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`Update message` to indicate a BGP `UPDATE` containing a new or updated route towards one destination prefix with its attributes
From a conceptual point of view, a BGP router connected to `N` BGP peers, can be described as being composed of four parts as shown in the figure below.
Organization of a BGP router
In this figure, the router receives BGP messages on the left part of the figure, processes these messages and possibly sends BGP messages on the right part of the figure. A BGP router contains three important data structures :
the `Adj-RIB-In` contains the BGP routes that have been received from each BGP peer. The routes in the `Adj-RIB-In` are filtered by the `import filter` before being placed in the `BGP-Loc-RIB`. There is one `import filter` per BGP peer.
the `Local Routing Information Base` (`Loc-RIB`) contains all the routes that are considered as acceptable by the router. The `Loc-RIB` may contain several routes, learned from different BGP peers, towards the same destination prefix.
the `Forwarding Information Base` (`FIB`) is used by the dataplane to forward packets towards their destination. The `FIB` contains, for each destination, the best route that has been selected by the `BGP decision process`. This decision process is an algorithm that selects, for each destination prefix, the best route according to the router's ranking algorithm that is part of its policy.
the `Adj-RIB-Out` contains the BGP routes that have been advertised to each BGP peer. The `Adj-RIB-Out` for a given peer is built by applying the peer's `export filter` on the routes that have been installed in the `FIB`. There is one `export filter` per BGP peer. For this reason, the Adj-RIB-Out of a peer may contain different routes than the Adj-RIB-Out of another peer.
When a BGP session starts, the routers first exchange `OPEN` messages to negotiate the options that apply throughout the entire session. Then, each router extracts from its FIB the routes to be advertised to the peer. It is important to note that, for each known destination prefix, a BGP router can only advertise to a peer the route that it has itself installed inside its `FIB`. The routes that are advertised to a peer must pass the peer's `export filter`. The `export filter` is a set of rules that define which routes can be advertised over the corresponding session, possibly after having modified some of its attributes. One `export filter` is associated to each BGP session. For example, on a `shared-cost peering`, the `export filter` only selects the internal routes and the routes that have been learned from a `customer`. The pseudo-code below shows the initialization of a BGP session.
In the above pseudo-code, the `build\_BGP\_update(d)` procedure extracts from the `BGP Loc-RIB` the best path towards destination `d` (i.e. the route installed in the FIB) and prepares the corresponding BGP `UPDATE` message. This message is then passed to the `export filter` that returns `None` if the route cannot be advertised to the peer or the (possibly modified) BGP `UPDATE` message to be advertised. BGP routers allow network administrators to specify very complex `export filters`, see e.g. [WMS2004]_. A simple `export filter` that implements the equivalent of `split horizon` is shown below.
At this point, the remote router has received all the exportable BGP routes. After this initial exchange, the router only sends `BGP UPDATE` messages when there is a change (addition of a route, removal of a route or change in the attributes of a route) in one of these exportable routes. Such a change can happen when the router receives a BGP message. The pseudo-code below summarizes the processing of these BGP messages.
When a BGP message is received, the router first applies the peer's `import filter` to verify whether the message is acceptable or not. If the message is not acceptable, the processing stops. The pseudo-code below shows a simple `import filter`. This `import filter` accepts all routes, except those that already contain the local AS in their AS-Path. If such a route was used, it would cause a routing loop. Another example of an `import filter` would be a filter used by an Internet Service Provider on a session with a customer to only accept routes towards the IP prefixes assigned to the customer by the provider. On real routers, `import filters` can be much more complex and some `import filters` modify the attributes of the received BGP `UPDATE` [WMS2004]_ .
The bogon filters
Another example of frequently used `import filters` are the filters that Internet Service Providers use to ignore bogon routes. In the ISP community, a bogon route is a route that should not be advertised on the global Internet. Typical examples include the documentation IPv6 prefix (`2001:db8::/32` used for most examples in this book), the loopback address (`::1/128`) or the IPv6 prefixes that have not yet been allocated by IANA. A well managed BGP router should ensure that it never advertises bogons on the global Internet. Detailed information about these bogons may be found in [IMHM2013]_.
If the import filter accepts the BGP message, the pseudo-code distinguishes two cases. If this is an `Update message` for prefix `p`, this can be a new route for this prefix or a modification of the route's attributes. The router first retrieves from its `RIB` the best route towards prefix `p`. Then, the new route is inserted in the `RIB` and the `BGP decision process` is run to find whether the best route towards destination `p` changes. A BGP message only needs to be sent to the router's peers if the best route has changed. For each peer, the router applies the `export filter` to verify whether the route can be advertised. If yes, the filtered BGP message is sent. Otherwise, a `Withdraw message` is sent. When the router receives a `Withdraw message`, it also verifies whether the removal of the route from its `RIB` caused its best route towards this prefix to change. It should be noted that, depending on the content of the `RIB` and the `export filters`, a BGP router may need to send a `Withdraw message` to a peer after having received an `Update message` from another peer and conversely.
Let us now discuss in more detail the operation of BGP in an IPv6 network. For this, let us consider the simple network composed of three routers located in three different ASes and shown in the figure below.
Utilization of the BGP nexthop attribute
This network contains three routers : `R1`, `R2` and `R3`. Each router is attached to a local IPv6 subnet that it advertises using BGP. There are two BGP sessions, one between `R1` and `R2` and the second between `R2` and `R3`. A `/127` subnet is used on each interdomain link (`2001:db8::4/127` on `R1-R2` and `2001:db8::0/127` on `R2-R3`) in conformance with the latest recommendation :rfc:`6164`. The BGP sessions run above TCP connections established between the neighboring routers (e.g. `2001:db8::5 - 2001:db8::6` for the `R1-R2` session).
Let us assume that the `R1-R2` BGP session is the first to be established. A `BGP Update` message sent on such a session contains three fields :
the advertised prefix
the `BGP nexthop`
the attributes including the AS-Path
We use the notation `U(prefix, nexthop, attributes)` to represent such a `BGP Update` message in this section. Similarly, `W(prefix)` represents a `BGP withdraw` for the specified prefix. Once the `R1-R2` session has been established, `R1` sends `U(2001:db8:1234::/48,2001:db8::5,AS10)` to `R2` and `R2` sends `U(2001:db8:5678:/48,2001:db8::6,AS20)`. At this point, `R1` can reach `2001:db8:5678::/48` via `2001:db8::6` and `R2` can reach `2001:db8:1234::/48` via `2001:db8::5`.
Once the `R2-R3` has been established, `R3` sends `U(2001:db8:acbd::/48,2001:db8::2,AS30)`. `R2` announces on the `R2-R3` session all the routes inside its RIB. It thus sends to `R3` : `U(2001:db8:1234::/48,2001:db8::1,AS20:AS10)` and `U(2001:db8:5678::/48,2001:db8::1,AS20)`. Note that when `R2` advertises the route that it learned from `R1`, it updates the BGP nexthop and adds its AS number to the AS-Path. `R2` also sends `U(2001:db8:abcd::48,2001:db8::6,AS20:AS30)` to `R1` on the `R1-R3` session. At this point, all BGP routes have been exchanged and all routers can reach `2001:db8::1234/48`, `2001:db8:5678::/48` and `2001:db8:abcd::/48`.
If the link between `R2` and `R3` fails, `R3` detects the failure as it did not receive `KEEPALIVE` messages recently from `R2`. At this time, `R3` removes from its RIB all the routes learned over the `R2-R3` BGP session. `R2` also removes from its RIB the routes learned from `R3`. `R2` also sends `W(2001:db8:acbd::/48)` to `R1` over the `R1-R3` BGP session since it does not have a route anymore towards this prefix.
Origin of the routes advertised by a BGP router
A frequent practical question about the operation of BGP is how a BGP router decides to originate or advertise a route for the first time. In practice, this occurs in two situations :
the router has been manually configured by the network operator to always advertise one or several routes on a BGP session. For example, on the BGP session between UCLouvain and its provider, belnet_ , UCLouvain's router always advertises the `2001:6a8:3080/48` IPv6 prefix assigned to the campus network
the router has been configured by the network operator to advertise over its BGP session some of the routes that it learns with its intradomain routing protocol. For example, an enterprise router may advertise over a BGP session with its provider the routes to remote sites when these routes are reachable and advertised by the intradomain routing protocol
The first solution is the most frequent. Advertising routes learned from an intradomain routing protocol is not recommended, this is because if the route flaps [#fflap]_, this would cause a large number of BGP messages being exchanged in the global Internet.
The BGP decision process

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Source string location
../../protocols/bgp.rst:265
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Source string age
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locale/pot/protocols/bgp.pot, string 62