Border Gateway Protocol
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP enables the internet to function by making routing decisions based on paths, network policies, or rule-sets configured by a network administrator. As the protocol that makes the internet work, BGP is crucial for ensuring that data packets find their way across the complex web of interconnected networks that make up the global internet. It is a path vector protocol, which means it stores the path (or route) the data packets take to reach their destination, allowing for efficient, scalable routing decisions.
Three of the most critical IETF RFC numbers related to BGP are RFC 4271, RFC 4456, and RFC 4272. RFC 4271 defines the BGP-4 protocol, which is the current standard version of BGP used across the internet. It describes the protocol's mechanisms for establishing and maintaining connections between BGP-speaking routers, including the structure of BGP messages and the process of route advertisement and selection. RFC 4456 introduces BGP Route Reflection, an alternative to full mesh internal BGP (iBGP) topologies, reducing the number of BGP connections necessary within an AS. RFC 4272 discusses security vulnerabilities within the BGP protocol and proposes strategies for mitigating these risks.
For official documentation and guidelines, the URLs for the IETF's RFCs provide in-depth information on BGP standards and practices. The official documentation for RFC 4271, RFC 4456, and RFC 4272 can be found at the IETF's official site, with detailed specifications and technical guidelines: - RFC 4271: s://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4271(https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4271) - RFC 4456: s://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4456(https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4456) - RFC 4272: s://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4272(https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4272)
Major cloud providers and networking hardware vendors also offer extensive documentation on BGP, tailored to their specific services and devices. Cisco's documentation can be accessed through their official website, offering guidance on configuring BGP on Cisco routers. Juniper Networks provides detailed documentation on implementing BGP on their devices. AWS, GCP, and IBM Cloud offer guides on leveraging BGP for their cloud services, facilitating secure and efficient routing for cloud-based applications and services. These resources are invaluable for network engineers and administrators looking to implement BGP in a variety of environments, from traditional data centers to modern cloud-based infrastructures.
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Border Gateway Protocol
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP is classified as a path-vector routing protocol, and it makes routing decisions based on paths, network policies, or rule-sets configured by a network administrator.
BGP used for routing within an autonomous system is called Interior Border Gateway Protocol (iBGP). In contrast, the Internet application of the protocol is called Exterior Border Gateway Protocol (EBGP).