Introduction to OSPF

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 OSPF
• Open Shortest Path First • Designed for:
• Link state or SPF – TCP/IP environment
technology – Fast convergence
– Variable-length subnet
• Developed by OSPF
masks
working group of IETF (RFC – Discontiguous subnets
1247) – Incremental updates
• OSPFv2 standard – Route authentication
described in RFC2328 • Runs on IP, Protocol 89

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 Link State

Z’s Link State

Q’s Link State
Z

A Q 2
B Z 13
Q Y
C X 13

Topology Information is kept

X in a Database separate from
the Routing Table
X’s Link State
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 Link State Routing
• Neighbour discovery
• Constructing a Link State Packet (LSP)
• Distribute the LSP
– (Link State Announcement – LSA)
• Compute routes
• On network failure
– New LSPs flooded
– All routers recompute routing table
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 Low Bandwidth Utilisation

LSA

X R1

LSA

• Only changes propagated

• Uses multicast on multi-access broadcast networks

5
 Fast Convergence
• Detection Plus LSA/SPF
– Known as the Dijkstra Algorithm

Alternate Path R2

N1
R1 X
Primary Path
R3
N2

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 Fast Convergence
• Finding a new route
– LSA flooded
throughout area LSA

– Acknowledgement
based
– Topology database
N1
R1 X
synchronised
– Each router derives
routing table to
destination network

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 OSPF Areas
• Area is a group of
contiguous hosts and
networks
R1 R2
– Reduces routing traffic
• Per area topology Area 2 Area 3
database Rc
Area 0
Rb

– Invisible outside the area Backbone Area

• Backbone area MUST be Rd Ra

contiguous
– All other areas must be R5 R4
connected to the R8 R7
backbone Area 4 Area 1
R3
R6

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Virtual Links between OSPF Areas
• Virtual Link is used when it
is not possible to physically Rc Rb
connect the area to the Area 0
Backbone Area
backbone
Rd Ra
• ISPs avoid designs which
require virtual links Area 4
R5 R4
– Increases complexity R8 R7

– Decreases reliability and Area 1

scalability R3
R6

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 Classification of Routers

R1 IR R2
IR

Area 2 Area 3
Rc Rb

ABR/BR
Area 0
Rd Ra

ASBR IR/BR • Internal Router (IR)

R5 R4 • Area Border Router (ABR)
To other AS
• Backbone Router (BR)
Area 1
• Autonomous System Border
R3
Router (ASBR)

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 OSPF Route Types

R1 IR R2
IR

Area 2 Area 3
Rc Rb

ABR/BR
Area 0
• Intra-area Route
Rd Ra
– all routes inside an area
ASBR • Inter-area Route
R5 R4 – routes advertised from one
To other AS
area to another by an Area
Area 1 Border Router
R3 • External Route
– routes imported into OSPF from
other protocol or static routes
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 External Routes
• Prefixes which are redistributed into OSPF from other
protocols
• Flooded unaltered throughout the AS
– Recommendation: Avoid redistribution!!
• OSPF supports two types of external metrics
– Type 1 external metrics
– Type 2 external metrics (Cisco IOS default)

RIP
EIGRP
BGP
OSPF Static
R2
Connected
Redistribute
etc. 12
 External Routes
• Type 1 external metric: metrics are added to
the summarised internal link cost
to N1
Cost = 10 External Cost = 1
R2

R1
to N1
Cost = 8 R3 External Cost = 2

Network Type 1 Next Hop

N1 11 R2
N1 10 R3 Selected Route
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 External Routes
• Type 2 external metric: metrics are compared
without adding to the internal link cost
to N1
Cost = 10 External Cost = 1
R2

R1
to N1
Cost = 8 R3 External Cost = 2

Network Type 1 Next Hop

N1 1 R2 Selected Route
N1 2 R3
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 Topology/Link State Database
• A router has a separate LS database for each area to which
it belongs
• All routers belonging to the same area have identical
database
• SPF calculation is performed separately for each area
• LSA flooding is bounded by area
• Recommendation:
– Limit the number of areas a router participates in!!
– 1 to 3 is fine (typical ISP design)
– >3 can overload the CPU depending on the area topology
complexity

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 The Hello Protocol
• Responsible for establishing
and maintaining neighbour
relationships Hello

• Elects designated router on

multi-access networks
Hello
Hello

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 The Hello Packet
• Contains:
– Router priority
Hello
– Hello interval
– Router dead
interval Hello
Hello
– Network mask
– List of neighbours
– DR and BDR
– Options: E-bit, MC-
bit,… (see A.2 of
RFC2328)
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 Designated Router
• There is ONE designated router per multi-access
network
– Generates network link advertisements
– Assists in database synchronization
Backup
Designated Designated
Router Router

Designated Backup
Router Designated Router
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 Designated Router by Priority
• Configured priority (per interface)
– ISPs configure high priority on the routers they want as DR/BDR
• Else determined by highest router ID
– Router ID is 32 bit integer
– Derived from the loopback interface address, if configured,
otherwise the highest IP address

131.108.3.2 131.108.3.3

R1 DR R2

R1 Router ID = 144.254.3.5 R2 Router ID = 131.108.3.3

144.254.3.5 19
 Neighbouring States
• Full
– Routers are fully adjacent
– Databases synchronised
– Relationship to DR and BDR

Full
DR BDR

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 Neighbouring States
• 2-way
– Router sees itself in other Hello packets
– DR selected from neighbours in state 2-way or
greater
2-way

DR BDR

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 When to Become Adjacent
• Underlying network is point to point
• Underlying network type is virtual link
• The router itself is the designated router or
the backup designated router
• The neighbouring router is the designated
router or the backup designated router

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LSAs Propagate Along Adjacencies

DR BDR

• LSAs acknowledged along adjacencies

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 Broadcast Networks
• IP Multicast used for Sending and Receiving
Updates
– All routers must accept packets sent to
AllSPFRouters (224.0.0.5)
– All DR and BDR routers must accept packets sent
to AllDRouters (224.0.0.6)
• Hello packets sent to AllSPFRouters (Unicast
on point-to-point and virtual links)

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 Routing Protocol Packets
• Share a common protocol header
• Routing protocol packets are sent with type of service (TOS)
of 0
• Five types of OSPF routing protocol packets
– Hello – packet type 1
– Database description – packet type 2
– Link-state request – packet type 3
– Link-state update – packet type 4
– Link-state acknowledgement – packet type 5

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 Different Types of LSAs
• Six distinct type of LSAs
– Type 1 : Router LSA
– Type 2 : Network LSA
– Type 3 & 4: Summary LSA
– Type 5 & 7: External LSA (Type 7 is for NSSA)
– Type 6: Group membership LSA
– Type 9, 10 & 11: Opaque LSA (9: Link-Local, 10: Area)

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 Router LSA (Type 1)
• Describes the state and cost of the router’s
links to the area
• All of the router’s links in an area must be
described in a single LSA
• Flooded throughout the particular area and
no more
• Router indicates whether it is an ASBR, ABR,
or end point of virtual link

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 Network LSA (Type 2)
• Generated for every transit broadcast and
NBMA network
• Describes all the routers attached to the
network
• Only the designated router originates this LSA
• Flooded throughout the area and no more

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 Summary LSA (Type 3 and 4)
• Describes the destination outside the area but
still in the AS
• Flooded throughout a single area
• Originated by an ABR
• Only inter-area routes are advertised into the
backbone
• Type 4 is the information about the ASBR

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 External LSA (Type 5 and 7)
• Defines routes to destination external to the AS
• Default route is also sent as external
• Two types of external LSA:
– E1: Consider the total cost up to the external
destination
– E2: Considers only the cost of the outgoing interface
to the external destination
• (Type 7 LSAs used to describe external LSA for
one specific OSPF area type)
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 Inter-Area Route Summarisation
• Prefix or all subnets
• Prefix or all networks
• ‘Area range’ command
R2
Backbone
Area 0

With Network Next Hop (ABR)

summarisation 1 R1
R1
Area 1
Without Network Next Hop
summarisation 1.A R1
1.A 1.B 1.C
1.B R1
1.C R1
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 No Summarisation
• Specific Link LSA advertised out of each area
• Link state changes propagated out of each area

1.A
1.B
1.C 3.A
1.D 3.B
Area 0 3.C
2.A 3.D
2.B
2.C
2.D

1.B 3.B
1.A 3.A

2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D

2.C 2.D
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 With Summarisation
• Only summary LSA advertised out of each area
• Link state changes do not propagate out of the area

1 3
Area 0
2

1.B 3.B
1.A 3.A

2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D

2.C 2.D
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 No Summarisation
• Specific Link LSA advertised in to each area
• Link state changes propagated in to each area

2.A 2.B
2.C 2.D
3.A 3.B 1.A 1.B
3.C 3.D 1.C 1.D
Area 0 2.A 2.B
1.A 1.B 2.C 2.D
1.C 1.D
3.A 3.B
3.C 3.D

1.B 3.B
1.A 3.A

2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D

2.C 2.D
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 With Summarisation
• Only summary link LSA advertised in to each area
• Link state changes do not propagate in to each area

2 1
3 2
Area 0
1
3

1.B 3.B
1.A 3.A

2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D

2.C 2.D
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 Types of Areas
• Regular
• Stub
• Totally Stubby
• Not-So-Stubby
• Only “regular” areas are useful for ISPs
– Other area types handle redistribution of other routing protocols
into OSPF – ISPs don’t redistribute anything into OSPF
• The next slides describing the different area types are
provided for information only

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 Regular Area (Not a Stub)
• From Area 1’s point of view, summary networks from other areas are
injected, as are external networks such as X.1
ASBR
X.1 External
networks
X.1
2 1
3 2 X.1
Area 0
X.1
1
3

X.1 1.B 3.B

1.A X.1 3.A

2.B
1.D X.1 2.A 3.D
1.C 3.C

2.C 2.D
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 Normal Stub Area
• Summary networks, default route injected
• Command is area x stub
ASBR
X.1 External
networks
Default
2 1
3 2 Default
Area 0
Default
1
3

X.1 1.B 3.B

1.A X.1 3.A

X.1 2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D

2.C 2.D
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 Totally Stubby Area
• Only a default route injected
– Default path to closest area border router
• Command is area x stub no-summary
ASBR
X.1 External
networks
1
Totally Default 2 Default
Stubby Area Area 0
Default
1
3

X.1 1.B 3.B

1.A X.1 3.A

2.B
1.D X.1 2.A 3.D
1.C 3.C

2.C 2.D
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 Not-So-Stubby Area
• Capable of importing routes in a limited fashion
• Type-7 LSA’s carry external information within an NSSA
• NSSA Border routers translate selected type-7 LSAs into type-5 external network LSAs
ASBR
X.1 External
networks
1
Not-So- Default 2 Default
Stubby Area Area 0 X.2
Default
X.2 1
3 X.2

X.2
X.1 1.B 3.B
1.A X.1 3.A

X.2 X.1
2.B
1.C 1.D 2.A 3.C 3.D
External
networks
2.C 2.D
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 ISP Use of Areas
• ISP networks use:
– Backbone area
– Regular area
• Backbone area
– No partitioning
• Regular area
– Summarisation of point to point link addresses used within areas
– Loopback addresses allowed out of regular areas without
summarisation (otherwise iBGP won’t work)

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 Addressing for Areas

Area 0
network 192.168.1.0
range 255.255.255.192

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3

network 192.168.1.64 network 192.168.1.128 network 192.168.1.192
range 255.255.255.192 range 255.255.255.192 range 255.255.255.192

• Assign contiguous ranges of subnets per area to facilitate

summarisation
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 Summary
• Fundamentals of Scalable OSPF Network
Design
– Area hierarchy
– DR/BDR selection
– Contiguous intra-area addressing
– Route summarisation
– Infrastructure prefixes only

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 Acknowledgement and
Attribution
This presentation contains content and information
originally developed and maintained by the following
organisation(s)/individual(s) and provided for the
African Union AXIS Project

Cisco ISP/IXP Workshops

Philip Smith: - [email protected]

www.apnic.net
Introduction to OSPF

End

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