Understanding EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)

EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) is a hybrid routing protocol

developed by Cisco. It combines features of both distance-vector and link-state routing
protocols. EIGRP is designed to provide faster convergence, reduced bandwidth usage,
and improved scalability over other routing protocols like RIP.

#Key Features of EIGRP:

1.Hybrid Protocol: EIGRP takes advantage of the efficiency of distance-vector routing (such as
reduced routing updates) while using some of the advanced features of link-state protocols (like
fast convergence).

2.Fast Convergence: EIGRP maintains a topology table and uses the Diffusing Update Algorithm
(DUAL) to provide fast convergence. This allows EIGRP to quickly calculate backup routes in the
case of link failures.

3.Metric Calculation: EIGRP uses a composite metric based on bandwidth, delay, load, and
reliability. By default, only bandwidth and delay are used to calculate the best path.

4.Classless Protocol: Unlike RIP, EIGRP supports VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Masking),
meaning it supports classless routing and can handle discontiguous networks.

5.Hello Packets: EIGRP uses small hello packets to discover and maintain neighbor
relationships, reducing bandwidth usage compared to RIP.

6.Partial Updates: Instead of broadcasting the entire routing table, EIGRP only sends updates
when changes occur, and these updates are only sent to routers affected by the change.

7.Load Balancing: EIGRP supports unequal-cost load balancing, meaning it can balance traffic
across multiple paths that do not necessarily have the same metric, unlike OSPF or RIP.

Configuration of EIGRP
To configure EIGRP on Cisco devices, you must enable the protocol, assign an autonomous
system (AS) number, and advertise networks. EIGRP will automatically establish neighbor
relationships with directly connected routers that share the same AS number.

#Step-by-Step Configuration of EIGRP:

1.Enter Global Configuration Mode:

Router> enable

Router# configure terminal

2.Enable EIGRP and Assign an Autonomous System (AS) Number:

- The AS number is used to identify EIGRP processes and should match on all routers in the
same routing domain.

Router(config)# router eigrp <AS-number>

- Example:

Router(config)# router eigrp 100

3.Advertise Networks:

- Use the `network` command to define which networks should be advertised by EIGRP.
EIGRP will automatically establish neighbor relationships with routers that are part of the same
network and use the same AS number.

Router(config-router)# network <network-number> <wildcard-mask>

- The wildcard mask is the inverse of a subnet mask. It tells EIGRP which specific IP addresses
or networks to advertise.

- Example: To advertise network `192.168.1.0/24`, the command would be:

Router(config-router)# network 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255

4.Disable Automatic Summarization (Optional but Recommended):

- EIGRP automatically summarizes routes at classful boundaries. To avoid issues with

discontiguous subnets, disable this feature:

Router(config-router)# no auto-summary

5.Configure EIGRP Metrics (Optional):

- You can customize EIGRP’s metric calculation to include load and reliability, in addition to
the default bandwidth and delay. The command structure is as follows:

Router(config-router)# metric weights <tos> <k1> <k2> <k3> <k4> <k5>

 - By default, EIGRP uses K1 (bandwidth) and K3 (delay). You can leave this unchanged for most
cases.

6.Exit and Save the Configuration:

Router(config-router)# exit

Router(config)# exit

Router# copy running-config startup-config

7.Verify EIGRP Configuration:

- To verify that EIGRP is enabled and working, use the following commands:

-View EIGRP Neighbors:

Router# show ip eigrp neighbors

-View EIGRP Routes:

Router# show ip route eigrp

-View the EIGRP Topology Table:

Router# show ip eigrp topology

Simple Network Project with EIGRP (Example)

Let’s set up a small network using three routers connected together, and we will configure
EIGRP on all of them. Here’s the network topology:

-Router A: Network `192.168.1.0/24`

-Router B: Network `192.168.2.0/24`

-Router C: Network `192.168.3.0/24`

-Router A andRouter B are connected via network `10.1.1.0/30`.

-Router B andRouter C are connected via network `10.1.2.0/30`.

#Router A Configuration:

1. Enable EIGRP with AS number 100:

RouterA> enable

RouterA# configure terminal

 RouterA(config)# router eigrp 100

2. Advertise the directly connected networks:

RouterA(config-router)# network 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255

RouterA(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.3

3. Disable automatic summarization:

RouterA(config-router)# no auto-summary

4. Exit and save the configuration:

RouterA(config-router)# exit

RouterA(config)# exit

RouterA# copy running-config startup-config

#Router B Configuration:

1. Enable EIGRP with AS number 100:

RouterB> enable

RouterB# configure terminal

RouterB(config)# router eigrp 100

2. Advertise the directly connected networks:

 RouterB(config-router)# network 192.168.2.0 0.0.0.255

RouterB(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.3

RouterB(config-router)# network 10.1.2.0 0.0.0.3

3. Disable automatic summarization:

RouterB(config-router)# no auto-summary

4. Exit and save the configuration:

RouterB(config-router)# exit

RouterB(config)# exit

RouterB# copy running-config startup-config

#Router C Configuration:

1. Enable EIGRP with AS number 100:

RouterC> enable

RouterC# configure terminal

RouterC(config)# router eigrp 100

2. Advertise the directly connected networks:

RouterC(config-router)# network 192.168.3.0 0.0.0.255

RouterC(config-router)# network 10.1.2.0 0.0.0.3

3. Disable automatic summarization:

RouterC(config-router)# no auto-summary

4. Exit and save the configuration:

RouterC(config-router)# exit

RouterC(config)# exit

RouterC# copy running-config startup-config

Verifying the Network with EIGRP

1.Check EIGRP Neighbors:

On Router A, run:

RouterA# show ip eigrp neighbors

This should show the EIGRP adjacency with Router B.

2.Check the Routing Table:

On Router A, run:

RouterA# show ip route eigrp

This should display the EIGRP routes to the `192.168.2.0` and `192.168.3.0` networks via
Router B.
3.Test Connectivity:

You can use the `ping` command to verify that devices on different networks can
communicate:

- From Router A, ping Router C:

RouterA# ping 192.168.3.1

- From Router C, ping Router A:

RouterC# ping 192.168.1.1

4.Check EIGRP Topology Table:

On Router B, check the EIGRP topology table:

RouterB# show ip eigrp topology

Summary:

-EIGRP is a powerful, scalable, and efficient routing protocol that offers fast convergence and
low overhead.

- To configure EIGRP on Cisco routers, you must enable the protocol with an AS number,
advertise networks, and optionally disable automatic summarization.

- The simple project demonstrated configuring EIGRP between three routers, allowing them to
share routing information and achieve connectivity across multiple networks.

By following these steps, you can effectively configure and verify EIGRP on Cisco routers for
your network.