[c-nsp] bgp & static default route?

[matthew zeier]

I work at a medium sized ISP with one data center.  Network isn't too 
large - three upstream providers, ~400Mbps at peak.  There are a pair 
of routers that connect to the Internet and a pair of routers that 
customers hang off of directly.

Management is of the opinion that the best way to run this network is 
with full BGP routes and static defaults out uplink interfaces 
redistributed into OSPF.  The thinking process is that if a external 
peer stops sending me all routes, I still need a way to get out.

I content that if an external peer stops sending me full routes, why 
should I send them traffic they don't think they know how to get to?  
And if all routers are running bgp, I don't see how the static default 
will ever help unless I lose all external bgp routes at which point 
there's probably a bigger problem and I'm probably offline.

When I raise my objections, I'm told "we're not MCI - we need a default 
route".

Any comments?  Is this how anyone else runs a network?

--
matthew zeier - "Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be
understood." - Marie Curie