BGP Dual Homing Vs. Link Load Balancers

haithamnofal · ‎11-28-2008

Hi,

I have a customer who has multiple internet connections with multiple ISPs and would like to implement load balancing between his different links.

I know there should be a kind of ISP coordination for BGP routing; but can somebody assist me with the following:

1- explain to me the detailed requirements and whether the customer should buy his own public IP block from RIPE or a similar internet coordination center?

2- In this case, do we need other that the perimeter router to achive the desired redundancy?

3- On the other hand, what are the advantages of Link Load Balancers over the traditional BGP dual homing such as the F5 Link Controller product in the below link:

https://www.f5.com/pdf/products/big-ip-link-controller-ds.pdf

Does Cisco have a similar product?

Appreciate your help.

Regards,

Haitham

guruprasadr · ‎11-28-2008

Hi Haitham, [Pls RATE if HELPS]

Answers to your Question:

1) Customer should have registered with the own IP Block & AS No# with RIPE / APNIC departments. Because, BGP Load-sharing with different providers is possible only if the above case available

2) The decision on the WAN Setup is upto your organizations IT scope. Either implement the the LINKS on the same Router (or) to avoid SPOF (single poinf of failure) causes, implement the links on the different CE Perimeter Routers

3) The recommendation is to use the tradational BGP dual homing and it is more effective itself.

If your prefer to optimze / monitor your WAN link utilization and others means implement TAP boxes in the Network for monitoring, where this will mirror the complete Traffic and the Riverbed Kind of Equipments to Optimze the WAN Link utilization across Backbone.

Hope I am Informative.

Pls RATE if HELPS

Best Regards,

Guru Prasad R

haithamnofal · ‎11-28-2008

Hi Guru,

Thanks for your feedback.

So, in case of going for BGP dual homing what kind of coordination needs to take place between the ISPs themselves after purchasing the public IP block? I am not sure if there is a regulation in my country for ISPs to speak and coordinate with each other?

On the other hand, when using multiple perimeter routers for BGP dual homing, is there any way to detect link errors to switch from one router to another in case of link errors/failures and how can this be implemented?

Regards,

Haitham

francisco_1 · ‎11-28-2008

You can with ther F5's.

I would go for the F5's GTM to multi-home. with the F5's do you not need to go through the long process to register for AS Number and to be honest you dont even need to own your own IP Block. You can use IP Block provided by the providers.

The F5 BIG-IP Link Controller offers an easier-to-manage solution for establishing redundant links, preventing outages that result from a single point of failure. It monitors availability and performance for multiple network connections something BGP cannot do. BIG-IP Link Controller directs traffic over the best link and ISP, ensuring the highest possible QoS and speed for users.

Francisco

guruprasadr · ‎11-28-2008

HI Haitham, [Pls RATE if HELPS]

Once the Public IP Block & AS No# is registered, you would require to coordinate with the ISP to deploy the BGP in the LAST MILE ie., between PE - CE Router.

In-case of deploying the different perimeter Router, you can use BGP attributes like Metric / Local preference for fall-back if one fails.

But the errors / failures, cannot be detected using the tradational BGP methods. I would prefer to use some of the other Network Products availble in the market.

Hope I am informative.

Pls RATE if HELPS

Best Regards,

Guru Prasad R