[j-nsp] BGP load balancing on 2 links (same ISP)

[sthaug at nethelp.no]

> >>I've heard that although the load balance option is known as 
> >>"per-packet" but it behaves more like "per flow". Meaning packets 
> >>would not be breaked up and merged on the other end. Am i right?
> 
> * sthaug at nethelp.no [Fri 16 Mar 2007, 20:57 CET]:
> >It *is* per flow. The old IP 1 could do per packet, current IP 2 cannot.
> 
> That's a feature.  Per-packet load-balancing can easily lead to packet 
> reordering.

I know. However, there are situations where per-packet has its place.
At a former employer we used per-packet to load balance traffic for
customers with multiple 2 Mbps links - because the available *and*
affordable CPEs (various Cisco 2600 models) couldn't handle the CPU
load from the use of multilink PPP, and the customers really needed
more than 2 Mbps for a single flow. This was before the 2800 series
became available.

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no