Networking Infrastructure

Chapter 9

Routing Concepts
Module Objectives
Module Title: Routing Concepts

Module Objective: Explain how routers use information in packets to make forwarding decisions.

Topic Title Topic Objective

Path Determination Explain how routers determine the best path.

Packet Forwarding Explain how routers forward packets to the destination.

Basic Router Configuration
Configure basic settings on a router.
Review
IP Routing Table Describe the structure of a routing table.

Static and Dynamic Routing Compare static and dynamic routing concepts.
9.1 Path Determination
Path Determination
Two Functions of a Router
When a router receives an IP packet on one interface, it determines which interface to
use to forward the packet to the destination. This is known as routing. The interface that
the router uses to forward the packet may be the final destination, or it may be a network
connected to another router that is used to reach the destination network. Each network
that a router connects to typically requires a separate interface, but this may not always
be the case.

The primary functions of a router are to determine the best path to forward packets based
on the information in its routing table, and to forward packets toward their destination.
Path Determination
Router Functions Example

The router uses its IP

routing table to determine
which path (route) to use to
forward a packet. R1 and R2
will use their respective IP
routing tables to first
determine the best path, and
then forward the packet.
Path Determination
Best Path Equals Longest Match
• The best path in the routing table is also known as the longest match.
• The routing table contains route entries consisting of a prefix (network address) and
prefix length. For there to be a match between the destination IP address of a packet
and a route in the routing table, a minimum number of far-left bits must match
between the IP address of the packet and the route in the routing table. The prefix
length of the route in the routing table is used to determine the minimum number of
far-left bits that must match.
• The longest match is the route in the routing table that has the greatest number of far-
left matching bits with the destination IP address of the packet. The longest match is
always the preferred route.

Note: The term prefix length will be used to refer to the network portion of both IPv4 and
IPv6 addresses.
Path Determination
IPv4 Longest Match Example
In the table, an IPv4 packet has the destination IPv4 address 172.16.0.10. The router has
three route entries in its IPv4 routing table that match this packet: 172.16.0.0/12,
172.16.0.0/18, and 172.16.0.0/26. Of the three routes, 172.16.0.0/26 has the longest
match and would be chosen to forward the packet. For any of these routes to be
considered a match there must be at least the number of matching bits indicated by the
subnet mask of the route.
Destination IPv4 Address Address in Binary

172.16.0.10 10101100.00010000.00000000.00001010

Route Entry Prefix/Prefix Length Address in Binary

1 172.16.0.0/12 10101100.00010000.00000000.00001010

2 172.16.0.0/18 10101100.00010000.00000000.00001010

3 172.16.0.0/26 10101100.00010000.00000000.00001010
Path Determination
IPv6 Longest Match Example
An IPv6 packet has the destination IPv6 address 2001:db8:c000::99. This example shows
three route entries, but only two of them are a valid match, with one of those being the
longest match. The first two route entries have prefix lengths that have the required
number of matching bits as indicated by the prefix length. The third route entry is not a
match because its /64 prefix requires 64 matching bits.

Destination 2001:db8:c000::99/48

Route Entry Prefix/Prefix Length Does it match?

1 2001:db8:c000::/40 Match of 40 bits

2 2001:db8:c000::/48 Match of 48 bits (longest match)

3 2001:db8:c000:5555::/64 Does not match 64 bits

Path Determination
Build the Routing Table
Directly Connected Networks: Added to the routing table when a local interface is configured
with an IP address and subnet mask (prefix length) and is active (up and up).

Remote Networks: Networks that are not directly connected to the router. Routers learn
about remote networks in two ways:
• Static routes - Added to the routing table when a route is manually configured.
• Dynamic routing protocols - Added to the routing table when routing protocols dynamically learn
about the remote network.

Default Route: Specifies a next-hop router to use when the routing table does not contain a
specific route that matches the destination IP address. The default route can be entered
manually as a static route, or learned automatically from a dynamic routing protocol.
• A default route has a /0 prefix length. This means that no bits need to match the destination IP address
for this route entry to be used. If there are no routes with a match longer than 0 bits, the default route is
used to forward the packet. The default route is sometimes referred to as a gateway of last resort.
9.2 Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Decision Process
1. The data link frame with an
encapsulated IP packet arrives on
the ingress interface.
2. The router examines the
destination IP address in the
packet header and consults its IP
routing table.
3. The router finds the longest
matching prefix in the routing table.
4. The router encapsulates the
packet in a data link frame and
forwards it out the egress interface.
The destination could be a device
connected to the network or a next-
hop router.
5. However, if there is no matching
route entry the packet is dropped.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Decision Process (Cont.)
After a router has determined the best path, it could do the following:

Forward the Packet to a Device on a Directly Connected Network

• If the route entry indicates that the egress interface is a directly connected network,
the packet can be forwarded directly to the destination device. Typically this is an
Ethernet LAN.
• To encapsulate the packet in the Ethernet frame, the router needs to determine the
destination MAC address associated with the destination IP address of the packet. The
process varies based on whether the packet is an IPv4 or IPv6 packet.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Decision Process (Cont.)
After a router has determined the best path, it could do the following:

Forward the Packet to a Next-Hop Router

• If the route entry indicates that the destination IP address is on a remote network,
meaning a device on network that is not directly connected. The packet must be
forwarded to the next-hop router. The next-hop address is indicated in the route entry.
• If the forwarding router and the next-hop router are on an Ethernet network, a similar
process (ARP and ICMPv6 Neighbor Discovery) will occur for determining the
destination MAC address of the packet as described previously. The difference is that
the router will search for the IP address of the next-hop router in its ARP table or
neighbor cache, instead of the destination IP address of the packet.

Note: This process will vary for other types of Layer 2 networks.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Decision Process (Cont.)
After a router has determined the best path, it could do the following:

Drop the Packet - No Match in Routing Table

• If there is no match between the destination IP address and a prefix in the routing
table, and if there is no default route, the packet will be dropped.
Packet Forwarding
End-to-End Packet Forwarding
The primary responsibility of the packet forwarding function is to encapsulate packets in
the appropriate data link frame type for the outgoing interface. For example, the data link
frame format for a serial link could be Point-to-Point (PPP) protocol, High-Level Data Link
Control (HDLC) protocol, or some other Layer 2 protocol.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Mechanisms
The primary responsibility of the packet forwarding function is to encapsulate packets in
the appropriate data link frame type for the outgoing interface. The more efficiently a
router can perform this task, the faster packets can be forwarded by the router.

Routers support the following three packet forwarding mechanisms:

• Process switching
• Fast switching
• Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF)
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Mechanisms (Cont.)
Process Switching: An older packet forwarding mechanism still available for Cisco
routers. When a packet arrives on an interface, it is forwarded to the control plane where
the CPU matches the destination address with an entry in its routing table, and then
determines the exit interface and forwards the packet. It is important to understand that
the router does this for every packet, even if the destination is the same for a stream of
packets.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Mechanisms (Cont.)
• Fast Switching: Another, older packet forwarding mechanism which was the
successor to process switching. Fast switching uses a fast-switching cache to store
next-hop information. When a packet arrives on an interface, it is forwarded to the
control plane where the CPU searches for a match in the fast-switching cache. If it is
not there, it is process-switched and forwarded to the exit interface. The flow
information for the packet is then stored in the fast-switching cache. If another packet
going to the same destination arrives on an interface, the next-hop information in the
cache is re-used without CPU intervention.
Packet Forwarding
Packet Forwarding Mechanisms (Cont.)
• Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF): The most recent and default Cisco IOS packet-
forwarding mechanism. CEF builds a Forwarding Information Base (FIB), and an
adjacency table. The table entries are not packet-triggered like fast switching but
change-triggered, such as when something changes in the network topology. When a
network has converged, the FIB and adjacency tables contain all the information that
a router would have to consider when forwarding a packet.
9.3 Basic Router Configuration
Review
Basic Router Configuration Review
Topology
The topology in the figure will be used for configuration and verification examples. It will
also be used in the next topic to discuss the IP routing table.
Basic Router Configuration Review
R1(config)# ipv6 unicast-routing
Configuration Commands R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
R1(config-if)# description Link to LAN 1
Router> enable R1(config-if)# ip address 10.0.1.1 255.255.255.0
Router# configure terminal R1(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:db8:acad:1::1/64
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with R1(config-if)# ipv6 address fe80::1:a link-local
CNTL/Z. R1(config-if)# no shutdown
Router(config)# hostname R1 R1(config-if)# exit
R1(config)# enable secret class R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet 0/0/1
R1(config)# line console 0 R1(config-if)# description Link to LAN 2
R1(config-line)# logging synchronous R1(config-if)# ip address 10.0.2.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-line)# password cisco R1(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:db8:acad:2::1/64
R1(config-line)# login R1(config-if)# ipv6 address fe80::1:b link-local
R1(config-line)# exit R1(config-if)# no shutdown
R1(config)# line vty 0 4 R1(config-if)# exit
R1(config-line)# password cisco R1(config)# interface serial 0/1/1
R1(config-line)# login R1(config-if)# description Link to R2
R1(config-line)# transport input ssh telnet R1(config-if)# ip address 10.0.3.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-line)# exit R1(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:db8:acad:3::1/64
R1(config)# service password-encryption R1(config)# R1(config-if)# ipv6 address fe80::1:c link-local
banner motd # R1(config-if)# no shutdown
Enter TEXT message. End with a new line and the # R1(config-if)# exit
*********************************************** R1# copy running-config startup-config
WARNING: Unauthorized access is prohibited! Destination filename [startup-config]?
*********************************************** Building configuration...
# [OK]
R1#
Basic Router Configuration Review
Verification Commands
Common verification commands include the following:
• show ip interface brief
• show running-config interface interface-type number
• show interfaces
• show ip interface
• show ip route
• ping
In each case, replace ip with ipv6 for the IPv6 version of the command.
Basic Router Configuration Review
Filter Command Output
Filtering commands can be used to display specific sections of output. To enable the
filtering command, enter a pipe (|) character after the show command and then enter a
filtering parameter and a filtering expression.

The filtering parameters that can be configured after the pipe include:
• section - This displays the entire section that starts with the filtering expression.
• include - This includes all output lines that match the filtering expression.
• exclude - This excludes all output lines that match the filtering expression.
• begin - This displays all the output lines from a certain point, starting with the line
that matches the filtering expression.

Note: Output filters can be used in combination with any show command.
Basic Router Configuration Review
Packet Tracer - Basic Router Configuration Review
In this Packet Tracer, you will do the following:
• Configure Devices and Verify Connectivity
• Display Router Information
9.4 IP Routing Table
IP Routing Table
Route Sources
A routing table contains a list of routes to known networks (prefixes and prefix lengths).
The source of this information is derived from the following:
• Directly connected networks
• Static routes
• Dynamic routing protocols

The source for each route in the routing table is identified by a code. Common codes
include the following:
• L - Identifies the address assigned to a router interface.
• C - Identifies a directly connected network.
• S - Identifies a static route created to reach a specific network.
• O - Identifies a dynamically learned network from another router using the OSPF routing protocol.
• * - This route is a candidate for a default route.
IP Routing Table
Routing Table Principles
There are three routing table principles as described in the table. These are issues that
are addressed by the proper configuration of dynamic routing protocols or static routes on
all the routers between the source and destination devices.
Routing Table Principle Example

Every router makes its decision alone, •R1 can only forward packets using its own routing table.
based on the information it has in its own •R1 does not know what routes are in the routing tables of other routers
routing table. (e.g., R2).
The information in a routing table of one Just because R1 has route in its routing table to a network in the
router does not necessarily match the internet via R2, that does not mean that R2 knows about that same
routing table of another router. network.
R1 receives a packet with the destination IP address of PC1 and the
source IP address of PC3. Just because R1 knows to forward the
Routing information about a path does not
packet out its G0/0/0 interface, doesn’t necessarily mean that it knows
provide return routing information.
how to forward packets originating from PC1 back to the remote
network of PC3
IP Routing Table
Routing Table Entries
In the figure, the numbers identify the following information:
• Route source - This identifies how the route was
learned.
• Destination network (prefix and prefix length) - This
identifies the address of the remote network.
• Administrative distance - This identifies the
trustworthiness of the route source. Lower values indicate
preferred route source.
• Metric - This identifies the value assigned to reach the
remote network. Lower values indicate preferred routes.
• Next-hop - This identifies the IP address of the next
router to which the packet would be forwarded. Note: The prefix length of the destination
• Route timestamp - This identifies how much time has network specifies the minimum number of far-
passed since the route was learned. left bits that must match between the IP
• Exit interface - This identifies the egress interface to use address of the packet and the destination
for outgoing packets to reach their final destination. network (prefix) for this route to be used.
IP Routing Table
Directly Connected Networks
To learn about any remote networks, the router must have at least one active interface
configured with an IP address and subnet mask (prefix length). This is known as a directly
connected network or a directly connected route. Routers add a directly connected route
to its routing table when an interface is configured with an IP address and is activated.
• A directly connected network is denoted by a status code of C in the routing table. The
route contains a network prefix and prefix length.
• The routing table also contains a local route for each of its directly connected
networks, indicated by the status code of L.
• For IPv4 local routes the prefix length is /32 and for IPv6 local routes the prefix length
is /128. This means the destination IP address of the packet must match all the bits in
the local route for this route to be a match. The purpose of the local route is to
efficiently determine when it receives a packet for the interface instead of a packet
that needs to be forwarded.
IP Routing Table
Static Routes
After directly connected interfaces are configured and added to the routing table, static or
dynamic routing can be implemented for accessing remote networks. Static routes are
manually configured. They define an explicit path between two networking devices. They
are not automatically updated and must be manually reconfigured if the network topology
changes.

Static routing has three primary uses:

It provides ease of routing table maintenance in smaller networks that are not expected
to grow significantly.
It uses a single default route to represent a path to any network that does not have a
more specific match with another route in the routing table. Default routes are used to
send traffic to any destination beyond the next upstream router.
It routes to and from stub networks. A stub network is a network accessed by a single
route, and the router has only one neighbor.
IP Routing Table
Static Routes in the IP Routing Table
The topology in the figure is simplified to show only one LAN attached to each router. The
figure shows IPv4 and IPv6 static routes configured on R1 to reach the 10.0.4.0/24 and
2001:db8:acad:4::/64 networks on R2.
IP Routing Table
Dynamic Routing Protocols
Dynamic routing protocols are used by routers to automatically share information about
the reachability and status of remote networks. Dynamic routing protocols perform several
activities, including network discovery and maintaining routing tables.
IP Routing Table
Dynamic Routes in the Routing Table
OSPF is now being used in our sample topology to dynamically learn all the networks
connected to R1 and R2. The routing table entries use the status code of O to indicate the
route was learned by the OSPF routing protocol. Both entries also include the IP address
of the next-hop router, via ip-address.
Note: IPv6 routing protocols use the link-local address of the next-hop router.
Note: OSPF routing configuration for IPv4 and IPv6 is beyond the scope of this course.
R1# show ip route
Codes: L - local, C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP D - EIGRP,
EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
(output omitted for brevity)
O 10.0.4.0/24 [110/50] via 10.0.3.2, 00:24:22, Serial0/1/1
O 10.0.5.0/24 [110/50] via 10.0.3.2, 00:24:15, Serial0/1/1
R1# show ipv6 route
IPv6 Routing Table - default - 10 entries
(Output omitted)
NDr - Redirect, RL - RPL, O - OSPF Intra, OI - OSPF Inter
O 2001:DB8:ACAD:4::/64 [110/50]
via FE80::2:C, Serial0/1/1
O 2001:DB8:ACAD:5::/64 [110/50]
via FE80::2:C, Serial0/1/1
IP Routing Table
Default Route
The default route specifies a next-hop router to use when the routing table does not
contain a specific route that matches the destination IP address. A default route can be
either a static route or learned automatically from a dynamic routing protocol. A default
route has an IPv4 route entry of 0.0.0.0/0 or an IPv6 route entry of ::/0. This means that
zero or no bits need to match between the destination IP address and the default route.
IP Routing Table
Structure of an IPv4 Routing Table
IPv4 was standardized using the now obsolete classful addressing architecture. The IPv4
routing table is organized using this same classful structure. Although the lookup process
no longer uses classes, the structure of the IPv4 routing table still retains in this format.

An indented entry is known as a child route. A route entry is indented if it is the subnet of
a classful address (class A, B or C network). Directly connected networks will always be
indented (child routes) because the local address of the interface is always entered in the
routing table as a /32. The child route will include the route source and all the forwarding
information such as the next-hop address. The classful network address of this subnet will
be shown above the route entry, less indented, and without a source code. That route is
known as a parent route.
IP Routing Table
Structure of an IPv4 Routing Table
• An indented entry is known as a child route. A Router# show ip route
route entry is indented if it is the subnet of a classful (Output omitted)
address (class A, B or C network). 192.168.1.0/24 is variably..
C 192.168.1.0/24 is direct..
• Directly connected networks will always be indented L 192.168.1.1/32 is direct..
(child routes) because the local address of the O 192.168.2.0/24 [110/65]..
interface is always entered in the routing table as a O 192.168.3.0/24 [110/65]..
/32. 192.168.12.0/24 is variab..
C 192.168.12.0/30 is direct..
• The child route will include the route source and all L 192.168.12.1/32 is direct..
the forwarding information such as the next-hop 192.168.13.0/24 is variably..
address. C 192.168.13.0/30 is direct..
• The classful network address of this subnet will be L 192.168.13.1/32 is direct..
192.168.23.0/30 is subnette..
shown above the route entry, less indented, and O 192.168.23.0/30 [110/128]..
without a source code. That route is known as a Router#
parent route.
IP Routing Table
Structure of an IPv6 Routing Table
R1# show ipv6 route
The concept of classful addressing (output omitted for brevity)
OE2 ::/0 [110/1], tag 2
was never part of IPv6, so the via FE80::2:C, Serial0/0/1
structure of an IPv6 routing table is C 2001:DB8:ACAD:1::/64 [0/0]
via GigabitEthernet0/0/0, directly connected
very straight forward. Every IPv6 L 2001:DB8:ACAD:1::1/128 [0/0]
route entry is formatted and aligned via GigabitEthernet0/0/0, receive
C 2001:DB8:ACAD:2::/64 [0/0]
the same way. via GigabitEthernet0/0/1, directly connected
L 2001:DB8:ACAD:2::1/128 [0/0]
via GigabitEthernet0/0/1, receive
C 2001:DB8:ACAD:3::/64 [0/0]
via Serial0/1/1, directly connected
L 2001:DB8:ACAD:3::1/128 [0/0]
via Serial0/1/1, receive
O 2001:DB8:ACAD:4::/64 [110/50]
via FE80::2:C, Serial0/1/1
O 2001:DB8:ACAD:5::/64 [110/50]
via FE80::2:C, Serial0/1/1
L FF00::/8 [0/0]
via Null0, receive
R1#
IP Routing Table
Administrative Distance
A route entry for a specific network address (prefix and prefix length) can only appear
once in the routing table. However, it is possible that the routing table learns about the
same network address from more than one routing source. Except for very specific
circumstances, only one dynamic routing protocol should be implemented on a router.
Each routing protocol may decide on a different path to reach the destination based on
the metric of that routing protocol.

This raises a few questions, such as the following:

• How does the router know which source to use?
• Which route should it install in the routing table?

Cisco IOS uses what is known as the administrative distance (AD) to determine the route
to install into the IP routing table. The AD represents the "trustworthiness" of the route.
The lower the AD, the more trustworthy the route source.
IP Routing Table
Administrative Distance (Cont.)

The table lists various routing Route Source Administrative Distance

protocols and their associated Directly connected 0
ADs. Static route 1
EIGRP summary route 5
External BGP 20
Internal EIGRP 90
OSPF 110
IS-IS 115
RIP 120
External EIGRP 170
Internal BGP 200
9.5 Static and Dynamic Routing
Static and Dynamic Routing
Static or Dynamic?
Static and dynamic routing are not mutually exclusive. Rather, most networks use a
combination of dynamic routing protocols and static routes.

Static routes are commonly used in the following scenarios:

• As a default route forwarding packets to a service provider
• For routes outside the routing domain and not learned by the dynamic routing protocol
• When the network administrator wants to explicitly define the path for a specific
network
• For routing between stub networks

Static routes are useful for smaller networks with only one path to an outside network.
They also provide security in a larger network for certain types of traffic, or links to other
networks that need more control.
Static and Dynamic Routing
Static or Dynamic? (Cont.)
Dynamic routing protocols are implemented in any type of network consisting of more
than just a few routers. Dynamic routing protocols are scalable and automatically
determine better routes if there is a change in the topology.

Dynamic routing protocols are commonly used in the following scenarios:

• In networks consisting of more than just a few routers
• When a change in the network topology requires the network to automatically determine another
path
• For scalability. As the network grows, the dynamic routing protocol automatically learns about any
new networks.
Static and Dynamic Routing
Static or Dynamic? (Cont.)
The table shows a comparison of some the differences between dynamic and static
routing.
Feature Dynamic Routing Static Routing

Configuration complexity Independent of network size Increases with network size

Automatically adapts to topology Administrator intervention
Topology changes
changes required
Suitable for simple to complex
Scalability Suitable for simple topologies
network topologies
Security Security must be configured Security is inherent
Uses CPU, memory, and link
Resource Usage No additional resources needed
bandwidth
Route depends on topology and Explicitly defined by the
Path Predictability
routing protocol used administrator
Static and Dynamic Routing
Dynamic Routing Evolution
Dynamic routing protocols have been used in networks since the late 1980s. One of the
first routing protocols was RIP. RIPv1 was released in 1988, but some of the basic
algorithms within the protocol were used on the Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network (ARPANET) as early as 1969. As networks evolved and became more complex,
new routing protocols emerged.
Static and Dynamic Routing
Dynamic Routing Evolution (Cont.)
The table classifies the current routing protocols. Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs) are
routing protocols used to exchange routing information within a routing domain
administered by a single organization. There is only one EGP and it is BGP. BGP is used
to exchange routing information between different organizations, known as autonomous
systems (AS). BGP is used by ISPs to route packets over the internet. Distance vector,
link-state, and path vector routing protocols refer to the type of routing algorithm used to
determine best path.

Interior Gateway Protocols Exterior Gateway

Protocols
Distance Vector Link-State Path Vector

IPv4 RIPv2 EIGRP OSPFv2 IS-IS BGP-4

IPv6 RIPng EIGRP for OSPFv3 IS-IS for BGP-MP

IPv6 IPv6
Static and Dynamic Routing
Dynamic Routing Protocol Concepts
A routing protocol is a set of processes, algorithms, and messages that are used to
exchange routing information and populate the routing table with the choice of best paths.
The purpose of dynamic routing protocols includes the following:
• Discovery of remote networks
• Maintaining up-to-date routing information
• Choosing the best path to destination networks
• Ability to find a new best path if the current path is no longer available
Static and Dynamic Routing
Dynamic Routing Protocol Concepts (Cont.)
The main components of dynamic routing protocols include the following:
• Data structures - Routing protocols typically use tables or databases for their operations. This
information is kept in RAM.
• Routing protocol messages - Routing protocols use various types of messages to discover
neighboring routers, exchange routing information, and other tasks to learn and maintain accurate
information about the network.
• Algorithm - An algorithm is a finite list of steps used to accomplish a task. Routing protocols use
algorithms for facilitating routing information and for the best path determination.

Routing protocols determine the best path, or route, to each network. That route is then
offered to the routing table. The route will be installed in the routing table if there is not
another routing source with a lower AD.
Static and Dynamic Routing
Best Path
The best path is selected by a routing protocol based on the value or metric it uses to
determine the distance to reach a network. A metric is the quantitative value used to
measure the distance to a given network. The best path to a network is the path with the
lowest metric.
Dynamic routing protocols typically use their own rules and metrics to build and update
routing tables. The following table lists common dynamic protocols and their metrics.

Routing Protocol Metric

•The metric is “hop count”.
Routing Information Protocol
•Each router along a path adds a hop to the hop count.
(RIP)
•A maximum of 15 hops allowed.
•The metric is “cost” which is the based on the cumulative bandwidth from
Open Shortest Path First
source to destination.
(OSPF)
•Faster links are assigned lower costs compared to slower (higher cost) links.
Enhanced Interior Gateway •It calculates a metric based on the slowest bandwidth and delay values.
Routing Protocol (EIGRP) •It could also include load and reliability into the metric calculation.
Static and Dynamic Routing
Load Balancing
When a router has two or more paths to a destination with equal cost metrics, then the
router forwards the packets using both paths equally. This is called equal cost load
balancing.
• The routing table contains the single destination network, but has multiple exit
interfaces, one for each equal cost path. The router forwards packets using the
multiple exit interfaces listed in the routing table.
• If configured correctly, load balancing can increase the effectiveness and performance
of the network.
• Equal cost load balancing is implemented automatically by dynamic routing protocols.
It is enabled with static routes when there are multiple static routes to the same
destination network using different next-hop routers.

Note: Only EIGRP supports unequal cost load balancing.

9.6 Practice and Quiz