Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol - (EIGRP) is a Cisco proprietary routing protocol loosely based on their original IGRP. EIGRP is an advanced distance-vector routing protocol, with optimizations to minimize both the routing instability incurred after topology changes, as well as the use of bandwidth and processing power in the router. Routers that support EIGRP will automatically redistribute route information to IGRP neighbors by converting the 32 bit EIGRP metric to the 24 bit IGRP metric. Most of the routing optimizations are based on the Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL) work from SRI, which guarantees loop-free operation and provides a mechanism for fast convergence. EIGRP is designed to give all the flexibility of routing protocols such as OSPF but with much faster convergence. In addition, EIGRP has Protocol-Dependent Modules that can deal with AppleTalk and IPX as well as IP. The advantage with this is that only one routing process need run instead of a routing process for each of the protocols. EIGRP provides loop-free operation and almost instant simultaneous synchronisation of all routers. Redistribution between EIGRP and other routing protocols is generally automatic. For example, if IGRP and EIGRP routers use the same AS number then by default routes are redistributed one to the other.

EIGRP Packet Format

How EIGRP Works

Unlike traditional DV protocols such as RIP and IGRP, EIGRP does not rely on periodic updates: routing updates are sent only when there is a change. Remember that RIP and IGRP reset the invalid and flush timers upon receiving a route update. When a route is lost, the updates stop; the invalid and flush timers grow and grow (the timers are not reset), and, ultimately, the route is flushed from the routing table. This process of convergence assumes periodic updates. EIGRP's approach has the advantage that network resources are not consumed by periodic updates. However, if a router dies, taking away all its downstream routes, how would EIGRP detect the loss of these routes? EIGRP relies on small hello packets to establish neighbor relationships and to detect the loss of a neighbor. Neighbor relationships are discussed in detail in the next section. RIP and IGRP suffer from a major flaw: routing loops. Routing loops happen when information about the loss of a route does not reach all routers in the network because an update packet gets dropped or corrupted. These routers (that have not received the information about the loss of the route) inject bad routing information back into the network by telling their neighbors about the route they know. EIGRP uses reliable transmission for all updates between neighbors. Neighbors acknowledge the receipt of updates, and if an acknowledgment is not received, EIGRP retransmits the update. RIP and IGRP employ a battery of techniques to reduce the likelihood of routing loops: split horizon, hold-down timers, and poison reverse. These techniques do not guarantee that loops will not occur and, in any case, result in long convergence times. EIGRP uses the Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL) for all route computations. DUAL's convergence times are an order of magnitude lower than those of traditional DV algorithms. DUAL is able to achieve such low convergence times by maintaining a table of loop-free paths to every destination, in addition to the least-cost path. DUAL is described in more detail later in this chapter. DUAL can support IP, IPX, and AppleTalk. A protocol-dependent module encapsulates DUAL messages and handles interactions with the routing table. In summary, DUAL requires: 1. A method for the discovery of new neighbors and their loss. 2. Reliable transmission of update packets between neighbors. 3. Protocol-dependent modules that can encapsulate DUAL traffic in IP, IPX, or AppleTalk. This text will deal only with EIGRP in IP networks.

EIGRP Topologies and Migration Strategies

EIGRP is not hierarchical, but it can be forced to behave hierarchically. In this case, the migration from EIGRP to OSPF is easier. If the current EIGRP network is flat and cannot be forced to run hierarchically, then the OSPF migration plan may require building a network hierarchically-based on OSPF design requirements and principles. When the EIGRP network is

flat, the migration would require using an integrated model where route redistribution is required between EIGRP and OSPF.

EIGRP Theory of Operation

Some of the many advantages of EIGRP are: Very low usage of network resources during normal operation; only hello packets are transmitted on a stable network When a change occurs, only routing table changes are propagated, not the entire routing table; this reduces the load the routing protocol itself places on the network Rapid convergence times for changes in the network topology (in some situations convergence can be almost instantaneous) EIGRP is an enhanced distance vector protocol, relying on the Diffused Update Algorithm (DUAL) to calculate the shortest path to a destination within a network.

EIGRP Characteristics
An Enhanced version of IGRP. It is also a Cisco proprietary protocol. Automatically redistribute (exchange) routing information with IGRP (with the same as number). Independent modules for different routed protocols, e.g. IP, IPX and Apple Talk. Combines the properties of distance vector and link states routing protocol. Distance vector properties: Routes advertised in form of distance and direction. Compatible with IGRP, a distance vector routing protocol. Link state properties: Maintains a topology table and a neighbour (adjacency) table. It uses a connection oriented, transport layer protocol called Reliable Transport Protocol (RTP) to exchange information such as updates, queries and replies. It finds a backup route (known as feasible successor) in advance, making it has quickest response to network changes among all routing protocols. The successor and feasible successor is controlled by a mechanism called Diffusing Update Algorithm, also known as DUAL finitestate machine (or DUAL FSM). Efficient use of bandwidth (by triggered updates and partial updates). Support of VLSM and CIDR (Classless Inter Domain Routing, which means routing updates will contain subnet mask).

Comparing EIGRP and IGRP

Comparisons between EIGRP and IGRP fall into the following major categories: Compatibility mode Metric calculation Hop count Automatic protocol redistribution Route tagging (ability to identify the routes redistributed from other routing protocols) Redistribution-exchange routing information.

Comparing routes of EIGRP and IGRP

The following is the show ip route output (note their differences in administrative distance and metrics, and the route tagged "EX" means route from other routing protocols such as IGRP, while IGRP cannot distinguish the route 172.16.1.0 learned from EIGRP. Since IGRP is classful, the route becomes 172.16.0.0 in the routing table).

EIGRP Concepts
The following three tables are maintained by EIGRP: Neighbor table (Adjacency Table) a table listing all attached EIGRP routers. By forming adjacencies, EIGRP routers: Dynamically learn of new routes that join their network. Identify routers that become either unreachable or inoperable. Rediscover routers that had previously been unreachable. Topology table Every EIGRP router maintains a topology table for each configured network protocol. All learned routes (successors/feasible successors) to a destination are maintained in the topology table. Routing table Best routes (successors) find out by DUAL FSM.

EIGRP data structure

The five EIGRP packet types are as follows: Hello Default hello intervals and hold times are as follows: <= 1.544 Mbps interval 60 seconds, hold time 180 seconds. 1.544 Mbps interval 5 seconds, hold time 15 seconds. Acknowledgment Update Query Reply

Configuring EIGRP
Configure EIGRP routing with an autonomous system number. 204A(config)# router eigrp ? <165535> Autonomous system number 204A(config)# router eigrp 100 Optionally you can specify the wild card mask in the network command, like that in OSPF configuration. 204A(configrouter)# network 1.0.0.0 ? A.B.C.D EIGRP wild card bits <cr> 204A(configrouter)#network 1.0.0.0 0.0.0.255 The above specifies a network 1.0.0.0/24. If you haven't specify the wild card bits, it will set the subnet mask to the classful boundary. The following is an example.

Summary
Cisco configures EIGRP as the best routing protocol in their routers, with an administrative distance of 90, which is even better than OSPF (110). One of the reasons is that it can find a backup route (feasible successor) in advance, therefore it can response to the network changes quickly. It maintains compatibility with the old IGRP protocol, therefore it is good for upgrading the old network running IGRP. Since it is a Cisco proprietary protocol, it cannot be used in a multivendor environment.

REFERENCE:-

1. 2. 3. 4.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIGRP www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/internetworking/technology searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition packetlife.net/static/cheatsheets/eigrp