Introduction to ISIS

SI-E Workshop
AfNOG 2012 - The Gambia
Noah Maina

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IS-IS Standards History
 ISO 10589 specification that defines IS-IS as an
OSI routing protocol for CLNS traffic
 A Link State protocol with a 2 level hierarchical
architecture
 With Type/Length/Value (TLV) options for protocol
enhancements
 The RFC 1195 added Support for IP
 Thus Integrated IS-IS
 I/IS-IS runs on top of the Data Link Layer or rather L2
 Requires CLNP (Connectionless Network Protocol) to be
configured
 RFC5308 adds IPv6 address family support to IS-IS
 RFC5120 defines Multi-Topology concept for IS-IS
 Permits IPv4 and IPv6 topologies which are not identical
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ISIS Levels
 ISIS has a 2 layer hierarchy;
 Level-1 (the areas)
 Level-1 (the backbone)
 A router can be either;
 Level-1 (L1) router
 Level-2 (L2) router
 Level-1-2 (L1L2) router

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ISIS Levels
 Level-1 router
 Has neighbours only on the same area
 Has a level-1 LSDB with all routing information for the
area
 Level-2 router
 May have neighbours in the same or other areas
 Has a Level-2 LSDB with all routing information about
inter-area
 Level-1-2 router
 May have neighbours on any area.
 Has two separate LSDBs: level-1 LSDB & level-2 LSDB

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Backbone & Areas
 ISIS does not have a backbone area as
such (like OSPF typical area 0)
 Instead the backbone is the contiguous
collection of Level-2 capable routers
 ISIS area borders are on the wire or
rather links and not routers
 Each router is identified with a unique
Network Entity Title (NET)
 NET is a Network Service Access Point (NSAP)
where the n-selector is 0
 (Compare with each router having a unique
Router-ID with IP routing protocols)
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L1, L2, and L1L2 Routers
Area-3
L1-only
L1L2

Area-2 L2-only
L1L2
L1L2
L1-only
Area-4
L1L2 L1-only
Area-1
L1L2

L1-only

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NSAP and Addressing

 NSAP: Network Service Access Point

 Total length between 8 and 20 bytes
 Area Address: variable length field (up to 13 bytes)
 System ID: defines either an ES or IS in an area.
 NSEL: N-selector. identifies a network service
 NET: The address of the network entity itself
Example 47.0001.aaaa.bbbb.cccc.00 Where,
– Area Address = 47.0001
– SysID = aaaa.bbbb.cccc
– Nsel = 00 7
 Typical NSAP Addressing
49.0f01.0002.4444.4444.4444.00 Area 3

49.0f01.0003.6666.6666.6666.00

Area 2
49.0f01.0002.3333.3333.3333.00

49.0f01.0004.7777.7777.7777.00 Area 4

49.0f01.0001.2222.2222.2222.00
49.0f01.0004.8888.8888.8888.00
Area 1

49.0f01.0001.1111.1111.1111.00

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Addressing Common Practices
 ISP's typically choose NSAP addresses
thus:
 First 8 bits – pick a number (usually 49)
 Next 16 bits – area
 Next 48 bits – router loopback address (BCP)
 Final 8 bits – zero
 Example:
 NSAP: 49.0001.1921.6800.1001.00
 Router: 192.168.1.1 (loopback) in Area 1

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Addressing & Design Practices
 ISPs typically use one area (eg.49.0001)
 Multiple areas only come into consideration
once the network is several hundred routers
big
 NET begins with 49
 “Private” address range
 All routers are in L2 only (Core Network)
 Note: Cisco IOS defaults to L1L2
 Set L2 under ISIS router configuration (can
also be done per interface)
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Adjacencies – Hello PDU (IIS)
 Hello Protocol Data Units (PDUs) are
exchanged between routers.
 Typically to establish and maintain
adjacencies between IS's.

ISIS adjacency through IIH

 IS-IS area addresses are also exchanged

in this IIH PDUs.
 A PDU is an IS-IS equivalent of a packet
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Link State PDU (LSP)
 Each router creates an LSP and floods it to
neighbours
 A level-1 router will create level-1 LSP(s)
 A level-2 router will create level-2 LSP(s)
 A level-1-2 router will create
 Independent level-1 LSP(s) and
 Independent level-2 LSP(s)

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The ISIS LSP
 LSPs have a Fixed Header and TLV coded
contents
 Typically an LSP header contains
 LSP-id Sequence number
 Remaining Lifetime Checksum
 Type of LSP (level-1, level-2)
 Attached bit
 Overload bit
 The LSP contents are coded as TLV (Type,
Length, Value) and contain;
 Area addresses
 IS neighbours
 Authentication Information 13
Link State Database Content

 Each IS maintains a separate LSDB for

either level-1 or level-2 LSPs
 The LSDB contains:
 LSP headers and contents
 SRM = Send Routing Message
 SSN = Send Sequence Number
 SRM bits: set per interface when a router has
to flood an LSP through that interface
 SSN bits: set per interface when router has to
send a PSNP for this LSP

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Flooding of LSPs
 New LSPs are flooded to all neighbors
 All IS's get all LSPs
 Each LSP has a sequence number
 There are 2 kinds of flooding:
 Flooding on a point to point link and
 Flooding on a LAN

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Flooding on a p2p link
 Once the adjacency is established either
routers send CSNP packet.
 And in case of any missing LSP's, if not
present in the received CSNP both routers
would send a request!!!!!
 This is done through a PSNP packet
request
 PSNP (Partial Sequence Number PDU)
 CSNP (Complete Sequence Number PDU)

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Flooding on a LAN
 Each LAN has a Designated Router (DIS)
 The DIS has two tasks
 Conducting LSP flooding over the LAN
 Creating and updating a special LSP
describing the LAN topology (Pseudo-node
LSP)
 DIS election is based on priority
 Best practice is to select two routers and give
them higher priority
 Thus, in case of any failure one provides
deterministic backup for the other
 DIS Tie breaker is router with the highest
MAC address 17
Flooding on a LAN Cont...
 DIS conducts the flooding over the LAN
 DIS multicasts CSNP every 10 seconds
 All routers on the LAN check the CSNP
against their own LSDB.
 In case of any missing content withing the
LSP, the IS may request for specific re-
transmissions of uptodate LSP's via a
PSNP request

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Complete Sequence Number PDU
 Used to distribute a routers complete link-
state database
 If the LSDB is large, multiple CSNPs are
sent
 Used on 2 occasions:
 Periodic multicast by DIS (every 10 seconds)
to synchronise the LSDB over LAN subnets
 On p2p links when link comes up

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Partial Sequence Number PDUs
 Typically exchanged on p2p links, PSNP
are used to ack and request link-state info
 Two functions
 Acknowledge receipt of an LSP
 Request transmission of latest LSP
 PSNPs describe LSPs by its header
 LSP identifier
 Sequence number
 Remaining lifetime
 LSP checksum
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Network Design Issues
 As in all IP network designs, the key issue
is the addressing layout
 ISIS supports a large number of routers in
a single area
 When network is so large requiring the use
of areas, employ summary-addresses
 >400 routers in the backbone is quite
doable … according to Philip Smith :-)

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Network Design Issues
 Link cost
 Default on all interfaces is 10
 (Compare with OSPF which sets cost according to link
bandwidth)
 Manually configured according to routing strategy
 Summary address cost
 Equal to the best more specific cost
 Backbone has to be contiguous
 Ensures continuity through redundancy
 Area partitioning
 Design in a way that backbone can NOT be partitioned

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Scaling Issues
 Areas vs. single area
 Use areas where
 sub-optimal routing is not an issue
 areas with one single exit point
 Start with L2-only everywhere
 Thus future implementation of any level-1
areas would become easier
 Backbone continuity is ensured from start

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 Typical ISP Design
49.0001.1921.6800.1006.00
49.0001.1921.6800.1004.00
PoP 3
PoP 2

49.0001.1921.6800.1003.00

49.0001.1921.6800.1007.00
PoP 4

49.0001.1921.6800.1002.00

PoP 1 49.0001.1921.6800.1008.00

49.0001.1921.6800.1001.00
All routers are in L2 only
and only24one area is used
Asante Sana

./noah
noah(at)neo.co.tz

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