BGP changes

[John Blakley]

All,

We run BGP through our network as the only routing protocol. Our data center is set up like:

L3 Switch -> Router -> PE -> Branches

The above is IPFR. Between L3 Sw and the router, we're running eBGP and not iBGP. Is there any advantage, other than saving an AS, for me to convert the L3 switch to use iBGP?

Thanks,

John

[marikakis]

There is one "advantage" I can think of right now: propagation of BGP attributes that are not exchanged between AS's (e.g. local preference) if this makes any sense in this simple network. I would be more worried about the drawbacks of such a change, e.g. the possibility of a break in connectivity if a full BGP mesh has not been carefully planed. If L3 Switch becomes part of your iBGP topology, you need to reconsider the design of your iBGP sessions. In any case, we need more information about the topology and the needs of your network now and in the future to estimate pros and cons of each approach.