Links on the blink - what will/should mci & sprint do?

Michael Dillon michael at memra.com
Sun Nov 19 09:09:38 UTC 1995


On Sat, 18 Nov 1995, Sean Doran wrote:

> 
> | Sounds like there is a need for a good ip switch.  Something simple, 
> | very fast, and low cost that you can download "static" routes to.  
> 
> It's called an SSP.

And the problem on the net isn't with SSP's. The problem is that the 
routing tables are NOT static. Switching is working fine, but the size of 
the routing tables (CIDRize or die!) and the constant change in the 
routing tables are the problem. Note that CIDRizing also reduces the 
amount of change in the routing tables by replacing a set of potentially 
varying routes with an unvarying aggregate.

Even building a mondo box to handle huge routing tables and lots of 
changes is not enough to solve the problem because there there is also 
the protocol problem whereby routers communicate these route changes to 
one another. This limits the number of BGP peering sessions that are 
practical.

Of course, most people here already know this but for those who are 
trying to understand what is going on, I hope my brief explanation helps.

Michael Dillon                                    Voice: +1-604-546-8022
Memra Software Inc.                                 Fax: +1-604-542-4130
http://www.memra.com                             E-mail: michael at memra.com




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