The OSPF Protocol

The OSPF Protocol
1
4.1 OSPF Protocol Overview
4.2 OSPF Packet Types
4.3 Configuring Basic OSPF
4.4 OSPF Network Types
4.5 Types of OSPF Routers and LSAs
4.6 OSPF Route Summarization Techniques
4.7 OSPF Special Area Types
4.8 OSPF Virtual Links
4.9 Troubleshooting OSPF
© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-2 2

4.1 OSPF Protocol Overview

Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:

• Describe the concept of link-state routing protocol
• Identify the purpose of OSPF areas
• Describe the concept of OSPF adjacencies
• Explain the OSPF SPF calculation
© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-4

Link-State Protocols
Cost, Type of Link, Network Information

Link-State Routing Protocols
• Link-state (LS) routers recognize much

more information about the network than
their distance-vector counterparts.
Consequently LS routers tend to make
more accurate decisions.
• Link-state routers keep track of the following:
– Their neighbours
– All routers within the same area
– Best paths toward a destination

Link-State Data Structures
• Neighbor table:
– Also known as the adjacency database
(list of recognized neighbors)
• Topology table:
– Typically referred to as LSDB (Link State Data Base)
(routers and links in the area or network)
– All routers within an area have an identical LSDB
• Routing table:
– Commonly named a forwarding database
(list of best paths to destinations)

Link-State Data Structure:
Network Hierarchy
Link-state routing requires a hierachical

network structure that is enforced by OSPF.
This two-level hierarchy consists of the
following:
• Transit area (backbone or area 0)
• Regular areas (nonbackbone areas)

OSPF Areas

Area Terminology

LS Data Structures: Adjacency
Database
• Routers discover neighbors by exchanging hello packets.

• Destination address of hello packets is multicast
• Routers declare neighbors to be up after checking
certain parameters or options in the hello packet.
• Point-to-point WAN links:
– Both neighbors become fully adjacent.
• LAN links:
– Neighbors form an adjacency with the DR and BDR.
– Maintain two-way state with the other routers (DROTHERs).
• Routing updates and topology information are only passed
between adjacent routers.
DR = Designated Router
BDR = Backup Designated Router

OSPF Adjacencies
Routers build logical adjacencies between each other

using the Hello Protocol. Once an adjacency is formed:
• LS database packets are exchanged to synchronize
each other’s LS databases.
• LSAs are flooded reliably throughout the area or network
using these adjacencies.
LS = Link State
LSA = Link State Advertisement
OSPF Calculation
Routers find the best paths to destinations

by applying Dijkstra’s SPF algorithm to the
link-state database as follows:
• Every router in an area has the identical
link-state database.
• Each router in the area places itself into
the root of the tree that is built.
• The best path is calculated with respect to the
lowest total cost of links to a specific destination.
• Best routes are put into the forwarding database.

SPF Calculation

LS Data Structures: LSA Operation

LS Data Structures: LSA Operation (Cont.)

LS Data Structures: LSA Operation (Cont.)

LS Data Structures: LSA Operation

Summary
This lesson presented these key points:

• OSPF is a link-state routing protocol that builds three tables: neighbor
table, LS topology database, and routing table or forwarding database.
• A two-tier hierarchical network structure is used by OSPF in
which the network is divided into areas. This area structure
is used to separate the LSDB into more manageable sizes.
• Adjacencies are built by OSPF routers using the Hello Protocol.
Over these logical adjacencies, link-state updates are sent to
exchange database information between adjacent OSPF routers.
• Dijkstra’s SPF algorithm is used to calculate best
paths for all destinations. SPF is run against the LSDB,
and the outcome is a table of best paths known as the routing table.

4.2 OSPF Packet Types

Objectives

• List the types of OSPF packets
• Explain how neighbor adjacencies are established in OSPF
• Identify the exchange process and the neighbor adjacency
states of OSPF
• Define OSPF link state update sequence numbers
• Use the debug ip ospf packet command and debug ip ospf
adj command

OSPF Packet Types
Builds adjacencies between neighbors
Checks for database synchronization between routers
Requests specific link state records from routers
Sends specifically requested link state records
Acknowledges the other packet types
• OSPF packets are encapsulated directly into an IP payload

• OSPF packets do not use TCP or UDP

OSPF Packet Header Format

OSPF Packet Header Format
•Version Number – For OSPF version 2
•Packet Type – Differentiates the five OSPF packet types
•Packet Length – Length of OSPF packet in bytes
•Router ID – Defines which router is the source of the packet
•Area ID – Defines the area where the packet originated
•Checksum – Used for packet header error detection
•Authentication Type – Describes either clear text passwords or encrypted
MD5 formats for router authentication
•Data
•For Hello packet – a list of known neighbors
•For DBD packet – a summary of LSDB
•For LSR packet – the type of LSU needed and router ID
•For LSU packet – the full LSA entry
•For LSAck packet – empty

Neighborship (Hello Protocol)
Each interface participating in OSPF

uses IP multicast address 224.0.0.5 to
send hello packets periodically.

OSPF Hello Packet
•Router ID = Highest IP address on an active interface unless a loop-back address

is configured
•Hello Interval = By default 10 seconds on multi-access networks
•Dead Interval = By default 4 times the hello interval
•Neighbors = List of adjacent routers with established bidirectional communication
•Area ID = Routers should belong to same area
•Router Priority = 8 bit number to set the priority of a router to decide DR and BDR
•DR/BDR = Designated Router and Backup Designated Router IP address
•Authentication Password = If enabled, should be same
•Stub Area Flag = Should be same for routers belonging to a stub area

OSPF DBD Packet
Interface MTU— This field contains the largest data size, in bytes, that can be send through the associated
interface.
Options— Represents the optional capabilities supported by the router
I Bit— When set to 1, this means that this is the first packet in DBD exchange.
M Bit— When set to 1, this means that more packets will follow.
MS Bit— Use this for master and slave. When this bit is set, it means that the router is a master in the DBD
exchange process. If this bit is set to 0, it means that the router is the slave.
DBD Sequence Number— This field contains a unique value set by the master. This sequence number is
used during database exchange. Only a master can increment the sequence number.
LSA Header— This field consists of a list of the link-state database headers.
Establishing Bidirectional Communication

Establishing Bidirectional
Communication (Cont.)

Communication (Cont.)

Communication

Discovering the Network Routes

Discovering the Network Routes

Adding the Link-State Entries

Adding the Link-State Entries (Cont.)

Adding the Link-State Entries

Maintaining Routing Information
• Router A notifies all OSPF DRs on 224.0.0.6

Maintaining Routing Information (Cont.)

• DR notifies others on 224.0.0.5
Maintaining Routing Information (Cont.)

Maintaining Routing Information

LSA Sequence Numbering
• Each LSA record in the LSDB maintains a sequence
number.
• The sequence numbering scheme is a 4-byte number
that begins with 0x80000001 and ends with 0x7fffffff.
• OSPF floods each LSA record every 30 minutes to
maintain proper database synchronization. Each
time the LSA is flooded, the sequence number is
incremented by one.
• Ultimately, an LSA sequence number will wrap around
to 0x80000001. When this occurs, the existing LSA is
prematurely aged to maxage (one hour) and flushed.
• When a router encounters two instances of an LSA,
it must determine which is more recent. The LSA
having the newer (higher) LSA sequence number is
more recent.
LSA Database Sequence Numbers
and Maxage
RTC# show ip ospf database
OSPF Router with ID (203.250.15.67) (Process ID 10)

Router Link States (Area 1)
Link ID ADV Router Age Seq# Checksum Link count
203.250.15.67 203.250.15.67 48 0x80000008 0xB112 2
203.250.16.130 203.250.16.130 212 0x80000006 0x3F44 2
• Every OSPF router announces a router LSA for those

interfaces that it owns in that area.
• Link ID: Router ID that created the router LSA.
• ADV Router: Advertising router—the router ID of the OSPF
router that announced the router LSA. Generally the Link ID
and the ADV router for a router LSA are the same.

debug ip ospf packet
Debug of a single packet

Router# debug ip ospf packet
OSPF: rcv. v:2 t:1 l:48 rid:200.0.0.117

aid:0.0.0.0 chk:6AB2 aut:0 auk:
v: version of OSPF
t: type of packet, 1 = hello, 2 = DBD, 3 = LSR, 4 = LSU, 5 = LSAck
l: packet length in bytes
rid: router ID
aid: area ID
chk: checksum
aut: authentication type, 0 = no authentication, 1 = simple password, 2 = MD5
auk: authentication key
Summary

• There are five OSPF packet types: hello, DBD, LSU, LSR,
and LSAck.
• The Hello Protocol forms logical neighbor and adjacency
relationships. A designated router may be required to
coordinate adjacency formations.
• The exchange protocol passes through several states: init,
two-way, exstart, and exchange before finally reaching the
goal of full state. Full state means that databases are
synchronized with adjacent routers.
• Link-state records are advertised on change, but also sent
periodically every 30 minutes to ensure database integrity.
The maximum time an LSR will stay in the database, without
an update, is one hour. The LSR increments its sequence
number every time it is advertised.
4.3 Configuring Basic OSPF

Objectives

• Configure and verify a basic single area OSPF
configuration
• Use OSPF configuration commands to properly enable

the OSPF routing process

Configuring Basic OSPF: Single Area
Router(config)#
router ospf process-id
• Turns on one or more OSPF routing processes in the

IOS software.
• Process IDs do not need to match on different routers
Router(config-router)#
network address inverse-mask area [area-id]
• Router OSPF subordinate command that defines the

interfaces (either by network address or by interface
address) that OSPF will run on. Each network
number must be defined to a specific area.

Configuring OSPF on Internal Routers of
a Single Area

Verifying OSPF Operation
Router#
show ip protocols
• Verifies the configured IP routing protocol

processes, parameters and statistics
Router#
show ip route ospf
• Displays all OSPF routes learned by the router

Router#
show ip ospf interface
• Displays the OSPF router ID, area ID and

adjacency information
Verifying OSPF Operation (Cont.)
Router#
show ip ospf
• Displays the OSPF router ID, timers, and statistics
Router#
show ip ospf neighbor [detail]
• Displays information about the OSPF neighbors,

including DR and BDR information on broadcast
networks

The show ip route ospf Command
RouterA# show ip route ospf
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile,

B - BGP, D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF,
IA - OSPF inter area, E1 - OSPF external type 1,
E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP, i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS
level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
Gateway of last resort is not set

10.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 is subnetted, 2 subnets
O 10.2.1.0 [110/10] via 10.64.0.2, 00:00:50, Ethernet0

The show ip ospf interface Command
RouterA# show ip ospf interface e0
Ethernet0 is up, line protocol is up

Internet Address 10.64.0.1/24, Area 0
Process ID 1, Router ID 10.64.0.1, Network Type BROADCAST, Cost: 10
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State DROTHER, Priority 1
Designated Router (ID) 10.64.0.2, Interface address 10.64.0.2
Backup Designated router (ID) 10.64.0.1, Interface address 10.64.0.1
Timer intervals configured, Hello 10, Dead 40, Wait 40, Retransmit 5
Hello due in 00:00:04
Neighbor Count is 1, Adjacent neighbor count is 1
Adjacent with neighbor 10.64.0.2 (Designated Router)
Suppress hello for 0 neighbor(s)

The show ip ospf neighbor Command
RouterB# show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface

10.64.1.1 1 FULL/BDR 00:00:31 10.64.1.1 Ethernet0
10.2.1.1 1 FULL/- 00:00:38 10.2.1.1 Serial0
DR and BDR are not used in serial interfaces

OSPF Router ID
• The router is known to OSPF by the router ID number.
• LSDBs use the OSPF router ID to differentiate one router from
the next.
• By default: the router ID is the highest IP address on an active
interface at the moment of OSPF process startup.
• A loopback interface can override OSPF router ID. It is the
highest IP address of any active loopback interface.
• An OSPF router-id command can override OSPF router ID.
• The loopback or router-id command is recommended
for stability.
• Once router ID is set, it does not change until router/OSPF
restarts
Loopback Interfaces
Router(config)#
interface loopback 0
Router(config-if)#
ip address 172.16.17.5 255.255.255.255
• If the OSPF process is already running, the OSPF

process must be cleared before the new router-id
command will take effect.
OSPF router-id command
router-id ip-address
• This command is subordinate to the router ospf

command.
• Any unique IP address can be used.
• If this command is used on an OSPF process that is
already active, then the new router ID is used at the next
reload or at a manual OSPF process restart using the
clear ip ospf process command.
Router(config)#
router ospf 1
router-id 172.16.1.1
OSPF Router ID Verification
RouterA# show ip ospf
Routing Process "ospf 1" with ID 1.1.3.1

Supports only single TOS(TOS0) routes
SPF schedule delay 5 secs, Hold time between two SPFs 10 secs
Number of DCbitless external LSA 0
Number of DoNotAge external LSA 0
Number of areas in this router is 1. 1 normal 0 stub 0 nssa
Area BACKBONE(0) (Active)
Number of interfaces in this area is 2
Area has no authentication
SPF algorithm executed 10 times
Area ranges are
Link State Update Interval is 00:30:00 and due in 0:07:16
Link State Age Interval is 00:20:00 and due in 00:07:15
Number of DCbitless LSA 0
Number of indication LSA 0
Number of DoNotAge LSA 0

Summary

• Configuration of OSPF in a single area is a two-step
process:
– Turn on OSPF with the router ospf command.
– Use the network statement to describe which interfaces
will run OSPF.
• OSPF configuration requires each interface to be
assigned to an area number.
• OSPF elects a router ID at startup time using the
following techniques:
– Highest IP address of all interfaces.
– IP address of the loopback address.
– A router-id command under the OSPF process.

4.4 OSPF Network Types

Objectives

• Describe adjacency behavior for a point-to-point link
• Describe adjacency behavior for a broadcast link
• Explain OSPF operations over NBMA networks
• Identify the different OSPF over Frame Relay
configuration options
• Compare common OSPF and Frame Relay configuration
strategies and examples
• Interpret debug output for IP OSPF adjacencies

Point-to-Point Links
• Usually a serial interface running either PPP

or HDLC
• May also be a point-to-point subinterface
running Frame Relay or ATM
• No DR or BDR election required
• OSPF autodetects this interface type
• OSPF packets are sent using multicast 224.0.0.5
• Default hello and dead intervals are 10 and 40 sec
respectively
Multiaccess Broadcast Network
• Generally LAN technologies like Ethernet and Token Ring

• DR and BDR selection required
• All neighbor routers form full adjacencies with the DR and
BDR only
• Packets to the DR use 224.0.0.6
• Packets from DR to all other routers use 224.0.0.5
Electing the DR and BDR
• Hello packets are exchanged via IP multicast.

• The router with the highest OSPF priority is
selected as the DR.
• Use the OSPF router ID as the tie breaker.
• The DR election is nonpreemptive.
Setting Priority for DR Election
Router(config-if)#
ip ospf priority number
• This interface configuration command assigns the

OSPF priority to an interface.
• Different interfaces on a router may be assigned
different values.
• The default priority is 1. The range is from 0 to 255.
• 0 means the router is a DROTHER; it can’t be the
DR or BDR.
NBMA Topology
• A single interface interconnects multiple sites.

• NBMA topologies support multiple routers, but without
broadcasting capabilities.
• OSPF neighbors are not automatically discovered by the
router.
• To implement broadcasting and multicasting, the router
replicates the packets and send them individually on each PVC
to each destination.
• Default hello and dead intervals are 30 and 120 sec
respectively
DR Election in NBMA Topology
• OSPF considers NBMA to be like other

broadcast media.
• DR and BDR need to have fully meshed
connectivity with all other routers, but NBMA
networks are not always fully meshed and do
not provide multi-access capabilities.
• DR and BDR need a list of neighbors, NBMA
interface does not automatically detect
neighbors, therefore the election of DR and BDR
becomes an issue in NBMA topologies.

Frame Relay Topologies
•All to all
•Redundancy
•Most no. of PVCs
•For n nodes, n(n-1)/2
PVCs will be needed
•Hub and spoke

•Most common
•All to some •Least no. of PVCs
•Partial redundancy •Single interface to
•Average no. of PVCs multiple locations
•Compromise

OSPF Over NBMA Topology Modes of
Operation
• RFC-compliant modes are as follows: (RFC 2328)

– Nonbroadcast (NBMA)
– Point-to-multipoint
• NBMA mode simulates the broadcast, neighbors are
manually configured and DR/BDR election required, less
overhead traffic
• Point to multipoint mode treats the topology as collection
of point to point links, neighbors are automatically
identified but DR/BDR election is not done
RFC = Request for Comments

OSPF Over NBMA Topology Modes of
Operation
• Additional modes from Cisco are as

follows:
– Point-to-multipoint nonbroadcast
– Broadcast
– Point-to-point
RFC = Request for Comments

Selecting the OSPF Network Type
Router(config-if)#
ip ospf network [{broadcast | nonbroadcast | point-to-
multipoint | point-to-multipoint nonbroadcast}]
• This interface command defines OSPF network types.
broadcast (Cisco)
•Makes a WAN interface appear to be a LAN
•One IP subnet
•Neighbors are auto-discovered
•DR/BDR elected
•Requires full mesh

Selecting the OSPF Network Type
nonbroadcast (RFC)
• One IP subnet
• Neighbors are manually configured
• DR/BDR elected manually
• Used in partial mesh
point-to-multipoint (RFC)
• One IP subnet
• Neighbors are auto-discovered
• DR/BDR not required
• Used in partial mesh
point-to-multipoint nonbroadcast (Cisco)
• Neighbors are manually configured
point-to-point (Cisco)
• One IP subnet
• Only two neighbors

NBMA Mode (Nonbroadcast Mode)
• Treated as a broadcast
network by OSPF
(acts like a LAN)
• All serial ports are part of
the same IP subnet
• Frame Relay, X.25, and
ATM networks default to
NBMA operation
• Replicates LSA updates
•Neighbors are manually configured
• RFC 2328-compliant •If partial mesh DR/BDR elected
• Less overhead manually to have connectivity to all
other neighbor router

Using the Neighbor Command
• Router OSPF subordinate command

• Used to statically define neighbor relationships
in an NBMA network
neighbor x.x.x.x [priority number] [poll-interval number]
IP address of the
neighboring router Time in seconds an NBMA
interface waits before sending
hello packets to the neighbor
Priority for neighboring even if the neighbor is inactive
router to become DR

Neighbor Command Example
RouterA(config)# router ospf 100

RouterA(config-router)# network 140.140.0.0 0.0.255.255 area 0
RouterA(config-router)# neighbor 140.140.1.2 priority 0
RouterA(config-router)# neighbor 140.140.1.3 priority 0
•Each router should be manually configured its neighboring routers

•Priority zero means neighboring router does not become DR
•Router A will be elected as DR as it has connectivity to others
•In hub and spoke, only DR (the hub) needs neighbor command

The show ip ospf neighbor
Frame Relay
DR/BDR not needed Not a DR/BDR Different from RID
RouterA# show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface

130.130.1.1 1 full/ — 0:00:35 128.12.1.2 s0
140.140.1.2 0 full/drother 0:00:36 140.140.1.2 s1
140.140.1.3 0 full/drother 0:00:34 140.140.1.3 s1

Point-to-Multipoint Mode
• The point-to-multipoint command allows for NBMA networking.

• The point-to-multipoint mode fixes partial-mesh and star topologies.
• OSPF treats the links as if they are point to point
• No DR is required and only a single subnet is used.
• Routers exchange additional LSU to auto-discover neighbors
• Replicates LSA updates
• A 30-second hello is used.
Point-to-Multipoint Configuration
RouterA(config)# interface serial 0

RouterA(config-if)# encapsulation hdlc
RouterA(config-if)# ip address 120.120.1.1 255.255.255.0
RouterA(config)# interface serial 1
RouterA(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay
RouterA(config-if)# ip address 140.140.1.1 255.255.255.0
RouterA(config-if)# ip ospf network point-to-multipoint
RouterB(config)# interface serial 0

RouterB(config-if)# ip address 140.140.1.2 255.255.255.0
RouterB(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay
RouterB(config-if)# ip ospf network point-to-multipoint
• Frame Relay Inverse ARP Enabled (Default)

• Does not required sub-interfaces
• Single subnet
• DR/BDR not elected, so no priorities
Point-to-Multipoint Example
RouterA# show ip ospf interface s1
Serial1 is up, line protocol is up

Process ID 100, Router ID 120.120.1.1, Network Type Point-To-Multipoint,
Cost: 64
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State: Point_To_Multipoint
Timer intervals configured,Hello 30, Dead 120, Wait 120, Retransmit 5
Hello due in 00:00:11
Neighbor count is 2, Adjacent neighbor count is 2
Adjacent with neighbor 140.140.1.2
Adjacent with neighbor 140.140.1.3

Point-to-Multipoint Nonbroadcast
• Cisco extension to point-to-multipoint RFC

• Must statically define neighbors like normal
NBMA
• Like point-to-multipoint mode, DR is not elected
• Used in special cases where neighbors
cannot be automatically discovered
RouterA(config-if)#
ip ospf network point-to-multipoint [nonbroadcast]
• This interface command defines a special version

of the point-to-multipoint mode. Note the
nonbroadcast option.
Other Cisco Modes
•Broadcast
•Neighboring routers are statically listed
•Interface is set to broadcast and behaves as LAN
•DR/BDR are elected
•Point to point
•Between only two nodes
•Used only with point to point sub-interfaces
•DR/BDR are not elected

Using Subinterfaces
Router(config)#
interface serial 0.[x] point-to-point
• This is a global configuration command. The

subinterface number is x.
• The physical serial port becomes multiple logical
ports.
• Each PVC and SVC gets its own subinterface.
• Limitations:
– Each subinterface requires an IP subnet.
– Hello and LSA packets are multiplied by the
number of subinterfaces. Hellos are sent every
10 seconds.
Subinterface Example
• PVCs on the right are treated like the point-to-point

link on the left.
• Each subinterface requires a subnet.
• No need of DR/BDR and no need to statically define
the neighbors
Multipoint Subinterfaces
Router(config)#
interface serial 0.x multipoint
• This subinterface number is x.

• The physical serial port becomes multiple logical ports.
• Multiple PVCs are on a single subinterface.
• NBMA mode is the default for multipoint subinterfaces.
• DR/BDR are elected and neighbors are statically define
• Limitations:
– Each subinterface requires an IP subnet.
– Hello and LSA packets are multiplied by the number of
subinterfaces. Hellos are sent every 10 seconds.

Multipoint Subinterface Example
•Single interface serial 1 has been logically separated by

two subinterfaces: one point-to-point and one multipoint.
• Each subinterface requires a subnet.
• OSPF defaults to NBMA mode on multipoint subinterfaces.

OSPF Over NBMA Topology Summary

Creation of Adjacencies
RouterA# debug ip ospf adj
Point-to-point interfaces coming up: No election

%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Serial1, changed state to up
OSPF: Interface Serial1 going Up
OSPF: Rcv hello from 192.168.0.11 area 0 from Serial1 10.1.1.2
OSPF: End of hello processing
OSPF: Build router LSA for area 0, router ID 192.168.0.10
OSPF: Rcv DBD from 192.168.0.11 on Serial1 seq 0x20C4 opt 0x2 flag 0x7 len 32
state INIT
OSPF: 2 Way Communication to 192.168.0.11 on Serial1, state 2WAY
OSPF: Send DBD to 192.168.0.11 on Serial1 seq 0x167F opt 0x2 flag 0x7 len 32
OSPF: NBR Negotiation Done. We are the SLAVE
OSPF: Send DBD to 192.168.0.11 on Serial1 seq 0x20C4 opt 0x2 flag 0x2 len 72
Tracks OSPF adjacencies as they come up or go down

Creation of Adjacencies (Cont.)
RouterA# debug ip ospf adj
Ethernet interface coming up: Election

OSPF: 2 Way Communication to 192.168.0.10 on Ethernet0, state 2WAY
OSPF: end of Wait on interface Ethernet0
OSPF: DR/BDR election on Ethernet0
OSPF: Elect BDR 192.168.0.12
OSPF: Elect DR 192.168.0.12
DR: 192.168.0.12 (Id) BDR: 192.168.0.12 (Id)
OSPF: Send DBD to 192.168.0.12 on Ethernet0 seq 0x546 opt 0x2 flag 0x7 len 32
<…>
OSPF: DR/BDR election on Ethernet0
OSPF: Elect BDR 192.168.0.11
OSPF: Elect DR 192.168.0.12
DR: 192.168.0.12 (Id) BDR: 192.168.0.11 (Id)

Summary

• OSPF defines a variety of network types:
– Point-to-point (example is a T1 serial interface)
– Broadcast (example is a LAN interface like Ethernet)
– Nonbroadcast multiaccess (example is Frame Relay configured
on a serial interface)
– Point-to-multipoint (example is OSPF over Frame Relay mode
that eliminates the need for a DR)
– Point-to-multipoint nonbroadcast (Cisco specific)

• Each mode of operation has advantages and
disadvantages. A network operator must understand
each option and make the proper configuration choices.

4.5 Types of OSPF Routers and
LSAs
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Objectives

• List the types of OSPF routers
• Explain in general terms all of the LSAs defined by
OSPF, and specifically describe the most common
LSAs used in OSPF today
• Interpret the OSPF link-state database and routing table

Issues with Maintaining a Large OSPF
Network

The Solution: OSPF Hierarchical Routing
• Consists of areas and autonomous systems

• Minimizes routing update traffic
Types of OSPF Routers

Types of OSPF Routers (Cont.)


ABR = Area Border/Boundary Router

Types of OSPF Routers
AS is as per routing protocols

Link-State Advertisement Types

LSA Type 1: Router LSA
• One router LSA for every router in an area

– Includes list of directly attached links
– Each link identified by IP prefix assigned to link
• Identified by the router ID of the originating router
• Floods within its area only, does not cross ABR
LSA Type 2: Network LSA
• One network (type 2) LSA for each transit broadcast

or NBMA network in an area
– Includes list of attached routers on the transit link
– Includes subnet mask of link
• Advertised by the DR of the broadcast network
• Floods within its area only, does not cross ABR
LSA Type 3: Summary LSA
• Type 3 summary LSAs are used to flood network information

to areas outside the originating area (inter-area).
– Describes network number and mask of link
• Advertised by the ABR of originating area.
• Type 3 LSAs flood throughout the AS.
LSA Type 4: Summary LSA
• ASBR sends type 1 LSA with E bit set to identify itself as ASBR
• When ABR (B bit set) receives it, converts to type 4
• Summary (type 4) LSAs are used to advertise an ASBR to all other areas in
the AS.
• They are generated by the ABR of the originating area.
• Type 4 LSAs flood throughout the AS.
• They are regenerated by all subsequent ABRs.
• Type 4 LSA contains the router ID of the ASBR only.

LSA Type 5: External LSA
• External (type 5) LSAs are used to advertise networks from other

autonomous systems.
• Type 5 LSAs are advertised and owned by the originating ASBR.
• Type 5 LSAs flood throughout the entire AS.
• The advertising router ID ASBR is unchanged throughout the AS.
• Type 4 LSA is needed to find the ASBR.
Interpreting the OSPF Database

Interpreting the Routing Table: Types
of Routes

Calculating Costs for External Type 1
and Type 2 Routes

The show ip route Command
RTA# show ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile,

B - BGP, D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF,
IA - OSPF inter area, E1 - OSPF external type 1,
E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP, i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS
level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
Gateway of last resort is 203.250.15.67 to network 0.0.0.0

O E2 203.250.16.128 [110/10] via 203.250.15.67, 00:00:50, Ethernet0
C 203.250.13.41 is directly connected, Loopback0
O IA 203.250.15.0 [110/74] via 203.250.15.67, 00:00:50, Ethernet0
C 203.250.15.64 is directly connected, Ethernet0
C 203.250.15.192 is directly connected, Ethernet1
O*E2 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 [110/10] via 203.250.15.67, 00:00:50, Ethernet0

Calculating Costs for E1 and E2
Routes
Cost of E1 routes changes at every hop in OSPF domain

Cost of E2 routes remains constant in OSPF domain
Changing the Cost Metric
• Dijkstra’s algorithm determines the best path by adding all link costs
along a path.
• The cost, or metric, is an indication of the overhead to send packets
over an interface.
RouterA(config-if)#
ip ospf cost value
• This interface configuration command overrides the default cost

calculation. Values from 1 to 65535 can be defined.
RouterA(config-router)#
auto-cost reference-bandwidth
• This router ospf configuration command sets the reference

bandwidth to values other than 100 Mbps (legal values range from 1
to 4,294,967).
Summary

• At this time, there are 11 different LSA types defined in OSPF.
The first five are the most commonly used:
– Type 1 router
– Type 2 network
– Type 3 and 4 summary
– Type 5 external
• OSPF defines three kinds of routes: intra-area, inter-area, and
external. External routes are subdivided into E1 and E2.
• The cost metric default is the inverse of the bandwidth
defined on an interface. The ospf cost command, the
bandwidth command, and the auto-cost reference-bandwidth
command can manipulate the cost metric.
4.6 OSPF Route Summarization
Techniques
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Objectives

• Describe route summarization concepts
• Use route summarization commands for OSPF
• Use the default-information originate command to
propagate a default route into OSPF
• Identify a default route in OSPF

Benefits of Route Summarization
• Minimizes number of routing table entries

• Localizes impact of a topology change
• Reduces LSA 3 and 5 flooding and saves CPU resources
Using Route Summarization
• Inter-area (IA) summary link carries mask

• One or more entries can represent several subnets

Configuring Route Summarization
area area-id range address mask
• Consolidates inter-area (IA) routes on an ABR

• Type 3 summary LSAs
summary-address address mask
• Consolidates external routes, usually on an ASBR

• Type 5 external LSAs

Route Summarization Configuration
Example at ABR

Route Summarization Configuration
Example at ASBR
• RIPv2 must be redistributed into OSPF

Default Routes in OSPF
• A default route is injected into OSPF as an external

LSA type 5.
• Default route distribution is not on by default; use a
default-information originate command under the
OSPF routing process.

Configuring OSPF Default Routes
default-information originate [always] [metric metric-value]

[metric-type type-value]
• Normally, this command only advertises a 0.0.0.0 default

into the OSPF network if the default route already exists in
the routing table
• The always keyword allows the 0.0.0.0 default to be
advertised even when the default route does not exist in
the routing table
• The metric and metric type are the cost and type (E1 or
E2) assigned to the default route. Default cost and type
are 10 and E2.
Default Route Configuration Example
ISP A will be preferred over ISP B, why?

Summary

• Route summarization improves CPU utilization, reduces
LSA flooding, and reduces LSDB and routing table sizes.
• The area range command is used to summarize at the ABR.
• The summary-address command is used to summarize at
the ASBR.
• Default routes can be used in OSPF to prevent the need for a
specific route to all destination networks. The benefit is a
much smaller routing table and LSDB, with complete
reachability.
• OSPF uses a special command to inject a default route,
called the default-information originate command.

4.7 OSPF Special Area Types
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Objectives

• List the types of OSPF areas
• Define and configure OSPF stub areas
• Define and configure OSFP totally stubby areas
• Define and configure OSPF not-so-stubby areas (NSSAs)

Types of Areas

Types of Areas (Cont.)

Types of Areas

Stub Area Rules
• Stub areas cannot have an ASBR, and they

should have one ABR.
• If there is more than one ABR, suboptimal
routing paths to external autonomous systems
can occur.
• Stub areas must not have virtual links going
through them.

Using Stub Areas
• External LSAs
are stopped
• Default route
is advertised
into stub area
by the ABR
• All routers in
area 50 must
be configured
as stub

Stub Area Configuration
Area area-id stub
• This router subordinate command turns

on stub area networking.
• All routers in a stub area must use the
stub command.
router ospf 10
network 130.130.32.0 0.0.31.255 area 1
network 130.130.0.0 0.0.31.255 area 0
area 1 stub

OSPF Stub Area Configuration Example

Using Totally Stubby Areas
• External LSAs
are stopped
• Summary LSAs
are stopped
• Routing table
is reduced to
a minimum
• All routers must
be configured
as stub
Default
• ABR must be
configured as
totally stubby
• Is a Cisco-
specific feature
Totally Stubby Commands
area area-id stub no-summary
• The addition of no-summary creates a totally

stubby area.
• The no-summary option prevents all summary LSAs
from entering the stub area.
area area-id default-cost cost
• This command defines the cost of a default route sent
into the stub area.
• The default cost is 1.

Totally Stubby Configuration Example
1
y

Routing Tables with Different Areas

Routing Tables for Stub Area

Routing Tables for Totally Stubby Area

Not-So-Stubby Areas
• Breaks stub • Special LSA type 7

area rules defined, sent by ASBR
• ASBR (R1) is • ABR (R2) converts LSA 7
allowed in NSSA to LSA 5 – redistribution
• NSSA is an RFC addendum

NSSA Configuration
ASBR ABR
All routers in NSSA To generate O*N2 default route (O*N2 0.0.0.0/0) into NSSA area

NSSA Totally Stubby Configuration

The show Commands for Stub and NSSA
RouterA#
show ip ospf
• Displays which areas are normal, stub, or NSSA

RouterA#
show ip ospf database
• Displays LSA type 7 updates

RouterA#
show ip ospf database nssa-external
• Displays specific details of each LSA type 7

update in database
RouterA#
show ip route
• Displays NSSA routes with code O N2 or O N1

N means NSSA
Summary

• Several area types are defined in OSPF.
• The backbone is the transit area.
• Stub areas reduce flooding into the area by replacing
external LSAs with a default route.
• Totally stubby areas reduce flooding into the area by
replacing both external and summary LSAs with a
default route.
• Not-so-stubby areas are a special case. They allow an
area that does not meet the requirements of a stub to
gain the benefits of a stub.

4.8 OSPF Virtual Links
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Objectives

• Define the two major purposes of OSPF virtual links
• Identify when it is appropriate to use virtual links
• Explain how OSPF virtual links operate
• Configure OSPF virtual links
• Verify OSPF virtual links operation

Illegal Area Connections
• By default, all areas must connect to area 0.

• Area 4 is connected incorrectly.
• There may be times when this type of connectivity
is required.
Defining Virtual Links
• Virtual links are used to connect a discontiguous

area to area 0.
• A logical connection is built between router A
and router B – transit area
• Virtual links are recommended for backup or
temporary connections.
Configuring Virtual Links
area area-id virtual-link router-id
• Creates a virtual link
remoterouter# show ip ospf interface ethernet 0
Ethernet0 is up, line protocol is up

Process ID 1, Router ID 10.64.0.2, Network Type BROADCAST, Cost: 10
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State DR, Priority 1
Designated Router (ID) 10.64.0.2, Interface address 10.64.0.2
Backup Designated router (ID) 10.64.0.1, Interface address 10.64.0.1

OSPF Virtual Link Configuration
Example 1

OSPF Virtual Link Configuration
Example 2

The show ip ospf virtual-links Command
Router# show ip ospf virtual-links
Virtual Link to router 10.2.2.2 is up

Transit area 0.0.0.1, via interface Ethernet0, Cost of using 10
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State POINT_TO_POINT
Timer intervals configured, Hello 10, Dead 40, Wait 40,
Retransmit 5
Hello due in 0:00:08 Adjacency State FULL

Summary

• A virtual link is a feature used to temporarily mend
backbone failures.
• A virtual link is part of the OSPF standard.
• When configuring a virtual link, always use the
router ID of the far-end router.
• Use the show ip ospf virtual-links command to
verify that the virtual link is functioning correctly.

4.9 Troubleshooting OSPF
Objectives

• Identify the causes resulting into OSPF going down
and fix them

OSPF Neighbor Relationship Problems
•The OSPF neighbor list is empty.

•An OSPF neighbor is stuck in ATTEMPT.
•An OSPF neighbor is stuck in INIT.
•An OSPF neighbor is stuck in 2-WAY.
•An OSPF neighbor is stuck in EXSTART/EXCHANGE.
•An OSPF neighbor is stuck in LOADING.
None of the states mentioned in this list is an indication of

a problem, but if a neighbor is stuck in one of these states
for a long time, this is a problem and must be corrected;
otherwise, OSPF will not function properly.

OSPF Neighbor List is Empty
The most common possible causes of this problem are as

follows:
•OSPF is not enabled on the interface.

•Layer 1/2 is down.
•The interface is defined as passive under OSPF.
•An access list is blocking OSPF Hellos on both sides.
•A subnet number/mask has been mismatched over a broadcast link.
•The Hello/dead interval has been mismatched.
•The authentication type (plain text versus MD5) has been mismatched.
•An authentication key has been mismatched.
•An area ID has been mismatched.
•Stub/transit/NSSA area options have been mismatched.
•No network type or neighbor is defined over NBMA (Frame Relay, X.25,
SMDS, and so on).

OSPF Neighbor List is Empty
Stub/transit/NSSA area options have been mismatched.
• When OSPF exchanges Hello packets with a neighbor, it also exchanges

an optional capability (One of the option fields is for the OSPF stub area flag).
• When this bit is set to 0, the area with which the router is associated is a
stub area, and no external LSAs are allowed in this area.
• If one side has this bit set to 0 and the other side doesn't, OSPF
adjacency is not formed.
This is called an optional capability mismatch. One side says that it can
allow external routes, and the other side says that it cannot allow external
routes, so OSPF neighbor relationships are not formed.

An OSPF neighbor is stuck in ATTEMPT
This problem is valid only for NMBA networks in which

neighbor statements are defined.

follows:
• Mis-configured neighbor statement

• Unicast broken on NBMA

An OSPF neighbor is stuck in INIT
When a router receives an OSPF Hello from a neighbor, it

sends the Hello packet by including that neighbor's router
ID in the Hello packet. If it doesn't include the neighbor's
router ID, the neighbor will be stuck in INIT.

follows:
• An access list on one side is blocking OSPF Hellos.

• Multicast capabilities are broken.
• Authentication is enabled on only one side
• Hellos are getting lost on one side at Layer 2.
An OSPF neighbor is stuck in 2-Way
It is normal in broadcast media to have a 2-WAY state

because not every router becomes adjacent on broadcast
media. Every router enters into FULL state with the DR
and the BDR.
The most common possible cause of this problem is as

follows:
• Priority 0 Is Configured on All Routers

An OSPF neighbor is stuck in EXSTART/EXCHANGE
In this state, Master Slave is selected, whole database is

exchanged.

follows:
• Mismatched interface MTU

• Duplicate router IDs on neighbors (no Master-Slave selection happens)

An OSPF neighbor is stuck in LOADING
When a local router does not receive any revert for a link-
state request packet, the router will be stuck in the
LOADING state.

follows:
• Mismatched MTU
• Corrupted link-state request packet

Summary
This lesson presented key points with help of

which we can Troubleshoot a given OSPF
Problems.

THANK YOU
Has This TRAINING Enhanced Your

Knowledge and Understanding of OSPF?

The OSPF Protocol

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The OSPF Protocol

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-2 2

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-3 3

Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-4

Cost, Type of Link, Network Information

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-5

• Link-state (LS) routers recognize much

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-6

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-7

Link-state routing requires a hierachical

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© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-9

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-10

• Routers discover neighbors by exchanging hello packets.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-11

Routers build logical adjacencies between each other

Routers find the best paths to destinations

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© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-18

This lesson presented these key points:

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-19

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-20 20

Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-21

Builds adjacencies between neighbors

Checks for database synchronization between routers

Requests specific link state records from routers

Sends specifically requested link state records

Acknowledges the other packet types

• OSPF packets are encapsulated directly into an IP payload

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-22

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-23

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-24

Each interface participating in OSPF

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•Router ID = Highest IP address on an active interface unless a loop-back address

•Hello Interval = By default 10 seconds on multi-access networks

•Dead Interval = By default 4 times the hello interval

•Neighbors = List of adjacent routers with established bidirectional communication

•Area ID = Routers should belong to same area

•DR/BDR = Designated Router and Backup Designated Router IP address

•Authentication Password = If enabled, should be same

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-26

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• Router A notifies all OSPF DRs on 224.0.0.6

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. BSCI 2.0—4-37

• Router A notifies all OSPF DRs on 224.0.0.6

• Router A notifies all OSPF DRs on 224.0.0.6

• Router A notifies all OSPF DRs on 224.0.0.6

RTC# show ip ospf database