EIGRP on full-mesh VPLS network

efgarciap · ‎04-24-2009

We are in the design phase for our new VPLS MAN network.

We will have about 60 distribution POPs that will be interconnected through a VPLS full-mesh network.

As I understand, the provider's VPLS network is like a big switch with a single vlan interconnecting all POPs, so all our distribution routers (one in each POP) will see each other as neighbors over an Ethernet segment.

I am concern about how EIGRP will handle 60 routers over one Ethernet segment. Would we have stability or convergence issues?

What is the â€œbest practiceâ€ for the maximum number of EIGRP neighbors in a single Ethernet segment?

Regards,

Ernesto

aghaznavi · ‎04-30-2009

The maximum number of neighbors depends on a bunch of factors, with particular emphasis on summarization and filtering. I think for 60 routers you don't get any convergence.

There is no rule of thumb as to how many eigrp neighbors a router can support. It primarily depends on the amount of RAM. If you have enough RAM, what you are trying to run should be okay. What you should be concerned about more is the summarization. If you can summarize, you need to summarize networks - especially in a hub and a spoke topology. There is no reason for a spoke router to receive full eigrp routes other than maybe a summarized one major net or even a default route from the hub.

c.captari · ‎05-01-2009

Have you considered using MPLS VPNs as opposed to VPLS?

This way you peer on layer 3 with the provider and they transport your routes between sites.

To me it seems like a better idea in your case , unless you need specific reasons for VPLS