Understanding Routers Section

Refresher on Routers

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 Refresher on Routers
• Used to Connect Different
Networks Together
• Routes Traffic Between Networks
using IP Addresses
• Uses Intelligent Decisions
(Routing Protocols) to Find the
Best Way to Get a Packet of
Information from One Network to
Another.
• Break Up Broadcast Domains
• OSI Layer 3 Device
o Layer 3 = Router
o Layer 2 = Switch
o Layer 1 = Hub
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 Understanding Routers Section

The Routing Process

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 Step 1: The Routing Process (Simplified)

• PC 1 creates a packet destined for PC 2

o Source IP: 192.168.1.2/24
o Destination IP: 192.168.0.2/24

• Because it is destined for another network, it is sent to PC 1’s default gateway, which is the Ethernet
interface of Router 1 (192.168.1.1/24).
• If PC 1 doesn’t know Router 1’s MAC Address, PC 1 will send out an ARP request.

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 Step 2: The Routing Process (Simplified)

• Once Router 1 receives the packet, it’ll inspect its destination IP address and then make a routing decision
based on its routing table to identify which route to send it to.
• In this case, it’s Router 1’s serial interface with an IP address of 200.100.100.1/24.

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 Step 3: The Routing Process (Simplified)

• Once Router 2 receives the packet, it’ll inspect its destination IP address and then make a routing
decision based on its routing table to identify which route to send it to.
• In this case, it’s its directly connected Ethernet interface with an IP address of 192.168.0.1/24.

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 Understanding Routers Section

Static versus Dynamic Routing

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 Static vs. Dynamic Routing
• Routing can be broken up into two primary categories:

Static
Routing Types
Dynamic

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 Static Routing
• The simplest form of routing
• Static routes that are manually entered by a network administrator
• Ideal for small networks with very few routes that rarely change
o There’s no overhead like there is with dynamic routing.
• Can be problematic for larger networks or if the network regularly changes
o All changes must be made manually, which is time-consuming and can be error-prone.

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 Dynamic Routing
• An automated form of routing that uses routing protocols to:
o Populate router’s routing table
o Make the most efficient routing decision
o Updating the routing table whenever the network changes
• Automatic & Hands-Off
o All routing decisions are handled by the protocol
• Ideal for larger, and more complex networks

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 Types of Dynamic Routing Protocols
• There are three different types of dynamic routing protocols, which
we’ll discuss in detail later in this section

Distance-Vector

Dynamic Link-State

Hybrid

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 Understanding Routers Section

IGPs & EGPs

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 AS (Autonomous System)
• Autonomous = Independent Entity (Organization)
o University, Corporation, Governmental Agency
• Routers are usually part of an Autonomous System (AS)
o IP routes under common control

• An AS is a connected group of one or more IP prefixes run by one or more

network operators with a single and clearly defined routing policy (Single
Organization)

• Important point of reference for discussing Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP)

and Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGP)

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 IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol)
• Used within a single AS (Your Organization)
o Not intended to route between Autonomous Systems
▪ That’s why there’s Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGPs)

• IGP Protocols
o RIP (Routing Information Protocol)
o OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)
o EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)

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 EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol)
• Used to route between Autonomous Systems
o Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

• BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)

o Almost all ISPs uses BGP as their EGP

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EGP & IGPs Working Together

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 Understanding Routers Section

Interior Gateway Protocols

(IGPs)

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 Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs)
• There are three different types of IGPs:

RIP
Distance-Vector
EIGRP
IGPs

Link-State OSPF

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 Distance-Vector
• Like its name implies, distance-vector routing protocols use distance as their
metric for making routing decisions.
o Distance = Hop Count
o Hops are the number of routers that a packet passes through from its source to its
destination.

o Distance-Vector Routing Protocols:

o Router Information Protocol (RIP)
o Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

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 Router-Information Protocol (RIP)
• A long-established distance-vector protocol with three versions
• Supports a maximum of 15 hops to prevent routing loops
o Doesn’t scale well due to 15 hop limitation.
• Sends a full copy of its routing table to directly connected routers every 30
seconds
o Slow network convergence times, which can lead to potential routing loop issues
o For example: router 3 may need to wait up to 90 seconds to get router 0’s full routing
table
o Lead to unnecessary network traffic and high router CPU utilization

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 Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
• A Cisco proprietary routing protocol that only works on Cisco routers.
• Not a true distance-vector routing protocol
o Utilizes hop count metrics, but also reliability, bandwidth, load, and delay metrics.
o Can be considered an advanced distance-vector or hybrid routing protocol

• Has a default hop count of 100 and a maximum of 255

• Supports classless routing and VLSM
• Very fast converging and very scalable for larger networks

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 Link-State
• Link-state routing protocols build a map of the entire network.
• Utilize link-state advertisements (LSAs) to accomplish this:
o Routers share information with all other routers on the network via LSAs.
o This allows them to build a complete network map.
• Once the network map is built, routers only update each other when there is a
change to the network.
• Otherwise, they don’t communicate, except with a periodic “hello” packet, so
the other routers know they are up and functioning.
• This leads to faster network convergence times that support larger networks.
o Link-State Routing Protocol:
o Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

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 Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
• Open standard link-state routing protocol
• Well suited for large networks with multiple redundant paths.
• It builds a topological routing tree, call a shortest-path tree.
• Sub-divides a larger network into areas where routers share information with
other routers in their designated area:
o Minimizes routing update traffic and improves network convergence times
• Uses “cost” metrics to determine the “best” route
by including link state and speed.
• Supports classless addressing and VLSM
• Has an unlimited hop count

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 Understanding Routers Section

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

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 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
• The only EGP in widespread use today
• Considered the Internet’s core routing protocol
o Supports IPv4 and IPv6
o Highly Scalable
• Often called a path-vector (hybrid) routing protocol
o Each ISP is assigned a unique Autonomous System (AS) number
o Uses the number of AS hops rather than individual router hops as its metric
• Utilizes the BGP Best Path Selection algorithm to identify the best route
• Routing protocol from AS to AS
• When you connect to the Internet, you’re moving from one AS to another

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 Understanding Routers Section

Routing Tables and AD

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 Routing Table Entries
Routing table categories:
• Directly Connected Routes
o Networks that are directly connected to the router.
• Remote Network Routes
o Networks that aren’t directly connected to the router.
• Default Routes
o Routes when no match is found in the routing table.

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 Routing Table Components
• Routing tables, at a minimum, will include the following information:
o Type Type Network Interface Metric
o Destination Network ID & Subnet Mask Connected 192.168.1.0/24 FastEthernet0/0 0
o Router Interface Connected 200.100.100.0/24 Serial0/0 0
o Metric Static 192.168.0.0/24 Serial0/0 1
Static 0.0.0.0/0 Serial0/0 1

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 Administrative Distance (AD)
• Routers use administrative distance (AD) to Type Default AD
rate the overall trustworthiness of a route. Connected Interface 0
• AD’s can have a value ranging from 0 to 255, Static Route 1
where lower is better, based on the type of EIGRP 90
route. OSPF 110
• If a router receives routing table updates from RIP 170
two different sources, it’ll utilize the one with Unknown 255
the lower AD.

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 Understanding Routers Section

The Default Route

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 The Default Route

• A static route that’s utilized when a packet’s destination IP address has no known match
in a router’s routing table.
• If there’s no match → forward the packet on via the default route.
• Commonly called the gateway of last resort.
• The following addresses are used to represent the default route in a routing table:
o IPv4: 0.0.0.0/0
o IPv6: ::/0
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