any of the other routes in the routing table. Routers are typically configured with a default route for Internet-bound traffic, since it is often impractical and unnecessary to maintain routes to all networks in the Internet. A default route is actually a special static route that uses this format:
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 [next-hop-address | outgoing interface ]
The 0.0.0.0 mask, when logically ANDed to the destination IP address of the packet to be routed, will always yield the network 0.0.0.0. If the packet does not match a more specific route in the routing table, it will be routed to the 0.0.0.0 network.
Use the following steps to configure default routes:
Step 1 Enter global configuration mode.
Step 2 Type the ip route command with 0.0.0.0 for the prefix and 0.0.0.0 for the mask. The address option for the default route can be either the local router interface that connects to the outside networks or the IP address of the next-hop router.
Step 3 Exit global configuration mode.
Step 4 Use the copy running-config startup-config command to save the active configuration to NVRAM.
On the previous page, static routes were configured on Hoboken to access networks 172.16.1.0 on Sterling and 172.16.5.0 on Waycross. It should now be possible to route packets to both of these networks from Hoboken. However, Sterling and Waycross will not know how to return packets to any network that is not directly connected. A static route could be configured on Sterling and Waycross for each of these destination networks. This would not be a scalable solution on a larger network.
Sterling connects to all networks that are not directly connected through interface Serial 0. Waycross has only one connection to all non-directly connected networks. This is through interface Serial 1. A default route on Sterling and Waycross will be used to route all packets that are destined for networks that are not directly connected.





In the Lab Activity, students will configure a default static route.
The next page will show students how to verify static route configurations.


6.1.5 Verifying static route configuration
This page will teach students the process that is used to verify static route configurations.
































































After static routes are configured it is important to verify that they are present in the routing table and that routing is working as expected. The command show running-config is used to view the active configuration in RAM to verify that the static route was entered correctly. The show ip route command is used to make sure that the static route is present in the routing table.
Use the following steps to verify static route configuration:
• Enter the show running-config command in privileged mode to view the active configuration.
• Verify that the static route has been correctly entered. If the route is not correct, it will be necessary to go back into global configuration mode to remove the incorrect static route and enter the correct one.
• Enter the command show ip route.
• Verify that the route that was configured is in the routing table.
The Lab Activity will show students how to verify default static route configurations.
The next page will teach students how to troubleshoot a static route configuration.
6.1.6 Troubleshooting static route configuration
This page will show students how to troubleshoot a static route configuration.


On an earlier page, students configured static routes on Hoboken to access networks on Sterling and Waycross. In this configuration, nodes on the Sterling 172.16.1.0 network cannot reach nodes on the Waycross 172.16.5.0 network.
From privileged EXEC mode on the Sterling router, ping to a node on the 172.16.5.0 network. The ping fails. Now use the traceroute command from Sterling to the address that was used in the ping statement. Note where the traceroute fails. The traceroute indicates that the ICMP packet was returned from Hoboken but not from Waycross. This implies that the trouble exists either on Hoboken or Waycross.
Telnet to the Hoboken router. Try again to ping the node on the 172.16.5.0 network connected to the Waycross router. This ping should succeed because Hoboken is directly connected to Waycross.
The Lab Activities on this page will teach students how to configure static routes for data transfer without dynamic routing protocols.








This page concludes this lesson. The next lesson will explain dynamic routing. The first page provides an overview of routing protocols.




6.2 Dynamic Routing Overview
6.2.1 Introduction to routing protocols
This page will introduce routing protocols and how they are used.
Routing protocols are different from routed protocols in both function and task.
A routing protocol is the communication used between routers. A routing protocol allows routers to share information about networks and their proximity to each other. Routers use this information to build and maintain routing tables.


Examples of routing protocols are as follows:
• Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
• Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP)
• Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
• Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
A routed protocol is used to direct user traffic. A routed protocol provides enough information in its network layer address to allow a packet to be forwarded from one host to another based on the addressing scheme.
Examples of routed protocols are as follows:
• Internet Protocol (IP)
• Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
The next page will describe autonomous systems.
6.2.2 Autonomous systems

This page will define an autonomous system (AS).
An AS is a collection of networks under a common administration that share a common routing strategy. To the outside world, an AS is viewed as a single entity. The AS may be run by one or more operators while it presents a consistent view of routing to the external world.



The American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN), a service provider, or an administrator assigns a 16-bit identification number to each AS. This autonomous system number is a 16 bit number. Routing protocols, such as Cisco IGRP, require the assignment of a unique, AS number.
The next page will explain the purpose of routing protocols and autonomous systems.


6.2.3 Purpose of a routing protocol and autonomous systems
This page will explain why routing protocols and autonomous systems are used.
The goal of a routing protocol is to build and maintain a routing table. This table contains the learned networks and associated ports for those networks. Routers use routing protocols to manage information received from other routers and its interfaces, as well as manually configured routes.


The routing protocol learns all available routes, places the best routes into the routing table, and removes routes when they are no longer valid. The router uses the information in the routing table to forward routed protocol packets.
The routing algorithm is fundamental to dynamic routing. Whenever the topology of a network changes because of growth, reconfiguration, or failure, the network knowledgebase must also change. The network knowledgebase needs to reflect an accurate view of the new topology.
When all routers in an internetwork operate with the same knowledge, the internetwork is said to have converged. Fast convergence is desirable because it reduces the period of time in which routers would continue to make incorrect routing decisions.
Autonomous systems divide the global internetwork into smaller and more manageable networks. Each AS has its own set of rules and policies and an AS number that will distinguish it from all other autonomous systems.
The next page will introduce the two main classes of routing algorithms.
6.2.4 Identifying the classes of routing protocols

This page will introduce two classes of routing protocols. Students will also learn the differences between them.

Most routing algorithms can be classified into one of two categories:

• Distance vector
• Link-state
The distance vector routing approach determines the direction, or vector, and distance to any link in an internetwork. The link-state approach recreates the exact topology of an entire internetwork.




The next page will describe the features of a distance vector routing protocol.

6.2.5 Distance vector routing protocol features
This page will explain how the distance vector routing protocol is used.
The distance vector routing algorithm passes periodic copies of a routing table from router to router. These regular updates between routers communicate topology changes. The distance vector routing algorithm is also known as the Bellman-Ford algorithm.
Each router receives a routing table from its directly connected neighbor routers. Router B receives information from Router A. Router B adds a distance vector number, such as a number of hops. This number increases the distance vector. Then Router B passes this new routing table to its other neighbor, Router C. This same step-by-step process occurs in all directions between neighbor routers.
The algorithm eventually accumulates network distances so that it can maintain a database of network topology information. However, the distance vector algorithm does not allow a router to know the exact topology of an internetwork since each router only sees its neighbor routers.
Each router that uses distance vector routing first identifies its neighbors. The interface that leads to each directly connected network has a distance of 0. As the distance vector discovery process proceeds, routers discover the best path to destination networks based on the information they receive from each neighbor. Router A learns about other networks based on the information that it receives from Router B. Each of the other network entries in the routing table has an accumulated distance vector to show how far away that network is in a given direction.





Routing table updates occur when the topology changes. As with the network discovery process, topology change updates proceed step-by-step from router to router. Distance vector algorithms call for each router to send its entire routing table to each of its adjacent neighbors. The routing tables include information about the total path cost as defined by its metric and the logical address of the first router on the path to each network contained in the table.






An analogy of distance vector could be the signs found at a highway intersection. A sign points toward a destination and indicates the distance to the destination. Further down the highway, another sign points toward the destination, but now the distance is shorter. As long as the distance is shorter, the traffic is on the best path.
The next page will describe the link-state routing algorithm.
6.2.6 Link-state routing protocol features

The other basic algorithm that is used for routing is the link-state algorithm. This page will explain how the link-state algorithm works.
The link-state algorithm is also known as Dijkstra's algorithm or as the shortest path first (SPF) algorithm. The link-state routing algorithm maintains a complex database of topology information. The distance vector algorithm has nonspecific information about distant networks and no knowledge of distant routers. The link-state routing algorithm maintains full knowledge of distant routers and how they interconnect.


Link-state routing uses the following features:
• Link-state advertisement (LSA) - a small packet of routing information that is sent between routers
• Topological database - a collection of information gathered from LSAs
• SPF algorithm - a calculation performed on the database that results in the SPF tree
• Routing table - a list of the known paths and interfaces
Network discovery processes for link state routing
When routers exchange LSAs, they begin with directly connected networks for which they have information. Each router constructs a topological database that consists of all the exchanged LSAs.
The SPF algorithm computes network reachability. The router constructs this logical topology as a tree, with itself as the root. This topology consists of all possible paths to each network in the link-state protocol internetwork. The router then uses SPF to sort these paths. The router lists the best paths and the interfaces to these destination networks in the routing table. It also maintains other databases of topology elements and status details.
The first router that learns of a link-state topology change forwards the information so that all other routers can use it for updates. Common routing information is sent to all routers in the internetwork. To achieve convergence, each router learns about its neighbor routers. This includes the name of each neighbor router, the interface status, and the cost of the link to the neighbor. The router constructs an LSA packet that lists this information along with new neighbors, changes in link costs, and links that are no longer valid. The LSA packet is then sent out so that all other routers receive it.





When a router receives an LSA, it updates the routing table with the most recent information. The accumulated data is used to create a map of the internetwork and the SPF algorithm is used to calculate the shortest path to other networks. Each time an LSA packet causes a change to the link-state database, SPF recalculates the best paths and updates the routing table.

There are three main concerns related to link-state protocols:
• Processor overhead
• Memory requirements
• Bandwidth consumption
Routers that use link-state protocols require more memory and process more data than routers that use distance vector routing protocols. Link-state routers need enough memory to hold all of the information from the various databases, the topology tree, and the routing table. Initial link-state packet flooding consumes bandwidth. In the initial discovery process, all routers that use link-state routing protocols send LSA packets to all other routers. This action floods the internetwork and temporarily reduces the bandwidth available for routed traffic that carries user data. After this initial flooding, link-state routing protocols generally require minimal bandwidth to send infrequent or event-triggered LSA packets that reflect topology changes.


This page concludes this lesson. The next lesson will provide an overview of routing protocols. The first page explains how a router performs path determination.
6.3 Routing Protocols Overview
6.3.1 Path determination
This page will explain how a router determines the path of a packet from one data link to another. The router uses two basic functions:
• A path determination function
• A switching function
Path determination occurs at the network layer. The path determination function enables a router to evaluate the paths to a destination and to establish the preferred way to handle a packet. The router uses the routing table to determine the best path and then uses the switching function to forward the packet. -
























































The switching function is the internal process used by a router to accept a packet on one interface and forward it to a second interface on the same router. A key responsibility of the switching function of the router is to encapsulate packets in the appropriate frame type for the next data link.


Figure illustrates how routers use addressing for these routing and switching functions. The router uses the network portion of the address to make path selections to pass the packet to the next router along the path.
The next page will describe the commands that are used to configure a routing protocol.
6.3.2 Routing configuration
This page will explain the steps that are used to configure a routing protocol.
To enable an IP routing protocol on a router, global and routing parameters need to be set. Global tasks include the selection of a routing protocol such as RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, or OSPF. The major task in the routing configuration mode is to indicate IP network numbers. Dynamic routing uses broadcasts and multicasts to communicate with other routers.


The router command starts a routing process.



The network command enables the routing process to determine which interfaces send and receive routing updates.
An example of a routing configuration is as follows:
GAD(config)#router rip
GAD(config-router)#network 172.16.0.0
For RIP and IGRP, the network numbers are based on the network class addresses, not subnet addresses or individual host addresses.





The Lab Activity will help students configure routers to start a routing process.
The next page will describe some routing protocols.
6.3.3 Routing protocols
This page will give some examples of routing protocols and how they are used.


At the Internet layer of the TCP/IP suite of protocols, a router can use an IP routing protocol to accomplish routing through the implementation of a specific routing algorithm. Examples of IP routing protocols include the following:
• RIP - a distance vector interior routing protocol
• IGRP - the Cisco distance vector interior routing protocol
• OSPF - a link-state interior routing protocol
• EIGRP - the advanced Cisco distance vector interior routing protocol
• BGP - a distance vector exterior routing protocol
RIP was originally specified in RFC 1058. Its key characteristics include the following:
• It is a distance vector routing protocol.
• Hop count is used as the metric for path selection.
• If the hop count is greater than 15, the packet is discarded.
• Routing updates are broadcast every 30 seconds, by default.
IGRP is a proprietary protocol developed by Cisco. Some of the IGRP key design characteristics are as follows:
• It is a distance vector routing protocol.
• Bandwidth, load, delay and reliability are used to create a composite metric.
• Routing updates are broadcast every 90 seconds, by default.
OSPF is a nonproprietary link-state routing protocol.
• It is a link-state routing protocol.
• It is an open standard routing protocol described in RFC 2328.
• The SPF algorithm is used to calculate the lowest cost to a destination.
• Routing updates are flooded as topology changes occur.
EIGRP is a Cisco proprietary enhanced distance vector routing protocol. The key characteristics of EIGRP are as follows:
• It is an enhanced distance vector routing protocol.
• It uses unequal cost load balancing.
• It uses a combination of distance vector and link-state features.
• It uses Diffused Update Algorithm (DUAL) to calculate the shortest path.
• Routing updates are multicast using 224.0.0.10 triggered by topology changes.
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is an exterior routing protocol. The key characteristics of BGP are as follows:
• It is a distance vector exterior routing protocol.
• It is used between ISPs or ISPs and clients.
• It is used to route Internet traffic between autonomous systems.
The Interactive Media Activity will help students recognize link-state and distance vector routing protocols.
The next page will discuss interior and exterior routing protocols.
6.3.4 IGP versus EGP
This page will help students understand the differences between interior and exterior routing protocols.
Interior routing protocols are designed for use in a network that is controlled by a single organization. The design criteria for an interior routing protocol require it to find the best path through the network. In other words, the metric and how that metric is used is the most important element in an interior routing protocol.


An exterior routing protocol is designed for use between two different networks that are under the control of two different organizations. These are typically used between ISPs or between a company and an ISP. For example, a company would run BGP, an exterior routing protocol, between one of its routers and a router inside an ISP. IP exterior gateway protocols require the following three sets of information before routing can begin:
• A list of neighbor routers with which to exchange routing information
• A list of networks to advertise as directly reachable
• The autonomous system number of the local router
An exterior routing protocol must isolate autonomous systems. Remember, autonomous systems are managed by different administrations. Networks must have a protocol to communicate between these different systems.
Each AS must have a 16-bit identification number, which is assigned by ARIN or a provider, to use routing protocols such as IGRP and EIGRP.
The Interactive Media Activity will help students identify interior and exterior routing protocols.
This page concludes this lesson. The next page will summarize the main points from this module.




Summary
This page summarizes the topics discussed in this module.


The process that a router uses to forward packets toward the destination network is called routing. Decisions are based upon the destination IP address of each packet. When routers use dynamic routing, they learn about remote networks from other routers. When static routing is used, a network administrator configures information about remote networks manually.
Static route operations can be divided into these three parts. First a network administrator uses the ip route command to configure a static route. Then the router installs the route in the routing table. Finally, the route is used to route packets.
Static routes can be used for backup purposes. A static route can be configured on a router that will only be used when the dynamically learned route has failed.
After static routes are configured, verify they are present in the routing table and that routing works as expected. Use the command show running-config to view the active configuration in RAM. The show ip route command is used to make sure that the static route is present in the routing table.
The communication used between routers is referred to as a routing protocol. The goal of a routing protocol is to build and maintain the routing table.
A routed protocol is used to direct user traffic. A routed protocol provides enough information in its network layer address to allow a packet to be forwarded from one host to another based on the addressing scheme.
An AS is a collection of networks under the same administration that share a common routing strategy. Autonomous systems divide the global internetwork into smaller and more manageable networks. Each AS has its own set of rules and policies and a number that distinguishes it from all other autonomous systems.
The distance vector routing approach determines the direction, or vector, and distance to any link in an internetwork. The link-state approach recreates the exact topology of an entire internetwork.
Distance vector routing algorithms pass periodic copies of a routing table from router to router. These regular updates between routers communicate topology changes. The distance vector routing algorithm is also known as the Bellman-Ford algorithm.
The second basic algorithm used for routing is the link-state algorithm. The link-state algorithm is also known as the Dijkstra algorithm or as the SPF algorithm. Link-state routing algorithms maintain a complex database of topology information. The distance vector algorithm has nonspecific information about distant networks and no knowledge of distant routers. A link-state routing algorithm maintains full knowledge of distant routers and how they interconnect.
Interior routing protocols are designed for use in a network whose parts are under the control of a single organization. An exterior routing protocol is designed for use between two different networks that are under the control of two different organizations. These are typically used between ISPs or between a company and an ISP.