CONMUTACIN Y RUTEO II

Clase 4. OSPF MULTIAREA

Alberto Arellano A. Ing. Msc.
aarellano@espoch.edu.ec
CCNA CCNP - CCSP

Multi-Area OSPF

Multi-Area OSPF
Hierarchical routing enables you to separate large internetworks
(autonomous systems) into smaller internetworks that are called areas.
With this technique, routing still occurs between the areas (called inter-area
routing).
Some operations are restricted within an area:

Flooding of LSAs

Recalculating the database

Re-running the SPF algorithm

OSPF LSA Types

OSPF uses a LSDB (link state database) and fills this with LSAs (link state
advertisement). Instead of using 1 LSA packet OSPF has many different types of
LSAs.

Type 1 Router LSA

Each router within the area will flood a type 1 router LSA within the area. In this
LSA you will find a list with all the directly connected links of this router. How do we
identify a link?

The IP prefix on an interface.

The link type.

Type 2 Network LSA

The network LSA or type 2 is created for each multi-access network.

Multi-Area OSPF
Type Routers

Internal: Routers with all their interfaces within the same area
Backbone: Routers with at least one interface connected to area 0
ABR: (Area Border Router): Routers with interfaces attached to multiple areas.
ASBR: (Autonomous System Boundary Router): Routers that have at least one
interface connected to an external internetwork (another autonomous system)

Internal Routers
This is a router that has all of its interfaces in the same area.
Internet

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

All internal routers in an area have identical LSDBs.

Backbone Routers
Backbone router have at least one interface in Area 0.
This is a router with an interface(s) in the backbone area.

Internet

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

Area Border Router (ABR)

This is a router that has interfaces attached to multiple areas.

Internet

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

ABRs:

Maintain separate LSDBs for each area it is connected to.

Are exit points for the area.

Distribute the routing information into the backbone and the

backbone routers then forward the information to the other ABRs.

Autonomous System Boundary Router (ASBR)

This is a router that has at least one interface attached to an external
non-OSPF network. (Internet )
Internet

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

An ASBR can redistribute non-OSPF network information into and

out of the OSPF network.

Type 3 Summary LSA

Type 1 router LSAs always stay within the area. OSPF however works with
multiple areas and you probably want full connectivity within all of the areas. R1 is
flooding a router LSA within the area so R2 will store this in its LSDB. R3 and R4
also need to know about the networks in Area 2.

R2 is going to create a Type 3 summary LSA and flood it into area 0. This LSA
will flood into all the other areas of our OSPF network

Type 4 Summary ASBR LSA

R1 that is redistributing information from the RIP router into OSPF. This makes R1
an ASBR (Autonomous System Border Router). What happens is that R1 will
flip a bit in the router LSA to identify itself as an ASBR. When R2 who is an ABR
receives this router LSA it will create a type 4 summary ASBR LSA and flood it
into area 0. This LSA will also be flooded in all other areas and is required so all
OSPF routers know where to find the ASBR

Issues With a Large OSPF Area

Large routing table:

OSPF does not automatically summarize routes and therefore

routing tables can become very large, depending on the size of the
network.

R1

My routing table is too

big and I am running
low on memory.

R2

Issues With a Large OSPF Area

Large link-state database (LSDB):

The LSDB maintain an entry for every network in the area, even if not
every route is selected for the routing table.

Too many routers in one area would make the LSDBs very large and
increase the load on the CPU.

R1

Im receiving too
many LSAs.

R2

Issues With a Large OSPF Area

Frequent SPF algorithm calculations:

In a large network, changes are inevitable, so the routers spend many

CPU cycles recalculating the SPF algorithm and updating the
routing table.

R1

R2

My SPF algorithm is
running too often for me to
route properly.

Multi-Area OSPF
Multiarea OSPF uses a two-layer area hierarchy using a backbone area
interconnecting regular areas.

Useful in larger network deployments to reduce processing and

memory overhead.
Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

All regular areas must interconnect to the backbone area (area 0).

Interconnecting routers are called Area Border Routers (ABR).

Backbone (Transit) Area

OSPF area whose primary function is the fast and efficient movement of
IP packets.

Backbone areas interconnect with other OSPF area types.

Generally, end users are not found within a backbone area.

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

The backbone area is also called OSPF area 0.

Hierarchical networking defines area 0 as the core to which all other

areas directly connect.

Regular or Normal Areas

Connects users and resources.

Areas are usually set up along functional or geographical groupings.

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

By default, all traffic from other areas must cross an ABR.

A regular area does not allow traffic from another area to use its links to reach
other areas.

Multiarea OSPF Advantages

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

Smaller routing tables:

Fewer routing table entries because network addresses can be summarized

between areas.

Route summarization is not enabled by default.

Reduced link-state update overhead:

Minimizes processing and memory requirements.

Reduced frequency of SPF calculations:

Localizes the impact of a topology change within an area.

For instance, it minimizes routing update impact because LSA flooding stops at
the area boundary.

Topology Change Impacts Local Area Only

The ABR (R2) isolates the fault to area 51 only.

Link failure affects the local area only (area 51)

Only R2 and routers in area 51 exchange LSAs

and run the SPF algorithm.
Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

Link fails
Routers in areas 0 and 1 do not need the run the SPF algorithm.

OSPF Implementation Guidelines

Area 1

Area 0
R1

Area 51
R2

The optimal number of routers per area varies based on factors such as
network stability.
However, guidelines recommend:

A router should not be in more than three areas.

An area should have no more than 50 routers.

Any single router should not have more than 60 neighbors.

OSPF Multiarea Example

Configuring Multiarea OSPF on R1

Configuring Multiarea OSPF on R2

Configuring Multiarea OSPF on R3

Verify Multiarea OSPF on R3

Check connectivity between PCs

Lab5. OSPF v3

OSPF Virtual Links

Look at my picture above. We have three areas and on the left side is
area 0. Area 2 is behind area 1. Normally this is not going to work since
area 2 has to be directly connected to area 0. We can make this work
by using a virtual link. By using a virtual link we can extend area 0
through area 1 so area 2 will be directly connected to area 0.

OSPF Virtual Links

A virtual link has the following two requirements:

It must be established between two routers that share a common area and
are both ABRs.

One of these two routers must be connected to the backbone.

Doyle, should be used only as a temporary fix to an unavoidable topology
problem.

Config OSPF Virtual Links

The command to configure a virtual link is as follows:

area <area-id> virtual-link <remote-router-id>
RTA(config)#router ospf 1
RTA(config-router)#network 192.168.0.0
RTA(config-router)#network 192.168.1.0
RTA(config-router)#area 3 virtual-link

RTB(config)#router ospf 1
RTB(config-router)#network 192.168.1.0
RTB(config-router)#network 192.168.2.0
RTB(config-router)#area 3 virtual-link

0.0.0.255 area 51
0.0.0.255 area 3
10.0.0.1

0.0.0.255 area 3
0.0.0.255 area 0
10.0.0.2

Lab6. OSPF & Virtual Links