Indirect Next-Hop Support
The router uses indirect next hops to promote faster network convergence (for example, in BGP networks) by decreasing the number of routing table changes required when a change in the network topology occurs.
Direct next-hops point routes in the routing table toward individual, direct next-hop connections. (See Figure 6.)
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Indirect next hops enable multiple routes in the routing table to point to a single next hop, thereby accelerating convergence. (See Figure 7.)
NOTE: Indirect next hops are not limited to any number of levels. In other words, an indirect next hop can point to a direct next hop or another indirect next hop.
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By using indirect next hops, if a topology change occurs in the network, only the indirect next hop is modified in the routing table, decreasing the number of state changes required to achieve convergence.