Subject: BGP4

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:11:54 +0530

Hi,

I have multi-ISP connectivity, multiple exit  to internet.  I am planning
to use BGP and MEDs as primary attribute to choose the best path.

Is there any other suggestions ?

[email-masked]

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From: "John Cappiello" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 11:04:47 -0400

Excuse my ignorance, but what are MEDs?

Personally, I have setup something similar implementing my own form or 
BGP in a linux solution behind an IP masqueraded firewall.  It's secure 
(in that all your internal boxes are pretty well hidden) and the logic 
involved is a complex and "intelligent" as you would like it to be.  
Basically it involves just keeping track of it's own routing table 
(quite large routing table <grin>).

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From: HUGO ZAMORA LOPEZ <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:42:30 -0600 (CST)

Greetings,

Multi Exit Descriminator (MED) is a hint to external neighbors about
the preferred path into an AS. This is a dynamic way to influence another
AS on wich way to choose in order to reach a certain route given that we
have multiple entry points into that AS.

Regards.

Hugo Zamora
Reduno/UniNet

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From: "Eliot Lear" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:32:07 -0700

> I have multi-ISP connectivity, multiple exit  to internet.  I am
> planning to use BGP and MEDs as primary attribute to choose the
> best path.
> 

MEDs are only useful if you are connecting multiple points of one AS
to multiple points of another AS.  In your case, if you refer to
"multi-ISP" as more than one ISP, then MEDs are not necessary.  If,
on the other hand, you have multiple connections to the same ISP,
then MEDs are useful, assuming your ISP cooperates.

Also, if you have connectivity to two or more ISPs, then you don't
want MEDs to be your PRIMARY selection criteria, but tie breaker when
you're going to the same ISP.

Eliot Lear