In complex networks, such as the topology shown in figure 10-7, static routing does not scale well. Fortunately, a variety of dynamic routing protocols are available that allow a router's routing table to be updated as network conditions change.
In figure 10-7, router R2 is advertising a default route to its neighbors (routers R1, R3, and R4). What happens if PC1 wants to send traffic to the Internet? PC1's default gateway is router R3, and router R3 has received three default routes. Which one does it use?
Router R 3's path selection depends on the dynamic routing protocol being used. A routing protocol such as Routing Information Protocol (RIP) would make the path selection based on the number of routers that must be used to reach the Internet (that is,hop count). Based on the topology presented, router R3 would select the 128Kbps link (where Kbps stands for kilobits per second, meaning thousands of bits per second) connecting to router R2 because the Internet would be only one hop away. If router R3 instead selected a path pointing to either router R1 or R4, the Internet would be two hops away.
However, based on the link bandwidth, you can see that the path from router R3 to router R2 is suboptimal. Unfortunately, RIP does not consider available bandwidth when making its route selection. Some other protocols, such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), can consider available bandwidth when making their routing decisions.
Dynamic routes also allow a router to reroute around a failed link. For example, in figure 10-8, router R3 prefers to reach the Internet via router R4. However, the link between routers R3 and R4 goes down. Thanks to a dynamic routing protocol, router R3 knows of two other paths to reach the Internet, and it selects the next-best path, which is via router R1 in this example. This process of failing over from one route to a backup route is called convergence.
About The Author
Anthony Sequeira, CCIE No. 15626, is a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI) and author regarding all levels and tracks of Cisco Certification. Anthony formally began his career in the information technology industry in 1994 with IBM in Tampa, Florida. He quickly formed his own computer consultancy, Computer Solutions, and then discovered his true passion-teaching and writing about Microsoft and Cisco technologies. Anthony joined Mastering Computers in 1996 and lectured to massive audiences around the world about the latest in computer technologies. Mastering Computers became the revolutionary online training company, KnowledgeNet, and Anthony trained there for many years. Anthony is currently pursuing his second CCIE in the area of Security and is a full-time instructor for the next-generation of KnowledgeNet, StormWind.com. Anthony is also a VMware Certified Professional.
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