[c-nsp] Testing New BGP Provider

[Pete Templin]

On 5/4/12 9:37 PM, Mitch Stoner wrote:
> Whats the best way to go about testing a new service provider connection
> with BGP on a production router? Should I put the new connection in a VRF
> to receive the global routing table and make sure things work as expected?
> Or do I simply filter all routes initially and slowly permit a few
> individual routes to be sure things look correct? Router is an ASR9000. What
> do others typically do?

Think forward: when things with provider X go to garbage, you want to be 
able to detune that provider.  If it happens at 3am, do you want to 
think through the process of detuning them?  I didn't think so.  Make a 
route-map (two, actually; one for inbound and one for outbound) that 
puts the provider in maintenance mode.  For inbound, drop local 
preference below your normal and add some prepends.  For outbound, set 
community to request lower than normal local preference, and add some 
prepends.  Make a 'no-routes' while you're at it (deny everything in the 
first line).  Start the session with no-routes so you know it's 
provisioned correctly, then switch to maintenance mode, then switch to 
normal.

pt