[c-nsp] bgp & static default route?

[David J. Hughes]

Static default to a border router that is in an unknown operational 
state is a recipe for disaster.  Sure, working with defaults simplifies 
things and is a damn good idea for a network your size.  But you don't 
have to generate the default yourself.  Get your 3 upstreams to send 
you a default and a limited set of prefixes (like their customers and 
peers).  That'll keep the size of your routing table under control and 
also provide you with defaults.  If the upstream goes away so does the 
default to them (leaving you with 2 other defaults).

If you default to a border with a dead upstream you run a very high 
chance of black-holing all your traffic on that router.  That's not 
going to win you any friends from your customer base.


David
...

On 26/08/2005, at 1:36 PM, matthew zeier wrote:

> 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.