Open shortest path first (OSPF) is a link-state routing protocol that is used to
find the best path between the source and the destination router using its own
shortest path first (SPF) algorithm. A link-state routing protocol is a protocol
that uses the concept of triggered updates, i.e., if there is a change observed in
the learned routing table then the updates are triggered only, not like the
distance-vector routing protocol where the routing table is exchanged at a period
of time.
Open shortest path first (OSPF) is developed by Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) as one of the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), i.e., the protocol which aims
at moving the packet within a large autonomous system or routing domain. It is a
network layer protocol that works on protocol number 89 and uses AD value 110. OSPF
uses multicast address [Link] for normal communication and [Link] for update
to designated router(DR)/Backup Designated Router (BDR).
Criteria –
To form neighbourship in OSPF, there is a criterion for both the routers:
1. It should be present in the same area.
2. The router I’d be unique.
3. The subnet mask should be the same.
4. Hello, and the dead timer should be the same.
5. The stub flag must match.
6. Authentication must match.
OSPF supports NULL, plain text, MD5 authentication.
Note – Both the routers (neighbors) should have some type of authentication
enabled. e.g- if one neighbor has MD5 authentication enabled then others should
also have MD5 authentication enabled.
OSPF messages –
OSPF uses certain messages for the communication between the routers operating
OSPF.
• Hello message –
These are keep-alive messages used for neighbor discovery /recovery. These are
exchanged every 10 seconds. This includes the following information: Router I’d,
Hello/dead interval, Area I’d, Router priority, DR and BDR IP address,
authentication data.
• Database Description (DBD) –
It is the OSPF route of the router. This contains the topology of an AS or an area
(routing domain).
• Link state request (LSR) –
When a router receives DBD, it compares it with its own DBD. If the DBD received
has some more updates than its own DBD then LSR is being sent to its neighbor.
• Link state update (LSU) –
When a router receives LSR, it responds with an LSU message containing the details
requested.
• Link state acknowledgement –
This provides reliability to the link-state exchange process. It is sent as the
acknowledgement of LSU.
• Link state advertisement (LSA) –
It is an OSPF data packet that contains link-state routing information, shared only
with the routers to which adjacency has been formed.
Note – Link State Advertisement and Link State Acknowledgement both are different
messages.
Timers –
• Hello timer –
The interval in which the OSPF router sends a hello message on an interface. It is
10 seconds by default.
• Dead timer –
The interval in which the neighbor will be declared dead if it is not able to send
the hello packet. It is 40 seconds by default. It is usually 4 times the hello
interval but can be configured manually according to need.
OSPF supports/provides/advantages –
• Both IPv4 and IPv6 routed protocols
• Load balancing with equal-cost routes for the same destination
• VLSM and route summarization
• Unlimited hop counts
• Trigger updates for fast convergence
• A loop-free topology using SPF algorithm
• Run-on most routers
• Classless protocol
There are some disadvantages of OSPF like, it requires an extra CPU process to run
the SPF algorithm, requiring more RAM to store adjacency topology, and being more
complex to set up and hard to troubleshoot.
