1.

Difference between of STP and RSTP

Both are used to avoid L2 Loops however there are certain differences in terms of convergence
timers and thus number of states in these protocols.

Convergence Timers:

• STP (802.1d): 50 ms
• RSTP (802.1w): 6 ms

STP States – Disabled, Blocking, Listening, Learning & Forwarding

RTSP States – Discarding (replaces disabled, blocking and listening), Learning & Forwarding

2. Difference between Root guard, BPDU guard and Loop guard

Root Guard: It prevents a port from becoming the root port.

BPDU Guard: State of the port changes to Error-disable in case a BPDU is received.

Loop Guard: It prevents a port to transit from blocked state to listening state after max age
timer gets expired.

3. Explain the phenomenon of Q-in-Q

Using Q-in-Q tunneling, providers can segregate or bundle customer traffic into fewer VLANs or
different VLANs by adding another layer of 802.1Q tags. Q-in-Q tunneling is useful when
customers have overlapping VLAN IDs, because the customer’s 802.1Q (dot1Q) VLAN tags are
prepended by the service VLAN (S-VLAN) tag.

In Q-in-Q tunneling, as a packet travels from a customer VLAN (C-VLAN) to a service

provider’s VLAN, a customer-specific 802.1Q tag is added to the packet. This additional tag is
used to segregate traffic into service-provider-defined service VLANs (S-VLANs). The original
customer 802.1Q tag of the packet remains and is transmitted transparently, passing through the
service provider’s network. As the packet leaves the S-VLAN in the downstream direction, the
extra 802.1Q tag is removed.

4. Difference between LACP and VRRP

VRRP: VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) is used to provide redundancy at router
level and make sure that network remains intact even if one of the router goes down.

In VRRP, a virtual router is created, this virtual router is made up of a single router acting as
virtual router master and there are multiple routers acting as virtual router backup. The virtual IP
address of the virtual router is then configured on LAN clients as their default gateway. IP
address on all VRRP Master /Backup routers and VRRP clients always belong to the same
subnet.

LACP: LACP is providing redundandancy of one link on a router. LACP is part of the IEEE
specification 802.3ad and it allows you to bundle several physical ports to form a single logical
channel.

In LACP, the logical link remains UP even if one of the link goes down. As per network design
and in order to address congestion issues ( and force switching to another interface/router) an
LACP Link can be made down even if one or more links are UP in that bundle (using minimum
links command).

6. Different LACP Modes

LACP packets are exchanged between ports in these modes:

• Active: Places a port into an active negotiating state, in which the port initiates
negotiations with remote ports by sending LACP packets.
• Passive: Places a port into a passive negotiating state, in which the port responds to
LACP packets it receives but does not initiate LACP negotiation. In this mode, the port
channel group attaches the interface to the bundle.[3]

7. Difference between OSPF LSA types 3, 4 & 5

Type 3 LSAs (Summary LSA) are generated by Area Border Routers (ABR) to summarize its
directly connected area, and advertise inter-area router information to other this ABRs (with the
help of summary prefix).

Type 4 LSAs advertise the presence of an ASBR to other areas. It is worth noticing that
while type 4 LSAs are used by ABRs to advertise the ASBR route through their areas, it will not
be used by the ASBR itself within its local area (Area 1), ASBR uses LSA Type 1 to inform its
neighbors (R2 in this case) within its network.

Type 5 LSAs are generated by the ASBR to advertise external redistributed routes into the
OSPF’s AS. These external redistributed route/prefixes are seen as O E1 or E2 entries in other
OSPF routers routing tables.
8. Difference between Stub Area and Totally Stub Area

Stub Area: LSA‐4, LSA‐5 is not advertised into a Stub area

Totally Stub Area (Totally Stub): No LSA‐3, LSA‐4 and LSA‐5

Not So Stubby Area (NSSA): A stub area containing an ASBR, type 5 LSAs are converted to
type 7 within the area.

12. Hello and Hold Timers in OSPF, IS-IS and EIGRP

EIGRP: By default, EIGRP sends Hellos every 5 seconds on LAN interfaces and every 60
seconds on WAN interfaces; the hold timer is three times the hello timer (15 or 180 seconds,
respectively).

OSPF: By default, OSPF uses a 10-second Hello timer and 40-second Hold timer on broadcast
and point-to-point links, and a 30-second Hello timer and 120-second Hold timer for all other
network types.

IS-IS: By default, IS-IS uses a 10-second hello interval and 30-second dead interval, with the
exception of a broadcast segment’s designated router, which sends hellos at one-third the normal
interval (every 3.3 seconds).

14. Difference between IPV4 and VPNV4 prefixes

When an RD is added to an IPV4 prefix, then it becomes a VPNV4 prefix. VPNV4 address is
total of 96 bits, i.e., 32 bits IP address and 64 bits RD. Simple BGP cannot transport this prefix
and a different flavor of BGP i.e., MP-BGP is used to carry VPN4 prefixes in MPLS backbone.
17. Difference Between Route Distinguishers and Route Targets

The Route Distinguisher is used to keep all prefixes in the BGP table unique and the Route
Target is used to transfer routes between VRF’s/VPNS. The purpose of RD is to ensure that
routes are unique in that particular VPN and Route Target then helps in sorting out routes in the
appropriate routing table.

The router imports the RT that the other router exports, this does not have to match the RD.[9]

18. BGP Path Selection Algorithm

1. Only look at synchronized routes with a valid next hop

2. Prefer the highest WEIGHT (Cisco only)
3. Prefer the highest LOCAL PREF
4. Prefer the route originated by the local router.
5. Prefer the shortest AS_PATH
6. Prefer IGP Origin code over EGP and furthermore over Incomplete
7. Prefer the lowest MED
8. Prefer EBGP path rather than IBGP path
9. Prefer the path through the closest IGP neighbor
10. Prefer the oldest EBGP path
11. Prefer the path with the lowest BGP router ID.

Weight, Local preference: Applied inwards, significant for outbound traffic

MED, AS-Path: Applied outwards, significant for inbound traffic.

19. BGP Path Attributes

• Well-known Mandatory attributes: These attributes must be included in updates

propagated to all peers.

Examples: ASPATH, NEXT-HOP and ORIGIN

• Well-known Discretionary attributes: Optional Attributes to include in updates.

Examples: LOCAL_PREF & ATOMIC_AGGREGATE

• Optional Transitive attributes: Should be accepted by BGP Peers even if that attribute
is not supported by that router.

Examples: AGGREGATOR and COMMUNITY

• Optional Non-transitive attribute: non-transitive means that if the BGP router does not
recognize the attribute, it can ignore it and not pass it on.
Examples: MED, Originator ID and Cluster List.

20. Explain BGP Synchronization rule

The rule says, “Do not use a route obtained via IBGP unless you have route to the same network
via IGP.”

As we know all IBGP neighbors should be fully meshed and as per split horizon rule, no iBGP
learned route will be advertised to another iBGP peer unless all of the routers within the AS have
learned about the route via an IGP. So, this rule will be enforced whenever you’ll try to make a
non-fully-meshed iBGP topology work.

21. Explain the Loop Prevention mechanism in BGP

BGP uses TCP port 179 and BGP Loop prevention is done with the help of AS Number.

When BGP updates travel through different Autonomous Systems (AS), EBGP routers prepend
their AS to AS PATH attribute. BGP routers use this information to check through which
Autonomous Systems certain updates passed. If an EBGP speaking router detects its own AS in
AS_PATH attribute update, the router will ignore the update and will not advertise it further to
IBGP neighbors, because it is a routing information loop. This is a built-in mechanism for loop
prevention in BGP.

28. Difference between BGP Route Reflectors and Confederations

The main purpose of route reflectors and confederations is to avoid the need to have all iBGP
routers fully meshed (fully peered in BGP).

The route reflector design is usually preferred to confederations.

Route Reflectors:

RR prevents the need to have an IBGP full mesh. Moreover, configuration is done only on the
router that you intend act like a RR. All other routers are configured as RR-Clients on the RR.
No configuration needed on the other routers.

Instead of establishing an IBGP peering with each and every router of the internal BGP mesh,
routers establish IBGP sessions with route reflectors only. RRs represent a focal point for IBGP
sessions, and form a cluster together with its clients, that is, other routers within an internal BGP
mesh.

Confederations:

Confederations are usually used in huge autonomous systems. Basically, all you are doing is
splitting up your AS into small AS’s.
For example, you have AS 100 consisting of 50 routers. You can split it up into any number of
small AS’s, let us say 10 with each containing only 5 routers. These 10 ASs would then be
known as confederations. iBGP speakers in sub-AS are fully meshed.

You can use route-reflectors with confederation sub-AS to reduce the sub-AS iBGP mesh.

29. How does a Route Reflector work?

When an RR receives a route update from its iBGP peers, it selects the best path and follows one
of the following rules depending on the type of peer that sent the route:

1. EBGP Peer: The best routes are propagated to all BGP peers including other RRs, client
peers, and non-client peers.
2. Non-client Peer: The best routes are reflected to all the client peers as well as to the
eBGP peers.
3. Client Peer: The best routes are reflected to all non-client peers as well as to the client
peers.

The internal peers that connect to an RR are classified as RR client peers. Every other iBGP
router that is not an RR or an RR client is classified as a non-client peer.

1. What are the characteristics of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)?

Following are the characteristics of the Border Gateway Protocol:

• Configuration of Inter-Autonomous Systems: The Border Gateway Protocol's primary

function is to provide communication between two autonomous systems.
• Next-Hop Paradigm is supported by the Border Gateway Protocol.
• Within the autonomous system, there is coordination among several BGP speakers.
• Path Information: In addition to the reachable destination and next destination pair, BGP
advertisements offer path information.
• In the routing-decision algorithm of BGP, numerous attributes are used.
• External neighbors between various autonomous systems are communicated via eBGP.
• Internal neighbors inside the same autonomous system use iBGP.
• It uses weight to alter the outward traffic routing from a single locally configured router.
• Policy Support: The Border Gateway Protocol can implement policies that the
administrator can configure. A router running BGP, for example, can be set to
discriminate between routes known within the autonomous system and routes known
from outside the autonomous system.
• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is used in conjunction with Border Gateway
Protocol.
• Border Gateway Protocol helps networks save bandwidth.
• Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) is supported by BGP.
• Security is also supported by BGP.
6. Differentiate between internal Border Gateway Protocol (iBGP) and external
Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP).

• internal Border Gateway Protocol(iBGP): Inside autonomous systems, IBGP is used.

Its purpose is to feed data to your internal routers. For prefix learning, all devices in the
same autonomous system must form a full mesh topology or use either Route reflectors
or Confederation.
• external Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP): It is employed between autonomous
systems. It's used and deployed at the edge or border router, which connects two or more
autonomous systems together. It is the protocol that allows networks from various
organizations or the Internet to communicate with one another.

The following table lists the differences between the internal Border Gateway Protocol and the
external Border Gateway Protocol:

internal Border Gateway Protocol (iBGP) external Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP)
It connects two BGP routers in a single It connects two BGP routers in separate
autonomous system. independent systems.
Its Administrative Distance is set to 200 by Its Administrative Distance is set to 20 by
default. default.
IBGP routes obtained from an IBGP peer can be EBGP routes can be published to EBGP and
broadcast to an EBGP peer but not to another IBGP peers when received from an EBGP
IBGP peer. peer.
It does not necessitate a complete mesh
It necessitates the use of full mesh topology.
topology.
It's used between corporations or between
Within the same corporation, it's used.
corporations and Internet service providers.
For loop prevention, it employs BGP Split
It prevents loops by using an AS path.
Horizon.
TTL (Time To Live) = 255 is the default setting TTL (Time To Live) = 1 is the default
for peers. setting for peers.
Attributes such as local preference are exchanged Attributes such as local preference are not
between IBGP peers. communicated between EBGP peers.
The next hop remains constant when a route is When a route is announced to an EBGP
advertised to an IBGP peer. peer, the local router becomes the next hop.
7. What do you understand about split horizon in the context of BGP? Explain
with an example.

Split Horizon: The split horizon is a method employed by distance vector protocols to prevent
network routing loops. The underlying premise is straightforward: never send routing
information back in the same direction it came from. It is necessary to have a split-horizon
because distance vector protocols like Routing Information Protocol (RIP) are prone to routing
loops, which occur when a data packet is caught in an unending loop and routed through the
same routers over and over again. Split horizon is frequently used in protocols to avoid loops.
Different strategies are used to prevent packet looping in other protocols, such as Open Shortest
Path First.

When split horizon is enabled, a router is prevented from advertising a route back to the router
from whence it learnt it. To put it another way, if a router receives routing information from
another router, the first router will not broadcast it back to the second router, preventing routing
loops.

Example: An example of three routers used to forward packets between networks is shown in
the diagram below. The R3 router transmits routing information about the 10.0.0.0/16 network to
the R2 router in this simple architecture. This information is received by the R2 router, which
modifies its routing table and broadcasts it to the R1 router. The R1 router modifies its routing
database when it receives this information.

The modified routing information allows the R1 router to send packets to the 10.0.0.0/16
network via the R2 and R3 routers. The R1 router will not be able to advertise this network route
back to the R2 router if a split horizon is enabled. If the R1 router does not have split-horizon
enabled, it will broadcast the route to the R2 router, which will update its routing table to reflect
the network route available through the R1 router.
The presence of the R1 route in the R2 routing database is not an issue in typical operations
because it is plainly a lot more expensive route than a direct R2-to-R3 connection. If the R2-to-
R3 connection fails and the R2 router receives a packet from R1 destined for the 10.0.0.0/16
network, the R2 router will return the packet to R1 because the router advertised a functional
network path. However, based on its own routing information, the R1 router will just return the
packet to the R2 router, resulting in a routing loop that will continue until the packet dies. The
R1 router will not advertise the network route to the R2 router if the split horizon is enabled,
preventing the routing loop.

9. What do you understand by peers in the context of BGP? What is the purpose
of BGP peer groups?

BGP peers are two routers that have established a link for exchanging BGP information. Such
BGP peers provide routing information via TCP-based BGP sessions, which are dependable,
connection-oriented, and error-free protocols.

The above image shows a BGP peering session between two BGP routers. We may utilize peer
groups to simplify BGP configuration and reduce the amount of updates BGP has to produce.
We can create a peer group with the neighbors and then apply all of our setups to it.

11. In BGP, what is the order of preference?

The order of preference in BGP differs depending on whether the attributes are used for inbound
or outbound updates.

The following is the order of preference for inbound updates:

1. Route-map
2. Filter-list
 3. Prefix-list
4. distribute-list

The following is the order of preference for outgoing updates:

1. Filter-list
2. Route-map | unsuppress-map
3. Advertise-map (conditional-advertisement)
4. Prefix-list
5. distribute-list.

15. What are the different types of attributes present in BGP?

Following are the different types of attributes present in bgp:

• Well-known mandatory: All BGP peers recognise it, it is forwarded to all peers, and it
is present in all Update messages. The following are some of the well-known mandatory
attributes:
o Next-hop
o Origin
o AS PATH
• Well-known discretionary: All routers recognise it, it's sent to all peers, and it's
optionally included in the Update message. The following are some of the well-known
discretionary attributes:
o Local Preference
o Atomic Aggregate
 • Optional transitive: It's possible that BGP routers will recognize it and transmit it on to
BGP peers. When optional transitive qualities are not recognized, they are denoted as
partial. The following are examples of optional transitive attributes:
o Aggregator
o Community
• Optional non-transitive: BGP routers may recognise it, but it is not forwarded to peers.
The following are some of the optional non-transitive attributes:
o Multi-exit discriminator (MED)
o Originator ID
o Cluster-ID

17. What exactly do you mean by a route reflector in the context of Border
Gateway Protocol? Why is it necessary?

In BGP, a route reflector is a router which is capable of breaking the internal Border Gateway
Protocol (iBGP) loop avoidance rule. Under certain settings, a route reflector can broadcast
updates received from an iBGP peer to another iBGP peer.

By breaking the criterion and designing iBGP networks that scale quickly and cleanly, route
reflectors are employed to eliminate the full mesh requirement.

20. What do the various BGP Path Attributes mean?

BGP offers a variety of Path Attributes, which are used to compare competing BGP pathways
(routes) in the BGP table to identify the best possible path (route).

The following are some BGP Path Attributes:

• Next Hop: The Next Hop Path Attributes are used to list the IP address of the prefix's
next hop. It determines whether the Next Hop is achievable. The router does not use this
route if no other route can reach Next Hop.
• Weight: When you receive updates from a router, the weight Path Attributes is a numeric
value provided by the router to impact the route for a prefix. It is not publicised among
BGP peers, and a heavier weight is preferred.
• Local Preference: Local Preference is a numeric value set as well. It is conveyed within
a single autonomous system in order for all routers in that autonomous system to
determine the optimum route to a certain network. The higher the value, the better.
• Routes injected locally: The routes injected with the network command are known as
locally injected routes. These are preferable to iBGP/eBGP.
• Multi-Exit Discriminator: The Multi-Exit Discriminator (MED) allows one autonomous
system to inform a neighbouring autonomous system about the optimum path to take for
packet forwarding. The smaller the better.
• AS Path: The number of ASNs (Autonomous System Number) in the AS Path is
specified by the AS Path. The smaller the better.
28. What are the different types of loop prevention mechanisms in BGP?

Following are the different ways of loop prevention mechanisms in BGP :

• A router does not advertise the same routes to another iBGP peer when one iBGP peer
specifies routes for it.
• When you use AS PATH, you can do the following: A BGP router adds its own ASN to
the AS PATH when we advertise to an eBGP peer. When a BGP router receives an
update and the route announcement includes an AS PATH with its ASN, the route is
ignored.

24. Explain the Path selection criteria used in BGP.

BGP seeks to reduce the number of paths available to only one best path; it does not load balance
by default. To do so, it looks at the following path properties of any loop-free, synchronised (if
synchronisation is enabled) routes with an accessible next-hop:

• Pick the route that has the most weight.

• Choose the route with the highest local preference if weight is not specified.
• Choose routes that began with this router.
• Choose the Autonomous System path that is the shortest.
• Select the path with the lowest origin code (lowest is I next is e, and last is?).
• If the same Autonomous System advertises the available routes, choose the path with the
lowest MED.
• Opt for an EBGP route rather than an IBGP route.
• Choose the route that passes through the IGP neighbor with the lowest IGP metric.
• Pick the oldest route.
• Choose the path that passes through the neighbor with the smallest router ID.
• Select the path that passes through the neighbor with the smallest IP address.