OSPF equal cost load balancing Vs Cisco ip load-sharing mechanism

[networker123]

I have 4 E1 lines connecting to the same remote router and both routers are Cisco 3640A routers. I am using routers to load balance the traffic among these 4 links. Now, I would like to ask:

Is there any different between OSPF equal cost load balacing and using cisco "ip load-sharing per packet" command on the serial interface?

[Harold Ritter]

The default CEF behavior is per session (Src/Dst ip address). The "ip load-sharing per packet" changes the default behavior. I usually don't recommend the per-packet load-sharing since it might lead to some out of order packets, which might cause retransmissions and ultimately lead to slower throughput.

Hope this helps,

[networker123]

what about CEF? Are you referring Cisco Express forwarding? How can I turn on this feature? Is it using "ip CEF" command? What about "ip load-sharing per destination"?

How about using OSPF equal cost load balancing? Is it good to use it?

[Harold Ritter]

I was indeed referring to Cisco Express Forwarding. "ip cef" used globally will activate CEF. Per destination load-sharing is actually the default when you enable CEF. CEF needs to have multiple path in the RIB in order to install them in the FIB and load-share. So to your last question, the answer is yes.

Hope this helps,