BGP

Border Gateway Protocol is an

interautonomous system
routing protocol .It is based
on method called path vector
routing.It is a Exterior routing
protocol.

Path Vector Routing

Path Vector Routing is different from both
distance vector routing and link state routing .In
this routing , each entry in the routing table
contains the destination network, the next router
and the path to reach the destination .
Network

Next Router

Path

N1

R1

AS14,AS23,AS67

N2

R5

AS22,AS67,AS05,AS89

N3

R6

AS67,AS89,AS09,AS34

N4

R8

AS62,AS02,AS09

Path Vector Message

The autonomous boundary routers that participate in
path vector routing advertise the reachability of the
networks in their own autonomous systems to neighbor
autonomous boundary routers. Two autonomous
boundary routers are connected to the same network are
neighbors
Autonomous boundary routers receives its information
from interior routing algorithm such as RIP(Routing
Information Protocol) or OSPF(Open Shortest Path First).
Each router that receives a path vector verifies that the
advertised path is in agreement with its policy(a set of
rules imposed by the administrator controlling the
routes).If it is , the router updates its routing table and

modifies the message before sending it to the next router. The

modification consist of adding its autonomous system number to
the path and replacing the next route entry with its own
identification.
AS1

AS2

N
N
1
1

R2
N1,R1,AS1
N1,R2,AS2,AS1

R1

N1,R3,AS3,AS2,AS1

R4

AS4

R3

Above figure shows a internet with four autonomous

Systems .Router R1 sends a path vector message advertising
the reachability of N1.Router R2 receives the message, update
its routing table, and after adding its autonomous system to the
path and inserting itself as the next router, sends the message
to the router R3. Router R3 receives the message, updates its
routing table, and sends the message, after changes, to router
R4.
Path Vector Routing is better than Distance Vector
Routing.
1. LOOP PREVENSION
The instability of distance vector routing and the creation of
loops can be avoided in the path vector routing. When a router

receives a message. It checks to see if its autonomous is in

the path list to the destination. If it is, looping is involved and
the message is ignored.

2. POLICY ROUTING
Policy routing can be easily implemented through pat vector
routing. When a router receives a message, it can check the
path. If one of the autonomous system listed in the path is
against its policy, the router can ignore that path and that
destination. It does not updates routing table with this path,
and it does not send this message to its neighbors. This
means that the routing tables in path vector routing are
based on the policy imposed on the router by the
administrator

3. PATH ATTRIBUTES
The path was presented as a list of autonomous systems,
but is, in fact, a list of attributes. Each attribute gives some
information about the path. The list of attributes helps the
receiving router make a better decision when applying its
policy.
Attributes are of two types :1. Well-known attribute
2. Optional attribute
A well-known attribute is one that every BGP router should
recognize. An optional attribute is one that need not be
recognized by every BGP router.

Well-known attribute is divided into two

categories :I. Mandatory attribute
II. Discretionary attribute
A mandatory attribute is one that must appear in the
description of a route. And a discretionary attribute is one
that must be recognized by each router, but is not
required to be included in every update message.
Mandatory attributes are :A. ORIGIN
B. AS_PATH
C. NEXT_HOP

ORIGIN attribute defines the source of the routing information

Protocol (RIP or OSPF)

10.0.1.0/8,
ORIGIN {1}
10.0.1.0/8,
ORIGIN {1}

10.0.1.0/8,
ORIGIN {1}

10.0.1.0/8,
ORIGIN {1}

10.0.1.0/8,
ORIGIN {1}

AS_PATH attribute defines the list of autonomous systems

through which the destination can be reached.

10.0.1.0/8,
AS-PATH {1}

10.0.1.0/8,
AS-PATH {1}

10.0.1.0/8,
AS-PATH {4,2,1}
10.0.1.0/8,
AS-PATH {2,1}

10.0.1.0/8,
AS-PATH {3,1}
10

NEXT_HOP attribute defines the next router to which the

data packet should be sent.

10.0.1.0/8,
NEXT-HOP {128.100.11.1}

10.0.1.0/8,
NEXT-HOP {128.143.71.21}
11

Optional Attributes are :A. Transitive attribute

B. Non-transitive attribute
A transitive attribute is one that must be passed to the next
router by the router that has not implemented this attribute.
And a non-transitive attribute is one that should be
discarded if the receiving router has not implemented it.

Types of BGP messages

BGP Messages

Open

Update

Keep-alive

Notificatio
n

Open Message To create a neighborhood relationship, a router running BGP

opens a connection with a neighbor and sends an Open message . If the neighbor
accepts the neighborhood relationship, it responds with a keep-alive message , which
means that a relationship has been established between the two routers.
Update Message The Update message is the heart of the BGP protocol. It is
used by a router to withdraw destinations that have been announced previously,
announce a route to a new destination, or do both. BGP can withdraw several
destinations that were advertised before, but it can only advertise one new
destination in a single update message.
Keep-alive Message The routers running the BGP protocols exchange Keepalive message regularly(before their hold time expires) to tell each other that they
are alive.
Notification Message A Notification message is sent by a router whenever
an error condition is deleted or a router wants to close the connection

THANKS