IPv4 Routing Protocols

JUNOS system software implements full IP routing functionality, providing support for IP version 4 (IPv4). The routing protocols are fully interoperable with existing IP routing protocols, and they have been developed to provide the scale and control necessary for the Internet core.

JUNOS software provides the following routing and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) applications protocols:

• Unicast routing protocols:
  • BGP—Border Gateway Protocol, version 4, is an exterior gateway protocol (EGP) that guarantees loop-free exchange of routing information between routing domains (also called autonomous systems). BGP, in conjunction with JUNOS routing policy, provides a system of administrative checks and balances that can be used to implement peering and transit agreements.
  • ICMP—Internet Control Message Protocol router discovery allows hosts to discover the addresses of operational routers on the subnet.
  • IS-IS—Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System is a link-state interior gateway protocol (IGP) for IP networks that uses the shortest-path-first (SPF) algorithm, which also is referred to as the Dijkstra algorithm, to determine routes. The JUNOS IS-IS software is a new and complete implementation of the protocol, addressing issues of scale, convergence, and resilience.
  • OSPF—Open Shortest Path First, version 2, is an IGP that was developed for IP networks by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). OSPF is a link-state protocol that makes routing decisions based on the SPF algorithm. The JUNOS OSPF software is a new and complete implementation of the protocol, addressing issues of scale, convergence, and resilience.
  • RIP—Routing Information Protocol, version 2, is an IGP for IP networks based on the Bellman-Ford algorithm. RIP is a distance-vector protocol. RIP dynamically routes packets between a subscriber and a service provider without the subscriber having to configure BGP or participate in the service provider’s IGP discovery process.
• Multicast routing protocols:
  • DVMRP—Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol is a dense-mode (flood-and-prune) multicast routing protocol.
  • IGMP—Internet Group Management Protocol, versions 1 and 2, is used to manage membership in multicast groups.
  • MSDP—Multicast Source Discovery Protocol allows multiple Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) sparse mode domains to be joined. A rendezvous point (RP) in a PIM sparse mode domain has a peer relationship with an RP in another domain, enabling it to discover multicast sources from other domains.
  • PIM sparse mode and dense mode—Protocol-Independent Multicast is a multicast routing protocol. PIM sparse mode routes to multicast groups that might span wide-area and interdomain internets. PIM dense mode is a flood-and-prune protocol.
  • SAP/SDP—Session Announcement Protocol and Session Description Protocol handle conference session announcements.
• MPLS applications protocols:
  • LDP—The Label Distribution Protocol provides a mechanism for distributing labels in nontraffic-engineered applications. LDP allows routers to establish label-switched paths (LSPs) through a network by mapping network-layer routing information directly to data-link layer switched paths. LSPs created by LDP can also traverse LSPs created by the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP).
  • MPLS—Multiprotocol Label Switching, formerly known as tag switching, allows you to manually or dynamically configure LSPs through a network. It lets you direct traffic through particular paths rather than rely on the IGP’s least-cost algorithm to choose a path.
  • RSVP—The Resource Reservation Protocol, version 1, provides a mechanism for engineering network traffic patterns that is independent of the shortest path decided upon by a routing protocol. RSVP itself is not a routing protocol; it operates with current and future unicast and multicast routing protocols. The primary purpose of the JUNOS RSVP software is to support dynamic signaling for MPLS LSPs.

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