Ch.

6-7 Routing Theory Part 3

CCNA Semester 2
Originally by Rick Graziani, Instructor
Modified by Prof. Yousif

Link-State Routing Protocols

The first type of routing protocol we discussed was distance vector.

The second type of routing protocol that we will examine is link-state.
In this presentation we will only examine the very basic concepts of linkstate routing protocols.
In CCNP Advanced Routing we examine the link state routing protocol
OSPF in detail.
I have added a presentation, Introduction to OSPF, which we will
discuss at the end of this semester.

Distance Vector Routing Protocols

Distance vector routing protocols like RIP and IGRP do not
know the exact topology of a network.
All distance vector routing decisions are made from information
from neighboring routers routing by rumor.
The only information the router has about a route is how far
away the network is in hops or using another cost (distance)
and which interface to send forward the packet out of (vector).
The router has no way to make its own decision on which
direction is ultimately the best way to send the packets.

Link-State Routing Protocols - History

An IETF working group designed a routing protocol specifically
for IP routing, OSPF (Open Shortest Path First).
For most network administrators they had two open-standard
routing protocols to choose from: RIP, simple but very limited, or
OSPF, robust but more sophisticated to implement.
IGRP and EIGRP are Cisco proprietary
IS-IS is used in IP networks, but not as common as OSPF

Theory of Link-State Routing Protocols

In this presentation we will examine some of the theory behind linkstate routing protocols.
This will only be a brief introduction to the link-state theory, requiring
much more time and perhaps even some requisite knowledge of
algorithms.
At the end of this presentation will be some suggested resources for
leaning more about the theory of link-state routing and Dijkstras
algorithm.

Mathematical point of view

Link-state routing is not based on IP addresses, subnets and
network information!
Link-state routing has a mathematical point of view, looking at
the network as nothing more than a graph with vertices and the
costs to these vertices.
Okay, Im losing you and I said I wouldnt get mathematical.
Link-state routing is based on a very simple algorithm known as
Dijkstrass algorithm, invented by Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
This algorithm can and has been used in many areas of human
activity, not just for routing.

1 Flooding of link-state
information

Link-State Theory

The network is viewed as a graph, showing the complete topology of the

network.
How do routers build this topology?

1 Flooding of link-state information

The first thing that happens is that each node, router, on the network
announces its own piece of link-state information to other all other
routers on the network: who their neighboring routers are and the cost of
the link between them.
Example: Hi, Im RouterA, and I can reach RouterB via a T1 link and I
can reach RouterC via an Ethernet link.
Each router sends these announcements to all of the routers in the
network.

1 Flooding of link-state
information

3 SPF Algorithm
2 Building a
Topological
Database

2. Building a Topological Database

Each router collects all of this link-state information from other routers
and puts it into a topological database.

3. Shortest-Path First (SPF), Dijkstras Algorithm

Using this information, the routers can recreate a topology graph of the
network.
Believe it or not, this is actually a very simple algorithm and I highly
suggest you look at it some time, or even better, take a class on
algorithms. (Radia Perlmans book, Interconnections, has a very nice
example of how to build this graph she is one of the contributers to
the SPF and Spanning-Tree algorithms.)

1 Flooding of link-state
information

5 Routing Table
3 SPF Algorithm
2 Building a
Topological
Database

4 SPF Tree

4. Shortest Path First Tree

This algorithm creates an SPF tree, with the router making itself the
root of the tree and the other routers and links to those routers, the
various branches.
Note: Just a reminder that the link-state algorithm and graph it
creates is mathematically based and although we are mentioning
routers and their links, it has nothing to do with IP addresses or
other network information.

5. Routing Table

Using this information, the router creates a routing table.

I bet you can create this tree given the link-state information!

Exercise: From link-state flooding to routing tables - Lets try it

For this exercise we will not worry about the individual, leaf,
networks attached to each node or router (shown as a blank line),
but focus on how the topology is built to find the the shortest path
between each router.
In order to keep it simple, we will take some liberties with the
actual process and algorithm, but you will get the basic idea!
You are RouterA and you have a link to RouterB with a cost of 15,
a link to RouterC with a cost of 2, a link to RouterD with a cost of
5, and a leaf network apple.
This is your own link-state information, which you will flood to
all other routers so they can do the same thing we will be doing
for RouterA.
B
Leaf
network
apples

We now get the following link-state information from RouterB

RouterB has a link to RouterA with a cost of 15.
RouterB has a link to RouterE with a cost of 2.
And information about its own leaf network bananas.
bananas
B

Now lets attach the two graphs

B

=
A

We now get the following link-state information from RouterC

RouterC has a link to RouterA with a cost of 2.
RouterC has a link to RouterD with a cost of 2.
And information about its own leaf network cherries.
A

C
2

cherries

Now lets attach the two graphs

B

+
A

=
C

2
D

C
2
D

We now get the following link-state information from RouterD

RouterD has a link to RouterA with a cost of 5.
RouterD has a link to RouterC with a cost of 2.
RouterD has a link to RouterE with a cost of 10.
And information about its own leaf network donuts.
A

C
2
D

donuts

Now lets attach the two graphs

B

B
A

2
D

C
2
D

We now get the following link-state information from RouterE

RouterE has a link to RouterB with a cost of 2.
RouterE has a link to RouterD with a cost of 10.
And information about its own leaf network eggs.
B

eggs
E
2
D

Now lets attach the two graphs and we have all the nodes, their
links between them and their and leafs!
B

=
E

C
2

2
D

Topology
Using the topological information we listed, RouterA has now built
a complete topology of the network.
The next step is for the link-state algorithm to find the best path
to each node and leaf network.
bananas

apples

cherries

C
2
D

donuts

eggs

Choosing the best path

Using the link-state algorithm RouterA can now proceed to find
the shortest path to each leaf network.
Try doing it on your own!

bananas

apples

cherries

C
2
D

donuts

eggs

Choosing the best path

Now RouterA knows the best path to each network.

bananas

apples

cherries

C
2
D

donuts

eggs

Creating the Routing Table

RouterA can now enter these paths into its routing table, with
network numbers, exit interfaces and costs to each network.
Network interface cost
Apples i0
conn.
Bananas i1
15
Cherries i2
2
Donuts i2
4
Eggs
i2
14
Other directly connected
networks

bananas

i1

apples

i0
i = interface

i2

cherries

i3

2
D
donuts

eggs

1 Flooding of link-state
information

5 Routing Table
3 SPF Algorithm
2 Building a
Topological
Database

4 SPF Tree

And now you have seen and done the process!

All of the routers in the network go through this same
process.

Link-State Routing Protocols Hello Messages and LSAs

First of all small Hello messages are exchanged between routers to find
out who their neighbors are. This is known as forming adjacencies.
Once a link-state router knows who their adjacent neighbors are, the
actual information exchanged between the routers are known as LSAs
(Link State Advertisements) to build and maintain their link state
databases. (Topological database).
There are different types of LSAs for different types of information and
different situations all of which is discussed in CCNP Advanced
Routing.
Once the routing tables are built and the network is converged, routers
do not exchange routing tables periodically.
Instead, routers using link-state routing protocols exchange periodic
Hello messages between immediate neighbors, to make sure they are
still there and the link between them is still up.

Link-State Routing Protocols Topology Change

When there is a change in the network, link going down, new
link coming up, etc., the router(s) attached to that link floods out
LSAs to all other routers in the network, containing only the
changed link information.
All other routers enter this new information into their topological
database, re-run the SPF algorithm, come up with a new SPF
tree, and eventually a new routing table with possible new best
paths to some networks.

From on-line curriculum

Running link-state routing protocols in most situations requires that
routers use more memory and perform more processing than distancevector routing protocols.
For link-state routing, their memory must be able to hold information
from various databases, the topology tree, and the routing table.
Using Dijkstra's algorithm to compute the SPF requires a processing
task proportional to the number of links in the internetwork, multiplied by
the number of routers in the internetwork.

From on-line curriculum

During the initial discovery process, all routers using link-state routing
protocols send LSA packets to all other routers.
This action floods the internetwork as routers make their en masse
demand for bandwidth, and temporarily reduce the bandwidth available
for routed traffic that carries user data.
After this initial flooding, link-state routing protocols generally require
only minimal bandwidth to send infrequent or event-triggered LSA
packets that reflect topology changes. (and Hello messages)

*
**
Just a few notes on this table:
* When a link-state router boots up it will most likely need to exchange
complete database information with neighboring routers in order to
synchronize their databases. (CCNP Advanced Routing)
** Distance vector routing protocols can also use triggered updates.

Interconnections :
Bridges and
Routers by Radia
Perlman

Cisco IP Routing:
Packet Forwarding &
Intra-domain Routing
Protocols by Alex
Zinin

Routing TCP/IP
Volume I by Jeff
Doyle

OSPF, Anatomy of
an Internet
Routing Protocol
by John Moy
(creator of OSPF)

For more information on OSPF, link-state routing protocol, Dijkstras

algorithm and routing in general, check out these sources.

Topics (Continued)
Part II. Routing Theory and Dynamic Routing Operations (continued)
Hybrid Routing Protocols
Concepts
EIGRP (not IS-IS)

Path Switching
Example: Host X to Host Y (with three routers in between)
LAN-to-LAN Routing
LAN-to-WAN Routing

Cisco Router Configuration

Summary
Topics (Review)

The balanced hybrid approach combines aspects of the link-state and

distance-vector algorithms.
These are really distance-vector routing protocols which apply some of
the advantages of a link-state routing protocols, and also known as
advanced-distance-vector routing protocols.
EIGRP is known as balanced hybrid routing protocol.

EIGRP is covered in CCNP Advanced Routing but it uses many of the

concepts from IGRP which we discuss this semester.

In the curriculum, IS-IS is described as a balanced hybrid, but it is more

often regarded as a link-state routing protocol.
Examples of hybrid protocols are OSI's IS-IS (Intermediate System-toIntermediate System), and Cisco's EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway
Routing Protocol). (On-line curriculum)

I also disagree with the following information in the on-line

curriculum:
Balanced-hybrid routing protocols use distance vectors with more accurate
metrics to determine the best paths to destination networks. However, they
differ from most distance-vector protocols by using topology changes to
trigger routing database updates.

Balanced hybrid routing protocols dont necessarily use more accurate

metrics than a distance vector routing protocol. EIGRPs metrics are
more accurate than RIP, but not necessarily more accurate than IGRP.
RIP and IGRP both use triggered updates during topology changes to
speed up network convergence, the same as a balanced hybrid.
The real difference is that a hybrid routing protocol like EIGRP does not
pass entire routing table information periodically like RIP or IGRP and
uses other mechanisms for loop free routing.
EIGRP also uses the DUAL algorithm which guarantees loop-free path
selection.

Topics (Continued)
Part III. Routing Theory and Dynamic Routing Operations (continued)
Hybrid Routing Protocols
Concepts
EIGRP (not IS-IS)

Path Switching
Example: Host X to Host Y (with three routers in between)
LAN-to-LAN Routing
LAN-to-WAN Routing

Cisco Router Configuration

Summary
Topics (Review)

Path Switching
192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTB

Data Link Header

Data link destination address

Data link source address Other data link fields

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s1
s0

RTC

192.168.4.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24

IP (Network layer) Packet

IP Destination Address

IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

Data Link Frame = Data Link Header + IP Packet

Path Switching
Host X has a packet(s) to send to Host Y
A router generally relays a packet from one data link to another, using
two basic functions:
1. a path determination function - Routing
2. a switching function Packet Forwarding

Lets go through all of the stages these routers use to route and switch
this packet.
See if you can identify these two functions at each router.
Note: Data link addresses have been abbreviated.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

00-10

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

RTB

Data link source address Other data link fields

0A-10

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTC

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

From Host X to Router RTA

Host X begins by encapsulating the IP packet into a data link frame (in
this case Ethernet) with RTAs Ethernet 0 interfaces MAC address as
the data link destination address.
How does Host X know to forward to packet to RTA and not directly to
Host Y? How does Host X know or get RTAs Ethernet address?
Remember, it looks at the packets destination ip address does an
AND operation and compares it to its own ip address and subnet
mask.
It determines if the two ip addresses are on the same subnet or not.
If they are on the same subnet, it looks for the destination MAC
address of the packet in its ARP cache. sending out an ARP
request if it is not there.
If they are on different subnets, it looks for the MAC address of the
default gateway in its ARP cache sending out an ARP request if it
is not there.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

0B-31

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTB

Data link source address Other data link fields

00-20

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

3
RTA ARP Cache
IP Address
MAC Address
192.168.2.2
0B-31

RTC

RTA Routing Table

Network
Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
192.168.1.0/24 0
Dir.Conn.
e0
192.168.2.0/24 0
Dir.Conn
e1
192.168.3.0/24 1
192.168.2.2
e1
192.168.4.0/24 2
192.168.2.2
e1

RTA to RTB
1. RTA looks up the IP destination address in its routing table.
192.168.4.0/24 has next-hop-ip address of 192.168.2.2 and an exitinterface of e1.
Since the exit interface is on an Ethernet network, RTA must resolve the
next-hop-ip address with a destination MAC address.
2. RTA looks up the next-hop-ip address of 192.168.2.2 in its ARP cache.
If the entry was not in the ARP cache, the RTA would need to send an
ARP request out e1. RTB would send back an ARP reply, so RTA can
update its ARP cache with an entry for 192.168.2.2.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

0B-31

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTB

Data link source address Other data link fields

00-20

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

3
RTA ARP Cache
IP Address
MAC Address
192.168.2.2
0B-31

RTC

RTA Routing Table

Network
Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
192.168.1.0/24 0
Dir.Conn.
e0
192.168.2.0/24 0
Dir.Conn
e1
192.168.3.0/24 1
192.168.2.2
e1
192.168.4.0/24 2
192.168.2.2
e1

RTA to RTB (continued)

3. Data link destination address and frame encapsulation
After finding the entry for the next-hop-ip address 192.168.2.2 in its ARP
cache, RTA uses the MAC address for the destination MAC address in the
re-encapsulated Ethernet frame.
The frame is now forwarded out Ethernet 1 (as specified in RTAs routing table.
Notice, that the IP Addresses did not change.
Also notice that the Routing table was used to find the next-hop ip address,
used for the data link address and exit interface, to forward the packet in a
new data link frame.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

RTB

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

Data link source address Other data link fields

FFFF

RTC

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

1
2
Network
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.0/24
192.168.3.0/24
192.168.4.0/24

RTB Routing Table

Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
1
192.168.2.1
e0
0
Dir.Conn
e0
0
Dir.Conn
s0
1
192.168.3.2
s0

RTB to RTC
1. RTB looks up the IP destination address in its routing table.
192.168.4.0/24 has next-hop-ip address of 192.168.3.2 and an exitinterface of s0 (serial 0).
Since the exit interface not on an Ethernet network, RTA does not need
to resolve the next-hop-ip address with a destination MAC address.
Remember, serial interfaces do not have MAC addresses.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

RTB

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

Data link source address Other data link fields

FFFF

RTC

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

1
2
Network
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.0/24
192.168.3.0/24
192.168.4.0/24

RTB Routing Table

Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
1
192.168.2.1
e0
0
Dir.Conn
e0
0
Dir.Conn
s0
1
192.168.3.2
s0

RTB to RTC
2. Data link destination address and frame encapsulation .
When the interface is a point-to-point serial connection, the Routing Table
process does not even look at the next-hop IP address.
Remember, a serial link is like a pipe - only one way in and only one way
out.
RTA now encapsulates the IP packet into the proper data link frame, using
the proper serial encapsulation (HDLC, PPP, etc.).
The data link destination address is set to a broadcast, since there is only
one other end of the pipe and the frame is now forwarded out serial 0.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

0B-20

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTB

Data link source address Other data link fields

0C-22

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

3
RTC ARP Cache
IP Address
MAC Address
192.168.4.10
0B-20

RTC

Network
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.0/24
192.168.3.0/24
192.168.4.0/24

RTC Routing Table

Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
2
192.168.3.1
s0
1
192.168.3.1
s0
0
Dir.Conn
s0
0
Dir.Conn
e0

RTC to Host Y
1. RTC looks up the IP destination address in its routing table.
192.168.4.0/24 is a directly connected network with an exit-interface of e0.
RTC realizes that this destination ip address is on the same network as one
of its interfaces and it can sent the packet directly to the destination and not
another router.
Since the exit interface is on an directly connected Ethernet network, RTC
must resolve the destination ip address with a destination MAC address.
2. RTC looks up the destination ip address of 192.168.4.10 in its ARP cache.
If the entry was not in the ARP cache, the RTC would need to send an ARP
request out e0. Host Y would send back an ARP reply, so RTC can update its
ARP cache with an entry for 192.168.4.10.

192.168.1.0/24
.1
e0
192.168.1.10/24
00-10
0A-10
Data link destination address

0B-20

RTA

192.168.2.0/24
.1
.2
e1
e0
00-20
0B-31

192.168.3.0/24
.1
.2
s0
s0

RTB

Data link source address Other data link fields

0C-22

IP Destination Address

192.168.4.0/24
Y
.1
e0
192.168.4.10/24
0C-22
0B-20
IP Source Address Other IP fields and data

192.168.4.10 192.168.1.10

3
RTC ARP Cache
IP Address
MAC Address
192.168.4.10
0B-20

RTC

Network
192.168.1.0/24
192.168.2.0/24
192.168.3.0/24
192.168.4.0/24

RTC Routing Table

Hops Next-hop-ip Exit-interface
2
192.168.3.1
s0
1
192.168.3.1
s0
0
Dir.Conn
s0
0
Dir.Conn
e0

RTC to Host Y (continued)

3. Data link destination address and frame encapsulation
After finding the entry for the destination ip address 192.168.4.10 in its ARP
cache, RTC uses the MAC address for the destination MAC address in the
re-encapsulated Ethernet frame.
The frame is now forwarded out Ethernet 0 (as specified in RTAs routing table.

From Cisco on-line curriculum:

When the router checks its routing table entries, it discovers that the
best path to destination Network 2 uses outgoing port To0, the interface
to a token-ring LAN.
Although the lower-layer framing must change as the router passes
packet traffic from Ethernet on Network 1 to token-ring on Network 2,
the Layer 3 addressing for source and destination remains the same.
In the Figure, the destination address remains Network 2, Host 5,
regardless of the different lower-layer encapsulations.

From Cisco on-line curriculum:

Routers enable LAN-to-WAN packet flow by keeping the end-to-end source and
destination addresses constant while encapsulating the packet in data link
frames, as appropriate, for the next hop along the path.

NOTE:

Remember, when the interface is a point-to-point serial connection, the

Routing Table process does not even look at the next-hop IP address in
the routing table, only the exit-interface.

Topics (Continued)
Part II. Routing Theory and Dynamic Routing Operations (continued)
Hybrid Routing Protocols
Concepts
EIGRP (not IS-IS)

Path Switching
Example: Host X to Host Y (with three routers in between)
LAN-to-LAN Routing
LAN-to-WAN Routing

Cisco Router Configuration

Summary
Topics (Review)

Topics (Continued)
Part II. Routing Theory and Dynamic Routing Operations (continued)
Hybrid Routing Protocols
Concepts
EIGRP (not IS-IS)

Path Switching
Example: Host X to Host Y (with three routers in between)
LAN-to-LAN Routing
LAN-to-WAN Routing

Cisco Router Configuration

Summary
Topics (Review)

Summary

We have covered a lot of topics and a lot of new concepts.

These topics will be reinforced when we discuss the specific
routing protocols Understanding these concepts is necessary to
understand to be able to design, implement, and troubleshoot
networks.
As we will see, anyone can type in a few commands to enable
routing on a router, but if you do not understand these concepts
we discussed at best you may not be optimally routing packets
in your network and at worst you may be creating routing loops,
blackholes, and unreachable networks.
Understanding these concepts will also better prepare you for
the CCNP Advanced Routing class.
Even if you do not take the CCNP Advanced Routing class,
these concepts will help you general understanding networking
and routing protocols.

Cabrillo College

Ch. 11 Routing Basics End of Part 3

CCNA Semester 2
Rick Graziani, Instructor