Indirect Next-Hop Overview

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 1.)

Figure 1: Direct Next Hops

Indirect next hops enable multiple routes in the routing table to point to a single next hop, thereby accelerating convergence. (See Figure 2.)

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.

Figure 2: Indirect Next Hops

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.