Routers and routing - Tuesday, July 8, 2008 20:50 - 0 Comments

What is BGP? – an overview

What Is BGP? This brief Overview Explains Its Importance

Boder Gateway Protocol, or BGP, is the swtching system of the internet in many ways.  Through BGP, each supernetwork, or connected group of networks, is able to determine what other supergroups are available for data excahange.  This is the level where IP routing is handled, down systems are recognized, and re-routing determined.

Each supernetwork, through BGP, knows the identity of any other supergroups adjacent to it in the network heirarchy.  If an IP connection between to of the supernetworks, or Autonomous Systems, is broken, both ASes (AS is short to Autonomus System) discontinue communicationcating with the other, and routing is performed around the spot that is no longer functions until it announces itself to adjacent AS nodes again.  This is how data integrity is secured across global distances, and is literally the backbone of the Internet.  Without BGP, users would frequently face unexplained outtages and data loss.

BGP AS’s (or ASN – Autonomus System Number) are identified by a number between 0 and 65535 with a reserved range of 64512 through 65534 for use in private networks.  The main body that manages and assignes AS numbers is the IANA who also controls and allocated IP addresses.

In a nutshell, that is what BGP stands for, and what it does.  By setting each AS to be aware of the other ASes nearby, is able to pas through the appraently untamed branches of the the internet.  Similar to a sorting system in a post office or phone system, the overall purpose of BGP is to make certain that data is delivered in a fast and reliable manner, regardless of any problems which may exist between the source and destination.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com