The textbook definition of "administrative distance" is simple enough: "the measurement of a protocol's believability". It's not enough to know the definition, however you've got to know when AD comes into the picture and when it does not.
When a packet needs to be routed, the router looks in its routing table for the next-hop IP address the packet should take to get to the destination. There may be more than one matching path, in which case the router will look for the "longest match". The route that has the longest match - the route with the most bits in the mask set to "1" - will be the route that is used.
Consider the following three routes from a fictional Cisco router:
I 172.17.0.0 /24 via 172.1.1.1
O 172.17.0.0 /25 via 173.1.1.1
R 172.17.0.0 /26 via 174.1.1.1
This router has three possible next-hop IP addresses that it can send packets destined for the network 172.17.0.0. The masks are of different lengths, meaning that the route with the longest match (again, the route with the most bits set to "1") will be used. In this example, the RIP route will be used, since it has the longest match with a mask of /26. The administrative distances do not matter.
AD does matter when the masks are the same length, as shown here:
I 172.17.0.0 /24 via 172.1.1.1
O 172.17.0.0 /24 via 173.1.1.1
R 172.17.0.0 /24 via 174.1.1.1
The longest match rule always precedes the use of AD, but here there is a three-way tie regarding the masks. They're all /24 (or 255.255.255.0 in dotted decimal). AD will be used to break this tie.
As mentioned, AD is a measurement of a protocol's believability. It is important to keep in mind that the lowest AD will be preferred. And while the routing table will show you the ADs of the respective protocols, it's a very good idea to know these ADs before taking the CCNA or CCNP:
Connected route: 0
Static Route: 1
EIGRP Summary: 5
External BGP: 20
EIGRP (Internal): 90
IGRP: 100
OSPF: 110
ISIS : 115
RIP: 120
EIGRP (External) : 170
Unknown: 255 (A router will not believe a source with an AD of 255, and such routes will not be placed into the routing table.)
The three protocols we looked at in the comparison were RIP, IGRP, and OSPF. While your first instinct may be that the OSPF route would be the most believable, IGRP actually has a lower AD than the other two and would be the route installed in the routing table.
Since IGRP does not support variable-length subnet masking and OSPF does, you may never see this scenario outside of an exam question. But if you do see it in the exam room or in a production network, you'll understand how an IGRP route could be preferred over an OSPF route.
Showing posts with label eigrp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eigrp. Show all posts
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Cisco CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Route Summarization Basics
As you earn your CCNA and CCNP certification, you're going to have to get comfortable with manually summarizing routes. This isn't just another reason to learn binary math (although it's a good one!), but summarizing routes is a true real-world skill that can help your network operate more efficiently. So the question isn't just how to summarize routes, it's why.
When you summarize routes in RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, or OSPF, you're replacing a series of routes with a summary route and mask. With RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP, this actually lessens the size of the routing update packet itself - multiple routes are replaced with the summary route. For instance, the routes 8.0.0.0/8, 9.0.0.0/8, 10.0.0.0/8, and 11.0.0.0/8 can be summarized as 8.0.0.0 252.0.0.0. Only the summary address will be found in the update packet, making it concise yet complete.
Summarizing routes can also make the routing table smaller, yet still allow for complete IP connectivity when done correctly. Using the above example, the four more-specific routes will be replaced by a single summary route. Since the entire routing table is parsed before the routing process is complete, keeping the routing table as small as possible does help speed the routing process as a whole.
To prepare for success on your CCNA and CCNP exam, you've got to know how to summarize routes as well as the specific commands for doing so with OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, and IGRP - but knowing why to summarize routes is just as important as knowing how! Here are some additional tips on route summarization.
With RIP version 2 and EIGRP, manual route summarization is configured on the interface that will be advertising the summary. This is done with the route summarization command "ip summary-address."
RIP version 2 and EIGRP also both perform autosummarization on routes that are advertised across classful network boundaries. This is disabled with the protocol-level command "no auto-summary".
OSPF offers two different route summarization commands. To summarize routes from one OSPF area to another, use the "area range" command; to summarize routes learned via redistribution, use the "summary-address" command on the ASBR.
With proper planning and an understanding of binary math, you'll master route summarization quickly with some practice - and you'll be ready for success on real-world networks as well as the CCNA and CCNP exams!
When you summarize routes in RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, or OSPF, you're replacing a series of routes with a summary route and mask. With RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP, this actually lessens the size of the routing update packet itself - multiple routes are replaced with the summary route. For instance, the routes 8.0.0.0/8, 9.0.0.0/8, 10.0.0.0/8, and 11.0.0.0/8 can be summarized as 8.0.0.0 252.0.0.0. Only the summary address will be found in the update packet, making it concise yet complete.
Summarizing routes can also make the routing table smaller, yet still allow for complete IP connectivity when done correctly. Using the above example, the four more-specific routes will be replaced by a single summary route. Since the entire routing table is parsed before the routing process is complete, keeping the routing table as small as possible does help speed the routing process as a whole.
To prepare for success on your CCNA and CCNP exam, you've got to know how to summarize routes as well as the specific commands for doing so with OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, and IGRP - but knowing why to summarize routes is just as important as knowing how! Here are some additional tips on route summarization.
With RIP version 2 and EIGRP, manual route summarization is configured on the interface that will be advertising the summary. This is done with the route summarization command "ip summary-address."
RIP version 2 and EIGRP also both perform autosummarization on routes that are advertised across classful network boundaries. This is disabled with the protocol-level command "no auto-summary".
OSPF offers two different route summarization commands. To summarize routes from one OSPF area to another, use the "area range" command; to summarize routes learned via redistribution, use the "summary-address" command on the ASBR.
With proper planning and an understanding of binary math, you'll master route summarization quickly with some practice - and you'll be ready for success on real-world networks as well as the CCNA and CCNP exams!
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Tutorial: Route Summarization With RIP And EIGRP
To pass your BSCI exam and earn your CCNP certification, you've got to master route summarization. When you get to the BSCI level, actually breaking the routes down into binary strings and performing summarization is second nature to you. (If it isn't, get some more practice!) What makes CCNP / BSCI route summarization more difficult is just keeping the different protocol summarization commands straight!
RIP and EIGRP both perform route summarization at the interface level with the ip summary-address command. In the following example, R2 is running RIP and was sending four routes to R3, R3's table looked like this before summarization:
R3#show ip route rip
172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 4 subnets
R 172.16.8.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.9.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.10.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.11.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
By summarizing the routes and using the ip summary-address command, RIP advertises only the summary route to the downstream neighbor.
R2(config)#int ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 172.16.8.0 255.255.252.0
R3#clear ip route *
R3#show ip route rip
172.16.0.0/22 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 172.16.8.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:01:24, Ethernet0
EIGRP works much the same way, except that the EIGRP AS number must be named in the ip summary-address command.
In the following example, R2 was advertising four separate routes to R3 via EIGRP 100: 100.0.0.0, 101.0.0.0, 102.0.0.0, and 103.0.0.0, all with an eight-bit mask. What summary route can be used here?
The summary is 100.0.0.0 252.0.0.0. To send that route to downstream routers, configure the following on R2:
R2(config)#interface ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.0.0.0 252.0.0.0
R3 will then have only one route in its EIGRP table - the summary route.
R3#show ip route eigrp
D 100.0.0.0/6 [90/2297856] via 172.23.23.2, 00:02:33, Ethernet0
By mastering basic binary skills and keeping in mind that RIP and EIGRP perform route summarization at the interface level, you're one step closer to passing your BSCI exam and earning your CCNP certification!
In the next part of this tutorial, we'll take a detailed look at the different methods OSPF uses for route summarization.
RIP and EIGRP both perform route summarization at the interface level with the ip summary-address command. In the following example, R2 is running RIP and was sending four routes to R3, R3's table looked like this before summarization:
R3#show ip route rip
172.16.0.0/24 is subnetted, 4 subnets
R 172.16.8.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.9.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.10.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
R 172.16.11.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:00:02, Ethernet0
By summarizing the routes and using the ip summary-address command, RIP advertises only the summary route to the downstream neighbor.
R2(config)#int ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 172.16.8.0 255.255.252.0
R3#clear ip route *
R3#show ip route rip
172.16.0.0/22 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 172.16.8.0 [120/1] via 172.23.23.2, 00:01:24, Ethernet0
EIGRP works much the same way, except that the EIGRP AS number must be named in the ip summary-address command.
In the following example, R2 was advertising four separate routes to R3 via EIGRP 100: 100.0.0.0, 101.0.0.0, 102.0.0.0, and 103.0.0.0, all with an eight-bit mask. What summary route can be used here?
The summary is 100.0.0.0 252.0.0.0. To send that route to downstream routers, configure the following on R2:
R2(config)#interface ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.0.0.0 252.0.0.0
R3 will then have only one route in its EIGRP table - the summary route.
R3#show ip route eigrp
D 100.0.0.0/6 [90/2297856] via 172.23.23.2, 00:02:33, Ethernet0
By mastering basic binary skills and keeping in mind that RIP and EIGRP perform route summarization at the interface level, you're one step closer to passing your BSCI exam and earning your CCNP certification!
In the next part of this tutorial, we'll take a detailed look at the different methods OSPF uses for route summarization.
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Route Summarization
Preparing to pass the BSCI exam and earn your Cisco CCNP? Route summarization is just one of the many skills you'll have to master in order to earn your CCNP. Whether it's RIP version 2, OSPF, or EIGRP, the BSCI exam will demand that you can flawlessly configure route summarization.
Route summarization isn't just important for the BSCI exam. It's a valuable skill to have in the real world as well. Correctly summarizing routes can lead to smaller routing tables that are still able to route packets accurately - what I like to call "concise and complete" routing tables.
The first skill you've got to have in order to work with route summarization is binary math more specifically, you must be able to take multiple routes and come up with both a summary route and mask to advertise to downstream routers. Given the networks 100.16.0.0 /16, 100.17.0.0 /16, 100.18.0.0 /16, and 100.19.0.0 /16, could you quickly come up with both the summary address and mask? All you need to do is break the four network numbers down into binary strings. We know the last two octets will all convert to the binary string 00000000, so in this article we'll only illustrate how to convert the first and second octet from decimal to binary.
100 16 = 01100100 00010000
100 17 = 01100100 00010001
100 18 = 01100100 00010010
100 19 = 01100100 00010011
To come up with the summary route, just work from left to right and draw a line where the four networks no longer have a bit in common. For these four networks, that point comes between the 14th and 15th bits. This leaves us with this string: 01100100 000100xx. All you need to do is convert that string back to decimal, which gives us 100 for the first octet and 16 for the second. (The two x values are bits on the right side of the line, which aren't used in calculating the summary route.) Since we know that zero is the value for the last two octets, the resulting summary network number is 100.16.0.0.
But we're not done! We now have to come up with the summary mask to advertise along with the summary route. To arrive at the summary route, write out a mask in binary with a "1" for every bit to the left of the line we drew previously, and a "0" for every bit to the right. That gives us the following string:
11111111 11111100 00000000 00000000
Converting that to dotted decimal, we arrive at the summary mask 255.252.0.0. The correct summary network and mask to advertise are 100.16.0.0 252.0.0.0.
For the BSCI exam, emphasis is put on knowing how to advertise these summary routes in RIPv2, EIGRP, and OSPF. For RIP v2 and EIGRP, route summarization happens at the interface level - it's not configured under the protocol. On the interface that should advertise the summary route, use the command "ip summary-address". Here are examples of how the above summary route would be configured on ethernet0 in both RIPv2 and EIGRP.
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
The main difference between the two is that the EIGRP command must specify the AS number - that's what the "100" is in the middle of the EIGRP command. Since RIPv2 does not use AS numbers, there's no additional value needed in the configuration.
For OSPF, the commands differ. If you're configuring inter-area route summarization, use the "area range" command. The number following "area" is the area containing the routes being summarized, not the area receiving the summary.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#area 1 range 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
If you are summarizing routes that are being redistributed into OSPF, use the summary-address command under the OSPF routing process on the ASBR.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#summary-address 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
I speak from experience when I tell you that practice makes perfect on the BSCI exam, especially with binary and summarization questions. The great thing about these questions is that there are no grey areas with these questions - you either know how to do it or you don't. And with practice and an eye for detail, you can master these skills, pass the exam, and become a CCNP. Here's to your success on these tough Cisco certification exams!
Route summarization isn't just important for the BSCI exam. It's a valuable skill to have in the real world as well. Correctly summarizing routes can lead to smaller routing tables that are still able to route packets accurately - what I like to call "concise and complete" routing tables.
The first skill you've got to have in order to work with route summarization is binary math more specifically, you must be able to take multiple routes and come up with both a summary route and mask to advertise to downstream routers. Given the networks 100.16.0.0 /16, 100.17.0.0 /16, 100.18.0.0 /16, and 100.19.0.0 /16, could you quickly come up with both the summary address and mask? All you need to do is break the four network numbers down into binary strings. We know the last two octets will all convert to the binary string 00000000, so in this article we'll only illustrate how to convert the first and second octet from decimal to binary.
100 16 = 01100100 00010000
100 17 = 01100100 00010001
100 18 = 01100100 00010010
100 19 = 01100100 00010011
To come up with the summary route, just work from left to right and draw a line where the four networks no longer have a bit in common. For these four networks, that point comes between the 14th and 15th bits. This leaves us with this string: 01100100 000100xx. All you need to do is convert that string back to decimal, which gives us 100 for the first octet and 16 for the second. (The two x values are bits on the right side of the line, which aren't used in calculating the summary route.) Since we know that zero is the value for the last two octets, the resulting summary network number is 100.16.0.0.
But we're not done! We now have to come up with the summary mask to advertise along with the summary route. To arrive at the summary route, write out a mask in binary with a "1" for every bit to the left of the line we drew previously, and a "0" for every bit to the right. That gives us the following string:
11111111 11111100 00000000 00000000
Converting that to dotted decimal, we arrive at the summary mask 255.252.0.0. The correct summary network and mask to advertise are 100.16.0.0 252.0.0.0.
For the BSCI exam, emphasis is put on knowing how to advertise these summary routes in RIPv2, EIGRP, and OSPF. For RIP v2 and EIGRP, route summarization happens at the interface level - it's not configured under the protocol. On the interface that should advertise the summary route, use the command "ip summary-address". Here are examples of how the above summary route would be configured on ethernet0 in both RIPv2 and EIGRP.
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
The main difference between the two is that the EIGRP command must specify the AS number - that's what the "100" is in the middle of the EIGRP command. Since RIPv2 does not use AS numbers, there's no additional value needed in the configuration.
For OSPF, the commands differ. If you're configuring inter-area route summarization, use the "area range" command. The number following "area" is the area containing the routes being summarized, not the area receiving the summary.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#area 1 range 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
If you are summarizing routes that are being redistributed into OSPF, use the summary-address command under the OSPF routing process on the ASBR.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#summary-address 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
I speak from experience when I tell you that practice makes perfect on the BSCI exam, especially with binary and summarization questions. The great thing about these questions is that there are no grey areas with these questions - you either know how to do it or you don't. And with practice and an eye for detail, you can master these skills, pass the exam, and become a CCNP. Here's to your success on these tough Cisco certification exams!
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: The Passive Interface Command And OSPF
To pass the BSCI exam and become a CCNP, you have to be aware of the proper use of passive interfaces. You learned about passive interfaces in your CCNA studies, but here we’ll review the basic concept and clear up one misconception regarding passive interfaces and OSPF.
Configuring an interface as passive will still allow the interface to receive routing updates, but the interface will no longer transmit them. While the command itself would make you think this command will be applied at the interface level, that is not the case. Below, we’ll configure ethernet0 as a RIP passive interface.
R1(config)#router rip
R1(config-router)#passive-interface ethernet0
Ethernet0 will no longer send RIP routing updates, but will accept them.
The passive interface concept is clear enough with RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP – all protocols that send routing update packets. But OSPF doesn’t send routing update packets – OSPF sends link state advertisements. It’s the inability of the passive interface command to stop LSAs that lead many to think that passive interfaces cannot be used with OSPF.
Even though OSPF does not sent "routing updates" in the form that RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP do, you can still configure an OSPF-enabled interface as passive in order to prevent OSPF traffic from exiting or entering that interface. No OSPF adjacency can be formed if one of the interfaces involved is a passive interface, and if you configure an OSPF-enabled interface as passive where an adjacency already exists, the adjacency will drop almost immediately.
Let's see that in action. R1 and R2 have an existing OSPF adjacency over their Ethernet interfaces. In an effort to reduce routing traffic, R1's e0 interface is configured as passive. The adjacency drops right away.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#passive-interface ethernet0
18:31:11: %OSPF-5-ADJCHG: Process 1, Nbr 2.2.2.2 on Ethernet0 from FULL to DOWN, Neighbor Down: Interface down or detached
Knowing how to use the passive interface command is a vital part of being a CCNP, and of being a master networker. Good luck to you in both of these pursuits!
Configuring an interface as passive will still allow the interface to receive routing updates, but the interface will no longer transmit them. While the command itself would make you think this command will be applied at the interface level, that is not the case. Below, we’ll configure ethernet0 as a RIP passive interface.
R1(config)#router rip
R1(config-router)#passive-interface ethernet0
Ethernet0 will no longer send RIP routing updates, but will accept them.
The passive interface concept is clear enough with RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP – all protocols that send routing update packets. But OSPF doesn’t send routing update packets – OSPF sends link state advertisements. It’s the inability of the passive interface command to stop LSAs that lead many to think that passive interfaces cannot be used with OSPF.
Even though OSPF does not sent "routing updates" in the form that RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP do, you can still configure an OSPF-enabled interface as passive in order to prevent OSPF traffic from exiting or entering that interface. No OSPF adjacency can be formed if one of the interfaces involved is a passive interface, and if you configure an OSPF-enabled interface as passive where an adjacency already exists, the adjacency will drop almost immediately.
Let's see that in action. R1 and R2 have an existing OSPF adjacency over their Ethernet interfaces. In an effort to reduce routing traffic, R1's e0 interface is configured as passive. The adjacency drops right away.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#passive-interface ethernet0
18:31:11: %OSPF-5-ADJCHG: Process 1, Nbr 2.2.2.2 on Ethernet0 from FULL to DOWN, Neighbor Down: Interface down or detached
Knowing how to use the passive interface command is a vital part of being a CCNP, and of being a master networker. Good luck to you in both of these pursuits!
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: EIGRP Route Summarization
Summarizing routes is a vital skill to learn to pass the BSCI exam and get one step closer to earning your CCNP. The actual binary conversions are only part of the test, though! You've got to know how to correctly apply the summary routes, and that differs from one protocol to the next. In the last few CCNP / BSCI tutorials, we've looked at using the "area range" and "summary-address" commands to perform OSPF route summarization. Today, we'll take a look at summarizing routes in EIGRP.
We'll use the following four loopback addresses in this example:
Loopback 16, 16.16.16.16 /32
Loopback 17, 17.17.17.17 /32
Loopback 18, 18.18.18.18 /32
Loopback 19. 19.19.19.19 /32
On R1, we'll place these four addresses into EIGRP AS 100.
R1(config-if)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#network 16.16.16.16 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 17.17.17.17 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 18.18.18.18 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 19.19.19.19 0.0.0.0
R3 is an EIGRP neighbor of R1, and that router's EIGRP routing table now looks like this:
R3#show ip route eigrp
17.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 17.17.17.17 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:29, Serial0
16.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 16.16.16.16 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:36, Serial0
19.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 19.19.19.19 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0
18.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 18.18.18.18 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:22, Serial0
To perform manual route summarization, write out the network addresses in binary and then determine the point at which the addresses no longer have a bit in common. For these four addresses, it will be enough to write out the first octet in binary:
16 00010000
17 00010001
18 00010010
19 00010011
Working from left to right, the common bits are the first six bits - 000100xx. In decimal, this value is 16. The summary mask must be determined as well, and that value is derived from putting a "1" in the mask for each common bit. With the first six bits all set to one - 11111100 - the resulting mask is 252.0.0.0. The full summary address is 16.0.0.0 252.0.0.0.
In EIGRP, the summary address is actually configured on an interface, not under the routing process.
R1(config)#interface serial0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 16.0.0.0 252.0.0.0
02:39:50: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.3 (Serial0) is down: summary configured
02:39:50: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.2 (Serial0) is down: summary configured
02:40:16: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.2 (Serial0) is up : new adjacency
02:40:17: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.3 (Serial0) is up: new adjacency
There's an immediate side effect here that most books leave out. Your EIGRP adjacencies are going to come down after you configure this summary, but they should come back up quickly. The key word there is "should". If you configure EIGRP summary addresses on a production network, you may want to do this during non-peak hours. The timestamps on the above commands indicate that the adjacencies were down for about 27 seconds over the NBMA network. That's about 30 minutes in end-user time. ;)
Check R3's EIGRP routing table.
R3#show ip route eigrp
D 16.0.0.0/6 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:01:46, Serial0
The four summarized routes are no longer in the routing table, and they have been replaced by the summary route shown at the bottom of the routing table. Notice the mask is /5, which is prefix notation for 248.0.0.0.
Knowing how and why to summarize routes is a valuable skill, regardless of the protocol in use. But before you take the BSCI exam on your way to the CCNP, make sure you know how to perform summarization with all of the core protocols!
We'll use the following four loopback addresses in this example:
Loopback 16, 16.16.16.16 /32
Loopback 17, 17.17.17.17 /32
Loopback 18, 18.18.18.18 /32
Loopback 19. 19.19.19.19 /32
On R1, we'll place these four addresses into EIGRP AS 100.
R1(config-if)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#network 16.16.16.16 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 17.17.17.17 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 18.18.18.18 0.0.0.0
R1(config-router)#network 19.19.19.19 0.0.0.0
R3 is an EIGRP neighbor of R1, and that router's EIGRP routing table now looks like this:
R3#show ip route eigrp
17.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 17.17.17.17 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:29, Serial0
16.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 16.16.16.16 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:36, Serial0
19.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 19.19.19.19 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0
18.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 18.18.18.18 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:22, Serial0
To perform manual route summarization, write out the network addresses in binary and then determine the point at which the addresses no longer have a bit in common. For these four addresses, it will be enough to write out the first octet in binary:
16 00010000
17 00010001
18 00010010
19 00010011
Working from left to right, the common bits are the first six bits - 000100xx. In decimal, this value is 16. The summary mask must be determined as well, and that value is derived from putting a "1" in the mask for each common bit. With the first six bits all set to one - 11111100 - the resulting mask is 252.0.0.0. The full summary address is 16.0.0.0 252.0.0.0.
In EIGRP, the summary address is actually configured on an interface, not under the routing process.
R1(config)#interface serial0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 16.0.0.0 252.0.0.0
02:39:50: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.3 (Serial0) is down: summary configured
02:39:50: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.2 (Serial0) is down: summary configured
02:40:16: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.2 (Serial0) is up : new adjacency
02:40:17: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor
172.12.123.3 (Serial0) is up: new adjacency
There's an immediate side effect here that most books leave out. Your EIGRP adjacencies are going to come down after you configure this summary, but they should come back up quickly. The key word there is "should". If you configure EIGRP summary addresses on a production network, you may want to do this during non-peak hours. The timestamps on the above commands indicate that the adjacencies were down for about 27 seconds over the NBMA network. That's about 30 minutes in end-user time. ;)
Check R3's EIGRP routing table.
R3#show ip route eigrp
D 16.0.0.0/6 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:01:46, Serial0
The four summarized routes are no longer in the routing table, and they have been replaced by the summary route shown at the bottom of the routing table. Notice the mask is /5, which is prefix notation for 248.0.0.0.
Knowing how and why to summarize routes is a valuable skill, regardless of the protocol in use. But before you take the BSCI exam on your way to the CCNP, make sure you know how to perform summarization with all of the core protocols!
Cisco CCNP / BCSI Exam Tutorial: Configuring EIGRP Packet
Configuring RIPv2 and EIGRP authentication with key chains can be tricky at first, and the syntax isn't exactly easy to remember. But for BSCI and CCNP exam success, we've got to be able to perform this task.
In a previous tutorial, we saw how to configure RIPv2 packet authentication, with both clear-text and MD5 authentication schemes. EIGRP authentication is much the same, and has the text and MD5 authentication options as well. But EIGRP being EIGRP, the command just has to be a little more detailed!
As with RIPv2, the authentication mode must be agreed upon by the EIGRP neighbors. If one router's interface is configured for MD5 authentication and the remote router's interface is configured for text authentication, the adjacency will fail even if the two interfaces in question are configured to use the same password.
We'll now configure link authentication on the adjacency over an Ethernet segment. Below, you'll see how to configure a key chain called EIGRP on both routers, use key number 1, and use the key-string BSCI. Run show key chain on a router to see all key chains.
R2(config)#key chain EIGRP
R2(config-keychain)#key 1
R2(config-keychain-key)#key-string BSCI
R2#show key chain
Key-chain EIGRP:
key 1 -- text "BSCI"
accept lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
send lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
R3(config)#key chain EIGRP
R3(config-keychain)#key 1
R3(config-keychain-key)#key-string BSCI
R3#show key chain
Key-chain EIGRP:
key 1 -- text "BSCI"
accept lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
send lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
The EIGRP command to apply the key chain is a bit of a pain to remember, because the protocol and AS number is identified in the middle of the command, not the beginning. Also note that two commands are needed - one to name the key chain, another to define the authentication mode in use.
R2(config)#interface ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip authentication key-chain eigrp 100 EIGRP
R2(config-if)#ip authentication mode eigrp 100 md5
5d07h: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.3 (Ethernet0) is down: keychain changed
R3(config)#interface ethernet0
R3(config-if)#ip authentication key-chain eigrp 100 EIGRP
R3(config-if)#ip authentication mode eigrp 100 md5
5d07h: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.2 (Ethernet0) is up:
As with RIPv2, the existing adjacency was torn down when one side was configured with authentication. If the key chain is correctly defined and applied on both sides, the adjacency will come back up. Always run show ip eigrp neighbor to make sure the adjacency is present. Learn the details of EIGRP key chains by configuring them on your home lab equipment, and you'll be more than ready for BSCI exam success!
In a previous tutorial, we saw how to configure RIPv2 packet authentication, with both clear-text and MD5 authentication schemes. EIGRP authentication is much the same, and has the text and MD5 authentication options as well. But EIGRP being EIGRP, the command just has to be a little more detailed!
As with RIPv2, the authentication mode must be agreed upon by the EIGRP neighbors. If one router's interface is configured for MD5 authentication and the remote router's interface is configured for text authentication, the adjacency will fail even if the two interfaces in question are configured to use the same password.
We'll now configure link authentication on the adjacency over an Ethernet segment. Below, you'll see how to configure a key chain called EIGRP on both routers, use key number 1, and use the key-string BSCI. Run show key chain on a router to see all key chains.
R2(config)#key chain EIGRP
R2(config-keychain)#key 1
R2(config-keychain-key)#key-string BSCI
R2#show key chain
Key-chain EIGRP:
key 1 -- text "BSCI"
accept lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
send lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
R3(config)#key chain EIGRP
R3(config-keychain)#key 1
R3(config-keychain-key)#key-string BSCI
R3#show key chain
Key-chain EIGRP:
key 1 -- text "BSCI"
accept lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
send lifetime (always valid) - (always valid) [valid now]
The EIGRP command to apply the key chain is a bit of a pain to remember, because the protocol and AS number is identified in the middle of the command, not the beginning. Also note that two commands are needed - one to name the key chain, another to define the authentication mode in use.
R2(config)#interface ethernet0
R2(config-if)#ip authentication key-chain eigrp 100 EIGRP
R2(config-if)#ip authentication mode eigrp 100 md5
5d07h: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.3 (Ethernet0) is down: keychain changed
R3(config)#interface ethernet0
R3(config-if)#ip authentication key-chain eigrp 100 EIGRP
R3(config-if)#ip authentication mode eigrp 100 md5
5d07h: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.2 (Ethernet0) is up:
As with RIPv2, the existing adjacency was torn down when one side was configured with authentication. If the key chain is correctly defined and applied on both sides, the adjacency will come back up. Always run show ip eigrp neighbor to make sure the adjacency is present. Learn the details of EIGRP key chains by configuring them on your home lab equipment, and you'll be more than ready for BSCI exam success!
Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Split Horizon And Hub-And-Spoke Networks
For CCNA exam success, you had better know what split horizon is, how to turn it off, and when to turn it off. Knowing when to turn split horizon off is also important in production networks, because it can cause a hub-and-spoke network to have incomplete routing tables on the spokes.
Split horizon exists for a very good reason - routing loop prevention. The rule of split horizon states that a router cannot send an advertisement for a route out the same interface that it came in on. Split horizon is on by default on all interfaces running RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP.
In this CCNA tutorial, R1 will serve, as the hub and R2 and R3 will be the spokes. We'll first configure EIGRP over the 172.16.123.0 /24 network, the network connecting the three routers.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#no auto-summary
R1(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
R2#conf t
R2(config)#router eigrp 100
R2(config-router)#no auto-summary
R2(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
R3#conf t
R3(config)#router eigrp 100
R3(config-router)#no auto-summary
R3(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
Running show ip eigrp neighbor on R1 shows that adjacencies to R2 and R3 are up.
R1#show ip eigrp neighbor
IP-EIGRP neighbors for process 100
H Address Interface Hold Uptime SRTT RTO Q Seq Type
(sec) (ms) Cnt Num
1 172.12.123.3 Se0/0 11 00:02:45 1 5000 0 1
0 172.12.123.2 Se0/0 161 00:03:01 1 5000 0 1
Each router will now advertise its loopback address via EIGRP.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#network 1.1.1.0 0.0.0.255
R2#conf t
R2(config)#router eigrp 100
R2(config-router)#network 2.2.2.0 0.0.0.255
R3#conf t
R3(config)#router eigrp 100
R3(config-router)#network 3.3.3.0 0.0.0.255
Running show ip eigrp route on each router shows that R1 has a route for both R2’s and R3’s loopback. R2 and R3 will only see R1’s loopback address, and not each other’s. Why?
R1#show ip route eigrp
2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 2.2.2.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.2, 00:03:19, Serial0/0
3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 3.3.3.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.3, 00:03:04, Serial0/0
R2#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:03:40, Serial0/0.123
R3#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:05:17, Serial0/0.31
EIGRP uses Split Horizon by default to prevent routing loops. In this lab, though, it prevents full network reachability. R2 and R3 both form neighbor relationships with R1’s Serial physical interface. R2 advertises its loopback address to R1’s Serial interface, as does R3. Split Horizon does not allow a route to be advertised back out the same interface it was received on. This prevents R1 from advertising R2’s loopback to R3, or R3’s loopback to R2.
Split Horizon must be disabled to allow full network reachability in this lab. To do so, run no ip split-horizon eigrp 100 on R1’s Serial interface. When Split Horizon is disabled, that will cause the neighbor
relationships to fail, and then reestablish. Run show ip route eigrp 100 on both R2 and R3. The appropriate route to the remote loopback address will now appear.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#int serial0
R1(config-if)#no ip split-horizon eigrp 100
10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed
10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed
10:02:27: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency
10:02:54: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency
R2#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123
3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 3.3.3.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123
R3#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31
2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 2.2.2.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31
Disabling split horizon should be done with care, but knowing when and where to do so shows that you truly understand how this technology works - and that's a big step on the way to earning your CCNA!
Split horizon exists for a very good reason - routing loop prevention. The rule of split horizon states that a router cannot send an advertisement for a route out the same interface that it came in on. Split horizon is on by default on all interfaces running RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP.
In this CCNA tutorial, R1 will serve, as the hub and R2 and R3 will be the spokes. We'll first configure EIGRP over the 172.16.123.0 /24 network, the network connecting the three routers.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#no auto-summary
R1(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
R2#conf t
R2(config)#router eigrp 100
R2(config-router)#no auto-summary
R2(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
R3#conf t
R3(config)#router eigrp 100
R3(config-router)#no auto-summary
R3(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255
Running show ip eigrp neighbor on R1 shows that adjacencies to R2 and R3 are up.
R1#show ip eigrp neighbor
IP-EIGRP neighbors for process 100
H Address Interface Hold Uptime SRTT RTO Q Seq Type
(sec) (ms) Cnt Num
1 172.12.123.3 Se0/0 11 00:02:45 1 5000 0 1
0 172.12.123.2 Se0/0 161 00:03:01 1 5000 0 1
Each router will now advertise its loopback address via EIGRP.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router eigrp 100
R1(config-router)#network 1.1.1.0 0.0.0.255
R2#conf t
R2(config)#router eigrp 100
R2(config-router)#network 2.2.2.0 0.0.0.255
R3#conf t
R3(config)#router eigrp 100
R3(config-router)#network 3.3.3.0 0.0.0.255
Running show ip eigrp route on each router shows that R1 has a route for both R2’s and R3’s loopback. R2 and R3 will only see R1’s loopback address, and not each other’s. Why?
R1#show ip route eigrp
2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 2.2.2.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.2, 00:03:19, Serial0/0
3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 3.3.3.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.3, 00:03:04, Serial0/0
R2#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:03:40, Serial0/0.123
R3#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:05:17, Serial0/0.31
EIGRP uses Split Horizon by default to prevent routing loops. In this lab, though, it prevents full network reachability. R2 and R3 both form neighbor relationships with R1’s Serial physical interface. R2 advertises its loopback address to R1’s Serial interface, as does R3. Split Horizon does not allow a route to be advertised back out the same interface it was received on. This prevents R1 from advertising R2’s loopback to R3, or R3’s loopback to R2.
Split Horizon must be disabled to allow full network reachability in this lab. To do so, run no ip split-horizon eigrp 100 on R1’s Serial interface. When Split Horizon is disabled, that will cause the neighbor
relationships to fail, and then reestablish. Run show ip route eigrp 100 on both R2 and R3. The appropriate route to the remote loopback address will now appear.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#int serial0
R1(config-if)#no ip split-horizon eigrp 100
10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed
10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed
10:02:27: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency
10:02:54: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency
R2#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123
3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 3.3.3.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123
R3#show ip route eigrp
1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31
2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
D 2.2.2.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31
Disabling split horizon should be done with care, but knowing when and where to do so shows that you truly understand how this technology works - and that's a big step on the way to earning your CCNA!
Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Route Summarization
Preparing to pass the CCNA exam and earn this important Cisco certification? Route summarization is just one of the many skills you'll have to master in order to earn your CCNA. Whether it's RIP version 2, OSPF, or EIGRP, the CCNA exam will demand that you can flawlessly configure route summarization.
Route summarization isn't just important for the CCNA exam. It's a valuable skill to have in the real world as well. Correctly summarizing routes can lead to smaller routing tables that are still able to route packets accurately - what I like to call "concise and complete" routing tables.
The first skill you've got to have in order to work with route summarization is binary math; more specifically, you must be able to take multiple routes and come up with both a summary route and mask to advertise to downstream routers. Given the networks 100.16.0.0 /16, 100.17.0.0 /16, 100.18.0.0 /16, and 100.19.0.0 /16, could you quickly come up with both the summary address and mask? All you need to do is break the four network numbers down into binary strings. We know the last two octets will all convert to the binary string 00000000, so in this article we'll only illustrate how to convert the first and second octet from decimal to binary.
100 16 = 01100100 00010000
100 17 = 01100100 00010001
100 18 = 01100100 00010010
100 19 = 01100100 00010011
To come up with the summary route, just work from left to right and draw a line where the four networks no longer have a bit in common. For these four networks, that point comes between the 14th and 15th bits. This leaves us with this string: 01100100 000100xx. All you need to do is convert that string back to decimal, which gives us 100 for the first octet and 16 for the second. (The two x values are bits on the right side of the line, which aren't used in calculating the summary route.) Since we know that zero is the value for the last two octets, the resulting summary network number is 100.16.0.0.
But we're not done! We now have to come up with the summary mask to advertise along with the summary route. To arrive at the summary route, write out a mask in binary with a "1" for every bit to the left of the line we drew previously, and a "0" for every bit to the right. That gives us the following string:
11111111 11111100 00000000 00000000
Converting that to dotted decimal, we arrive at the summary mask 255.252.0.0. The correct summary network and mask to advertise are 100.16.0.0 252.0.0.0.
For the CCNA exam, emphasis is put on knowing how to advertise these summary routes in RIPv2 and EIGRP. For both of these protocols, route summarization happens at the interface level - it's not configured under the protocol. On the interface that should advertise the summary route, use the command "ip summary-address". Here are examples of how the above summary route would be configured on ethernet0 in both RIPv2 and EIGRP.
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
The main difference between the two is that the EIGRP command must specify the AS number - that's what the "100" is in the middle of the EIGRP command. Since RIPv2 does not use AS numbers, there's no additional value needed in the configuration.
For OSPF, the commands differ. If you're configuring inter-area route summarization, use the "area range" command; if you are summarizing routes that are being redistributed into OSPF, use the summary-address command under the OSPF routing process on the ASBR. Neither of these are interface-level commands.
I speak from experience when I tell you that practice makes perfect on the CCNA exam, especially with binary and summarization questions. The great thing about these questions is that there are no grey areas with these questions - you either know how to do it or you don't. And with practice and an eye for detail, you can master these skills, pass the exam, and become a CCNA. Here's to your success!
Route summarization isn't just important for the CCNA exam. It's a valuable skill to have in the real world as well. Correctly summarizing routes can lead to smaller routing tables that are still able to route packets accurately - what I like to call "concise and complete" routing tables.
The first skill you've got to have in order to work with route summarization is binary math; more specifically, you must be able to take multiple routes and come up with both a summary route and mask to advertise to downstream routers. Given the networks 100.16.0.0 /16, 100.17.0.0 /16, 100.18.0.0 /16, and 100.19.0.0 /16, could you quickly come up with both the summary address and mask? All you need to do is break the four network numbers down into binary strings. We know the last two octets will all convert to the binary string 00000000, so in this article we'll only illustrate how to convert the first and second octet from decimal to binary.
100 16 = 01100100 00010000
100 17 = 01100100 00010001
100 18 = 01100100 00010010
100 19 = 01100100 00010011
To come up with the summary route, just work from left to right and draw a line where the four networks no longer have a bit in common. For these four networks, that point comes between the 14th and 15th bits. This leaves us with this string: 01100100 000100xx. All you need to do is convert that string back to decimal, which gives us 100 for the first octet and 16 for the second. (The two x values are bits on the right side of the line, which aren't used in calculating the summary route.) Since we know that zero is the value for the last two octets, the resulting summary network number is 100.16.0.0.
But we're not done! We now have to come up with the summary mask to advertise along with the summary route. To arrive at the summary route, write out a mask in binary with a "1" for every bit to the left of the line we drew previously, and a "0" for every bit to the right. That gives us the following string:
11111111 11111100 00000000 00000000
Converting that to dotted decimal, we arrive at the summary mask 255.252.0.0. The correct summary network and mask to advertise are 100.16.0.0 252.0.0.0.
For the CCNA exam, emphasis is put on knowing how to advertise these summary routes in RIPv2 and EIGRP. For both of these protocols, route summarization happens at the interface level - it's not configured under the protocol. On the interface that should advertise the summary route, use the command "ip summary-address". Here are examples of how the above summary route would be configured on ethernet0 in both RIPv2 and EIGRP.
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0
The main difference between the two is that the EIGRP command must specify the AS number - that's what the "100" is in the middle of the EIGRP command. Since RIPv2 does not use AS numbers, there's no additional value needed in the configuration.
For OSPF, the commands differ. If you're configuring inter-area route summarization, use the "area range" command; if you are summarizing routes that are being redistributed into OSPF, use the summary-address command under the OSPF routing process on the ASBR. Neither of these are interface-level commands.
I speak from experience when I tell you that practice makes perfect on the CCNA exam, especially with binary and summarization questions. The great thing about these questions is that there are no grey areas with these questions - you either know how to do it or you don't. And with practice and an eye for detail, you can master these skills, pass the exam, and become a CCNA. Here's to your success!
Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: IGRP And Equal Cost Load Balancing
To pass the CCNA exam, you've got to know the role of the bandwidth command with IGRP and EIGRP and when to use it. In this tutorial, we'll configure IGRP over a frame relay hub-and-spoke network using the following networks:
R1 (the hub), R2, and R3 are running IGRP over the 172.12.123.0 /24 network. This is a T1 line.
R1 and R3 are also connected on a different subnet, 172.12.13.0 /24. The bandwidth of this connection is 512 KBPS.
R2 and R3 are also connected by an Ethernet segment, 172.23.0.0 /16.
We'll configure IGRP on R1, R2, and R3 with the router igrp 1 command. IGRP will run on all interfaces in the 172.12.0.0 and 172.23.0.0 network.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router igrp 1
R1(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
The “1” in the router igrp command refers to the Autonomous System (AS). IGRP is a classful routing protocol, so wildcard masks are not used in the network statements.
R2#conf t
R2(config-if)#router igrp 1
R2(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
R2(config-router)#network 172.23.0.0
R3#conf t
R3(config-if)#router igrp 1
R3(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
R3(config-router)#network 172.23.0.0
Run show ip route on R1. R1 will see three equal-cost paths to the Ethernet network. IGRP supports load-sharing over up to four equal-cost paths by default, so all three paths appear in the routing table. R1 will also see a route to the loopback address on R2 and two routes to the loopback address on R3. (You can also run show ip route igrp in order to see only the IGRP routes.)
R1#show ip route igrp
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:02, Serial0
[100/8576] via 172.12.13.3, 00:00:02, Serial1
[100/8576] via 172.12.123.3, 00:00:01, Serial0
Remember that the numbers in the brackets following the network number in the routes are the Administrative Distance and the IGRP metric, in that order.
Note that classful masks are in use. IGRP does not support variable-length subnet masks (VLSM).
There are two serial connections between R1 and R3. IGRP is assuming that both lines are T1 lines, running at 1544 KBPS. The 172.12.13.0 network is participating in equal-cost load sharing because of IGRP’s bandwidth assumption - that all serial interfaces are connected to T1 lines.
To give IGRP a more accurate picture of the network’s bandwidth, configure bandwidth 512 on R1 and R3’s Serial1 interface (the interfaces on the 172.12.13.0 network).
R1#conf t
R1(config)#interface serial1
R1(config-if)#bandwidth 512
R3#conf t
R3(config)#interface serial 1
R3(config-if)#bandwidth 512
IGRP’s assumption that all serial lines run at 1544 KBPS is overridden by the bandwidth 512 command. IGRP now believes this line runs at 512 KBPS.
To see the effect of this command, clear your routing table on R1.
R1#clear ip route *
R1#show ip route igrp
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.3, 00:00:24, Serial0/0
[100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:17, Serial0/0
The routing table is cleared with clear ip route *. To see only the routes received in IGRP updates instead of the entire table, run show ip route igrp.
One of the paths to 172.23.0.0 is now gone - the route that went through the 172.12.13.0 network. Now that IGRP sees that link as slower than the others, equal-cost load balancing will not occur over the 172.12.13.0 network.
It’s important to understand that the bandwidth command does not actually change the bandwidth of the connection; it changes IGRP’s assumption of what the bandwidth is.
In the next part of this IGRP load-balancing tutorial, we'll take a look at how to configure unequal-cost load balancing.
R1 (the hub), R2, and R3 are running IGRP over the 172.12.123.0 /24 network. This is a T1 line.
R1 and R3 are also connected on a different subnet, 172.12.13.0 /24. The bandwidth of this connection is 512 KBPS.
R2 and R3 are also connected by an Ethernet segment, 172.23.0.0 /16.
We'll configure IGRP on R1, R2, and R3 with the router igrp 1 command. IGRP will run on all interfaces in the 172.12.0.0 and 172.23.0.0 network.
R1#conf t
R1(config)#router igrp 1
R1(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
The “1” in the router igrp command refers to the Autonomous System (AS). IGRP is a classful routing protocol, so wildcard masks are not used in the network statements.
R2#conf t
R2(config-if)#router igrp 1
R2(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
R2(config-router)#network 172.23.0.0
R3#conf t
R3(config-if)#router igrp 1
R3(config-router)#network 172.12.0.0
R3(config-router)#network 172.23.0.0
Run show ip route on R1. R1 will see three equal-cost paths to the Ethernet network. IGRP supports load-sharing over up to four equal-cost paths by default, so all three paths appear in the routing table. R1 will also see a route to the loopback address on R2 and two routes to the loopback address on R3. (You can also run show ip route igrp in order to see only the IGRP routes.)
R1#show ip route igrp
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:02, Serial0
[100/8576] via 172.12.13.3, 00:00:02, Serial1
[100/8576] via 172.12.123.3, 00:00:01, Serial0
Remember that the numbers in the brackets following the network number in the routes are the Administrative Distance and the IGRP metric, in that order.
Note that classful masks are in use. IGRP does not support variable-length subnet masks (VLSM).
There are two serial connections between R1 and R3. IGRP is assuming that both lines are T1 lines, running at 1544 KBPS. The 172.12.13.0 network is participating in equal-cost load sharing because of IGRP’s bandwidth assumption - that all serial interfaces are connected to T1 lines.
To give IGRP a more accurate picture of the network’s bandwidth, configure bandwidth 512 on R1 and R3’s Serial1 interface (the interfaces on the 172.12.13.0 network).
R1#conf t
R1(config)#interface serial1
R1(config-if)#bandwidth 512
R3#conf t
R3(config)#interface serial 1
R3(config-if)#bandwidth 512
IGRP’s assumption that all serial lines run at 1544 KBPS is overridden by the bandwidth 512 command. IGRP now believes this line runs at 512 KBPS.
To see the effect of this command, clear your routing table on R1.
R1#clear ip route *
R1#show ip route igrp
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.3, 00:00:24, Serial0/0
[100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:17, Serial0/0
The routing table is cleared with clear ip route *. To see only the routes received in IGRP updates instead of the entire table, run show ip route igrp.
One of the paths to 172.23.0.0 is now gone - the route that went through the 172.12.13.0 network. Now that IGRP sees that link as slower than the others, equal-cost load balancing will not occur over the 172.12.13.0 network.
It’s important to understand that the bandwidth command does not actually change the bandwidth of the connection; it changes IGRP’s assumption of what the bandwidth is.
In the next part of this IGRP load-balancing tutorial, we'll take a look at how to configure unequal-cost load balancing.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Variance And Unequal Cost Load Balancing
To pass the CCNA exam, you've got to know how to work with IGRP and EIGRP unequal-cost load balancing. You may not see much IGRP in production networks anymore, but you'll see a lot of EIGRP, and part of fine-tuning your EIGRP network is making sure that all paths are in use while allowing for varying bandwidth rates.
Using the variance command is the easy part - it's getting the metric that's the hard part with IGRP. With EIGRP, you just look in the topology table and that's it. With IGRP, you've got to run a debug to get the right metric.
The variance command is a multiplier when the value supplied with the variance command is multiplied by the lowest-cost metric, it must exceed the higher-cost metric in order for the higher-cost route to be added.
If that sounds complicated, it's not. It's one of those things that sounds difficult, but isn't. Trust me!
In this example, R1 has two paths to 172.23.0.0, but is currently using only one. By looking in the IP routing table, we've seen that the lowest-cost metric for network 172.23.0.0 on R1 is 8576. This path goes through the 172.12.123.0 network. There is another valid path that uses the 172.12.13.0 network, but is not currently in use.
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:53, Serial0
IGRP does not have a “show" command that displays all valid routes to a destination, as does EIGRP. The command debug ip igrp transactions will show the current metric of the routes using the 512 KBPS route.
R1#debug ip igrp transactions
IGRP protocol debugging is on
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Loopback0
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Serial0
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Serial1
19:17:51: IGRP: received update from 172.12.13.3 on Serial1
19:17:51: subnet 172.12.13.0, metric 23531 (neighbor 21531)
19:17:51: subnet 172.12.123.0, metric 23531 (neighbor 8476)
19:17:51: network 1.0.0.0, metric 24031 (neighbor 8976)
19:17:51: network 2.0.0.0, metric 22131 (neighbor 1600)
19:17:51: network 3.0.0.0, metric 22031 (neighbor 501)
19:17:51: network 172.23.0.0, metric 21631 (neighbor 1100)
R1(config)#router igrp 1
R1(config-router)#variance 3
R1#show ip route 172.23.0.0
Routing entry for 172.23.0.0/16
Known via "igrp 1", distance 100, metric 8576
Redistributing via igrp 1
Advertised by igrp 1 (self originated)
Last update from 172.12.123.2 on Serial0, 00:00:01 ago
Routing Descriptor Blocks:
* 172.12.13.3, from 172.12.13.3, 00:00:20 ago, via Serial1
Route metric is 21631, traffic share count is 1
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 512 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
172.12.123.3, from 172.12.123.3, 00:00:20 ago, via Serial0
Route metric is 8576, traffic share count is 3
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 1544 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
172.12.123.2, from 172.12.123.2, 00:00:01 ago, via Serial0
Route metric is 8576, traffic share count is 3
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 1544 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
The metric for 172.23.0.0 through the direct connection is 21631. A variance of 3 means that any route with a metric less than the best metric multiplied by the variance (in this case, 8576 x 3 = 25728) will be entered into the routing table. R1 now has three unequal-cost paths to 172.23.0.0 in its routing table, and load balancing will take place.
IGRP unequal-cost load balancing takes some practice, but as you can see, once you get the metric it's easy to work with. Just make sure you know how to get that metric!
Using the variance command is the easy part - it's getting the metric that's the hard part with IGRP. With EIGRP, you just look in the topology table and that's it. With IGRP, you've got to run a debug to get the right metric.
The variance command is a multiplier when the value supplied with the variance command is multiplied by the lowest-cost metric, it must exceed the higher-cost metric in order for the higher-cost route to be added.
If that sounds complicated, it's not. It's one of those things that sounds difficult, but isn't. Trust me!
In this example, R1 has two paths to 172.23.0.0, but is currently using only one. By looking in the IP routing table, we've seen that the lowest-cost metric for network 172.23.0.0 on R1 is 8576. This path goes through the 172.12.123.0 network. There is another valid path that uses the 172.12.13.0 network, but is not currently in use.
I 172.23.0.0/16 [100/8576] via 172.12.123.2, 00:00:53, Serial0
IGRP does not have a “show" command that displays all valid routes to a destination, as does EIGRP. The command debug ip igrp transactions will show the current metric of the routes using the 512 KBPS route.
R1#debug ip igrp transactions
IGRP protocol debugging is on
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Loopback0
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Serial0
19:17:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Serial1
19:17:51: IGRP: received update from 172.12.13.3 on Serial1
19:17:51: subnet 172.12.13.0, metric 23531 (neighbor 21531)
19:17:51: subnet 172.12.123.0, metric 23531 (neighbor 8476)
19:17:51: network 1.0.0.0, metric 24031 (neighbor 8976)
19:17:51: network 2.0.0.0, metric 22131 (neighbor 1600)
19:17:51: network 3.0.0.0, metric 22031 (neighbor 501)
19:17:51: network 172.23.0.0, metric 21631 (neighbor 1100)
R1(config)#router igrp 1
R1(config-router)#variance 3
R1#show ip route 172.23.0.0
Routing entry for 172.23.0.0/16
Known via "igrp 1", distance 100, metric 8576
Redistributing via igrp 1
Advertised by igrp 1 (self originated)
Last update from 172.12.123.2 on Serial0, 00:00:01 ago
Routing Descriptor Blocks:
* 172.12.13.3, from 172.12.13.3, 00:00:20 ago, via Serial1
Route metric is 21631, traffic share count is 1
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 512 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
172.12.123.3, from 172.12.123.3, 00:00:20 ago, via Serial0
Route metric is 8576, traffic share count is 3
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 1544 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
172.12.123.2, from 172.12.123.2, 00:00:01 ago, via Serial0
Route metric is 8576, traffic share count is 3
Total delay is 21000 microseconds, minimum bandwidth is 1544 Kbit
Reliability 255/255, minimum MTU 1500 bytes
Loading 1/255, Hops 0
The metric for 172.23.0.0 through the direct connection is 21631. A variance of 3 means that any route with a metric less than the best metric multiplied by the variance (in this case, 8576 x 3 = 25728) will be entered into the routing table. R1 now has three unequal-cost paths to 172.23.0.0 in its routing table, and load balancing will take place.
IGRP unequal-cost load balancing takes some practice, but as you can see, once you get the metric it's easy to work with. Just make sure you know how to get that metric!
Cisco CCNA Certification: Broadcasts, Unicasts, And Multicasts
When you begin your CCNA studies, you get hit with a lot of different networking terms right away that you might not be familiar with. What makes it a little more confusing is that a lot of these terms sound a lot alike. Here, we're going to discuss the differences between broadcasts, multicasts, and unicasts at both the Data Link (Layer 2) and Network (Layer 3) layers of the OSI model.
A broadcast is simply a unit of information that every other device on the segment will receive. A broadcast is indicated by having every bit of the address set to its highest possible value. Since a hexadecimal bit's highest value is "f", a hexadecimal broadcast is ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff (or FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF, as the upper case does not affect hex value). The CCNA exam will demand you be very familiar with hex conversions, so if you're not comfortable with these conversions, get comfortable with them before taking the exam!
At layer 3, a broadcast is indicated by setting every bit in the 32-bit binary string to "1", making the dotted decimal value 255.255.255.255. Every host on a segment will receive such a broadcast. (Keep in mind that switches will forward a broadcast, but routers do not.) In contrast to a broadcast, a unicast is a packet or frame with only one destination.
There is a middle ground between broadcasts and unicasts, and that is a multicast. Where a broadcast will be received by all, and a unicast is received by only one host, a multicast will be received by multiple hosts, all belonging to a "multicast group". As you climb the Cisco certification pyramid, you'll be introduced to creating multicast groups and controlling multicast traffic, but for your CCNA studies you need only keep certain multicast groups in mind.
Class D addresses are reserved for multicasting this range is 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255. The addresses 224.0.0.0 - 224.255.255.255 are reserved for use by network protocols on a local network segment, and like broadcasts, routers will not forward these multicast packets. (Packets with these addresses are sent with a Time To Live of 1.)
As a CCNA candidate, you should know that OSPF routers use the address 224.0.0.5 to send hellos, EIGRP routers use 224.0.0.10 to send updates, and RIP version 2 uses 224.0.0.9 to send routing updates. RIP version 1 and IGRP both broadcast their updates.
Multicasting gets a bit more complicated as you go from your CCNA to the CCNP and CCIE, but by simply understanding what multicasting is, you go a long way toward securing the CCNA.
A broadcast is simply a unit of information that every other device on the segment will receive. A broadcast is indicated by having every bit of the address set to its highest possible value. Since a hexadecimal bit's highest value is "f", a hexadecimal broadcast is ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff (or FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF, as the upper case does not affect hex value). The CCNA exam will demand you be very familiar with hex conversions, so if you're not comfortable with these conversions, get comfortable with them before taking the exam!
At layer 3, a broadcast is indicated by setting every bit in the 32-bit binary string to "1", making the dotted decimal value 255.255.255.255. Every host on a segment will receive such a broadcast. (Keep in mind that switches will forward a broadcast, but routers do not.) In contrast to a broadcast, a unicast is a packet or frame with only one destination.
There is a middle ground between broadcasts and unicasts, and that is a multicast. Where a broadcast will be received by all, and a unicast is received by only one host, a multicast will be received by multiple hosts, all belonging to a "multicast group". As you climb the Cisco certification pyramid, you'll be introduced to creating multicast groups and controlling multicast traffic, but for your CCNA studies you need only keep certain multicast groups in mind.
Class D addresses are reserved for multicasting this range is 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255. The addresses 224.0.0.0 - 224.255.255.255 are reserved for use by network protocols on a local network segment, and like broadcasts, routers will not forward these multicast packets. (Packets with these addresses are sent with a Time To Live of 1.)
As a CCNA candidate, you should know that OSPF routers use the address 224.0.0.5 to send hellos, EIGRP routers use 224.0.0.10 to send updates, and RIP version 2 uses 224.0.0.9 to send routing updates. RIP version 1 and IGRP both broadcast their updates.
Multicasting gets a bit more complicated as you go from your CCNA to the CCNP and CCIE, but by simply understanding what multicasting is, you go a long way toward securing the CCNA.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Cisco CCNA / CCNP Exam Tutorial: Five Debugs You Must Know
To pass the BSCI exam and move one step closer to CCNP certification success, you've got to know how and when to use debug commands to troubleshoot and verify network operations. While you should never practice debug commands on a production network, it's important to get some hands-on experience with them and not rely on "router simulators" and books to learn about them.
When it comes to RIP, "debug ip rip" is the primary debug to use. This debug will show you the contents of the routing update packets, and is vital in diagnosing RIP version mismatches and routing update authentication issues.
You know how to use the variance command to configure unequal-cost load-sharing with IGRP, but IGRP has no topology table that will give you the feasible successor metrics you need. With IGRP, you need to use the "debug ip igrp transactions" command to get these vital metrics.
Several factors are considered by OSPF-enabled routers when it comes to forming adjacencies, including hello and dead timer settings. If an adjacency doesn't form when you think it should, run "debug ip ospf adj". The reason the adjacency isn't forming is usually seen quickly with this command's output.
Let's not ignore Layer Two! If frame relay mappings are not forming according to your configuration, run "debug frame lmi". This debug will allow you to quickly diagnose and correct any LMI mismatches.
When it comes to PPP, it can be very frustrating to try to spot a problem with a password or username. Instead of staring at the configuration for 10 minutes, run "debug ppp negotiation" and send a ping over the link. This command will help you spot the router with the misconfigured username or password, not to mention saving you a lot of time!
Effectively using debugs during your CCNA and CCNP exam study will help you truly understand what's going on "behind the command" - and it will really come in handy on that day when your production network just isn't doing what you (think) you told it to do!
When it comes to RIP, "debug ip rip" is the primary debug to use. This debug will show you the contents of the routing update packets, and is vital in diagnosing RIP version mismatches and routing update authentication issues.
You know how to use the variance command to configure unequal-cost load-sharing with IGRP, but IGRP has no topology table that will give you the feasible successor metrics you need. With IGRP, you need to use the "debug ip igrp transactions" command to get these vital metrics.
Several factors are considered by OSPF-enabled routers when it comes to forming adjacencies, including hello and dead timer settings. If an adjacency doesn't form when you think it should, run "debug ip ospf adj". The reason the adjacency isn't forming is usually seen quickly with this command's output.
Let's not ignore Layer Two! If frame relay mappings are not forming according to your configuration, run "debug frame lmi". This debug will allow you to quickly diagnose and correct any LMI mismatches.
When it comes to PPP, it can be very frustrating to try to spot a problem with a password or username. Instead of staring at the configuration for 10 minutes, run "debug ppp negotiation" and send a ping over the link. This command will help you spot the router with the misconfigured username or password, not to mention saving you a lot of time!
Effectively using debugs during your CCNA and CCNP exam study will help you truly understand what's going on "behind the command" - and it will really come in handy on that day when your production network just isn't doing what you (think) you told it to do!
Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Review: Protocol Basics
To earn your Cisco CCNA certification and pass the BSCI CCNP exam, you have to know your protocol basics like the back of your hand! To help you review these important concepts, here's a quick look at the basics of RIPv1, RIPv2, IGRP, and EIGRP.
RIPv1: Broadcasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. RIPv1 is a classful protocol, and it does not recognize VLSM, nor does it carry subnet masking information in its routing updates. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Does not support clear-text or MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.
RIPv2: Multicasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 224.0.0.9. RIPv2 is a classless protocol, allowing the use of subnet masks. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Supports clear-text and MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.
IGRP: Broadcasts updates every 90 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. IGRP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol, and is also a classful protocol and does not recognize subnet masking. Update contains entire routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Equal-cost load-balancing on by default; unequal-cost load-sharing can be used with the variance command. Max hop count is 100.
EIGRP: Multicasts full routing table only when an adjacency is first formed. Multicasts updates only when there is a change in the network topology, and then only advertises the change. Multicasts to 224.0.0.10 and allows the use of subnet masks. Uses DUAL routing algorithm. Unequal-cost load-sharing available with the variance command.
By mastering the basics of these protocols, you're laying the foundation for success in the exam room and when working on production networks. Pay attention to the details and the payoff is "CCNA" and "CCNP" behind your name!
RIPv1: Broadcasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. RIPv1 is a classful protocol, and it does not recognize VLSM, nor does it carry subnet masking information in its routing updates. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Does not support clear-text or MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.
RIPv2: Multicasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 224.0.0.9. RIPv2 is a classless protocol, allowing the use of subnet masks. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Supports clear-text and MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.
IGRP: Broadcasts updates every 90 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. IGRP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol, and is also a classful protocol and does not recognize subnet masking. Update contains entire routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Equal-cost load-balancing on by default; unequal-cost load-sharing can be used with the variance command. Max hop count is 100.
EIGRP: Multicasts full routing table only when an adjacency is first formed. Multicasts updates only when there is a change in the network topology, and then only advertises the change. Multicasts to 224.0.0.10 and allows the use of subnet masks. Uses DUAL routing algorithm. Unequal-cost load-sharing available with the variance command.
By mastering the basics of these protocols, you're laying the foundation for success in the exam room and when working on production networks. Pay attention to the details and the payoff is "CCNA" and "CCNP" behind your name!
Monday, December 22, 2008
CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: EIGRP Stuck-In-Active Routes
Passing the BSCI exam and earning your CCNP is all about knowing the details, and when it comes to EIGRP SIA routes, there are plenty of details to know. A quick check in a search engine for "troubleshoot SIA" will bring up quite a few matches. Troubleshooting SIA routes is very challengin in that there's no one reason they occur.
View the EIGRP topology table with the show ip eigrp topology command, and you'll see a code next to every successor and feasible successor. A popular misconception is that we want these routes to have an "A" next to them - so they're active. That's what we want, right? Active routes sound good, right?
Well, they sound good, but they're not. If a route shows as Active in the EIGRP topology table, that means that DUAL is currently calculating that route, and it's currently unusable. When a route is Passive ("P), that means it's not being recalculated and it's a usable route.
Generally, a route shown as Active is going to be there for a very short period of time by the time you repeat the command, hopefully that Active route has gone Passive. Sometimes that doesn't happen, though, and the route becomes SIA - Stuck In Active.
A route becomes SIA when a query goes unanswered for so long that the neighbor relationship is reset. From experience, I can tell you that troubleshooting SIA routes is more of an art form than a science, but there are four main reasons a route becomes SIA:
The link is unidirectional, so the query can't possibly be answered.
The queried router's resources are unavailable, generally due to high CPU utilization.
The queried router's memory is corrupt or otherwise unable to allow the router to answer the query.
The link between the two routers is of low quality, allowing just enough packets through to keep the neighbor relationship intact, but not good enough to allow the replies through.
To sum it up, routes generally become SIA when a neighbor either doesn't answer a query, or either the query or reply took a wrong turn somewhere. I told you it wasn't the easiest thing to troubleshoot!
View the EIGRP topology table with the show ip eigrp topology command, and you'll see a code next to every successor and feasible successor. A popular misconception is that we want these routes to have an "A" next to them - so they're active. That's what we want, right? Active routes sound good, right?
Well, they sound good, but they're not. If a route shows as Active in the EIGRP topology table, that means that DUAL is currently calculating that route, and it's currently unusable. When a route is Passive ("P), that means it's not being recalculated and it's a usable route.
Generally, a route shown as Active is going to be there for a very short period of time by the time you repeat the command, hopefully that Active route has gone Passive. Sometimes that doesn't happen, though, and the route becomes SIA - Stuck In Active.
A route becomes SIA when a query goes unanswered for so long that the neighbor relationship is reset. From experience, I can tell you that troubleshooting SIA routes is more of an art form than a science, but there are four main reasons a route becomes SIA:
The link is unidirectional, so the query can't possibly be answered.
The queried router's resources are unavailable, generally due to high CPU utilization.
The queried router's memory is corrupt or otherwise unable to allow the router to answer the query.
The link between the two routers is of low quality, allowing just enough packets through to keep the neighbor relationship intact, but not good enough to allow the replies through.
To sum it up, routes generally become SIA when a neighbor either doesn't answer a query, or either the query or reply took a wrong turn somewhere. I told you it wasn't the easiest thing to troubleshoot!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
