As the Internet continues to evolve, so do the needs of its users. Businesses face a number of challenges when it comes to delivering online services to their customers. Among these challenges is the need to connect with different sources of traffic using different connection methods and bring them together in a logical and efficient way. One of the solutions that has been proposed is BGP.
BGP is an Internet routing protocol that allows different autonomous networks (networks) to share information about each other and their neighbors through autonomous communities (regions). The result of this sharing is called the “internal routing table” because each network within an autonomous system stores this information within itself.
In simple terms, BGP works like this: A route goes into one autonomous system and comes out in another. This happens according to a set of rules defined by an administration body known as the “BGP speaker” (i.e., you or your company). For example, let’s say there are two BGP speakers: AS1 and AS2. Both of them will Table 1 show how they exchange data related to a particular IP address/prefix used within their respective autonomous systems.
What is BGP?
BGP ( Bersef-GP ) is an open and vendor-neutral protocol that allows the exchange of routing information between autonomous systems. BGP was developed by the American research team of the same name in the late 1980s under the auspices of the Internet Systems Consortium.
BGP is primarily used to exchange routing information between large networks – as opposed to the routing tables within individual computers or networks connected to a single gateway. A network that uses BGP to communicate with other networks is called a “bGP network.”
How BGP Works?
The most important function of BGP is the exchange of autonomous system information between participating BGP speakers. The term “autonomous system” can be confusing, so let’s break it down: A BGP speaker is not an autonomous system in itself – it is a peer to other BGP speakers.
When two BGP speakers are connected via a path, each side keeps a database of the top-level destinations (i.e., subnet masks) and the link-state (i.e., speed) of all nodes on the path. When there is no traffic on the path, the node with the lower metric is used. This process is known as “least-median” routing.
Advantages of using BGP
BGP is a highly-scoped protocol that allows for flexible and efficient inter-AS communication. BGP speakers are responsible for exchanging routing data, and can be connected to by other local or long-distance networks. Routing decisions made by one BGP speaker aren’t affected by other speakers in that autonomous system.
This makes it possible to use BGP to connect networks that might not otherwise be able to communicate with each other, such as ISP networks and the Internet. BGP also provides added security, as it doesn’t require any modifications to the hardware or software on the end devices.