BGP

  4 minute read  

Summary

Trustgrid nodes can be configured to connect to an external BGP router to advertise and receive routes. This allows Trustgrid networks to be integrated into an existing routing fabric.

The BGP panel is listed under the Network panel group.

Configuration

Router Configuration

These are the settings used by the local BGP router.

Field Name	Description
Status	Enabled/Disabled - Whether the BGP server is running on the node.
ID	The IP addressed used to identify the BGP router. This is usually the IP on the interface used for BGP communication.
ASN	The Autonomous System Number that identifies the router.
Client	Determines if the BGP router is in client mode

Peer Group Configuration

This page is used to configure BGP peers that this router will establish connections with. All peers associated with the group share the same Export and Import settings.

To add a new group:

1. Click +Add Peer Group and provide a name.
2. Click Add.

   

After your group is created you will need to:

• Add peers - these are the other BGP routers your node will connect to
• Define import policies - these limit what routes are accepted from peers
• Define export policies - these limit what routes are advertised to peers

Add Peers

Use the +Add Peer button to add a BGP peer to the group. Provide:

Field Name	Description
Name	User friendly name for the peer
ASN	The Autonomous System Number that identifies the peer identifies itself with
Secret	(Optional) Secret passphrase used to authenticate with the peer
IP	IP address that the peer can be reached at

Define Import Policies

The BGP server on the node will only accept routes advertised by peers if they match an import policy prefix.

On the Imports panel use the +Add Import Policy button to add a new policy.

Field Name	Description
Name	The user friendly name of the policy
Action	Allow - advertised routes matching the defined prefixes will be added to the local routing table Deny - advertised routes matching the defined prefixes prefixes will be rejected
Description	(optional) Additional information describing the policy

Click on the newly created policy to +Add Prefix

Field Name	Description
Prefix	CIDR notation of a network used to match with advertised routes
Exact	Yes - Requires the advertised route to match the subnet length of the prefix defined above No - Allows routes with the same network but have different prefix lengths to match
Description	(optional) Additional information describing the prefix

Define Export Policies

A BGP export policy controls which routes are advertised and sent to external BGP peers.

One the Exports panel use the +Add Export Policy to create a new policy

Field Name	Description
Name	The user friendly name of the policy
Cluster	(Yes/No) If the node is a member of a cluster this setting will determine if it should only advertise the configured prefixes when it is the active member of the cluster.
Action	Determines if matching route prefixes will be advertised or not: Allow - Configured prefixes will be advertised to the peer group members Deny - Explicitly prevent prefixes from being advertised

Click the newly created policy and then click +Add Prefix

Field Name	Description
Prefix	CIDR notation of a network to be advertised
Description	(optional) Additional information describing the prefix

Management Tools

Restart BGP Server

It is sometimes necessary to completely restart the BGP server to clear any issues or force new settings to go into effect immediately. The Restart BGP button is available in the tools section of the BGP panel.

Once issued you should see the confirmation message: Restart request sent.

BGP Status

The BGP Status tool allows you to see information about the state of BGP peering.

Field Name	Description
Status	Shows if the peer is actively connected or not
Connected	If connected, shows how long the peering has been established
ASN	The Autonomous System Number that identifies the router
Peer IP	The IP address of the peer router
Advertised Routes	Hovering over the view button displays the routes received from the peer that matched an import policyand their associated metrics
Received Routes	Hovering over the view button displays the routes received from the peer that did not match an import policy or was rejected for other reasons