[c-nsp] Route reflectors vs. confederations

[Eric Van Tol]

Hi all,
I'm wondering what the general consensus is regarding confederations as an iBGP scaling technique.  We currently utilize a complex hierarchical route reflector scheme for peering metro switches in a ring with a couple of distribution 6509s.  Some rings have 'head-end' route reflectors that have 'no client-to-client-reflection' enabled, which enables us to peer all the clients directly with each other in order to avoid routing loops on the ring.  This setup has worked pretty well for us in the past, but as more and more rings are added, it becomes more and more complicated.

I'm giving thought to confederations because the concept appears "simpler", but I've been told that confederations are a nightmare to deal with.  I haven't configured confederations outside of a very small lab environment and would like to get some real world opinions.

Thanks,
evt