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Cumulus Linux

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If you are using the current version of Cumulus Linux, the content on this page may not be up to date. The current version of the documentation is available here. If you are redirected to the main page of the user guide, then this page may have been renamed; please search for it there.

Optional BGP Configuration

This section describes optional configuration. The steps provided in this section assume that you already configured basic BGP as described in Basic BGP Configuration.

Peer Groups

Instead of specifying properties of each individual peer, you can define one or more peer groups and associate all the attributes common to that peer session to a peer group. You need to attach a peer to a peer group one time; it then inherits all address families activated for that peer group.

If the peer you want to add to a group already exists in the BGP configuration, delete it first, than add it to the peer group.

The following example commands create a peer group called SPINE that includes two external peers.

NVUE does not support hyphens (-) in BGP peer group names.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp peer-group SPINE
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp peer-group SPINE remote-as external
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 10.0.1.0 peer-group SPINE
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 10.0.1.12 peer-group SPINE
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor SPINE peer-group
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor SPINE remote-as external
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor 10.0.1.0 peer-group SPINE
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor 10.0.1.12 peer-group SPINE
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit
cumulus@leaf01:~$

For an unnumbered configuration, you can use a single command to configure a neighbor and attach it to a peer group.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 peer-group SPINE

leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 interface peer-group SPINE

BGP Dynamic Neighbors

BGP dynamic neighbors provides BGP peering to a group of remote neighbors within a specified range of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses for a BGP peer group. You can configure each range as a subnet IP address.

After you configure the dynamic neighbors, a BGP speaker can listen for, and form peer relationships with, any neighbor that is in the IP address range and maps to a peer group.

The following example commands create the peer group SPINE and configure BGP peering to remote neighbors within the address range 10.0.1.0/31.

NVUE commands are not supported. 
cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp listen range 10.0.1.0/24 peer-group SPINE
leaf01(config-router)# bgp listen limit 5
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit
cumulus@leaf01:~$

The bgp listen limit command limits the number of dynamic peers. The default value is 100.

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

router bgp 65101
  neighbor SPINE peer-group
  neighbor SPINE remote-as external
  bgp listen limit 5
  bgp listen range 10.0.1.0/24 peer-group SPINE

eBGP Multihop

The eBGP multihop option lets you use BGP to exchange routes with an external peer that is more than one hop away.

The following example command configures Cumulus Linux to establish a connection between two eBGP peers that are not directly connected and sets the maximum number of hops used to reach a eBGP peer to 1.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 10.10.10.101 remote-as external
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 10.10.10.101 multihop-ttl 1
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor 10.10.10.101 remote-as external
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor 10.10.10.101 ebgp-multihop
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

BGP TTL Security Hop Count

You can use the TTL security hop count option to prevent attacks against eBGP, such as denial of service (DoS) attacks. By default, BGP messages to eBGP neighbors have an IP time-to-live (TTL) of 1, which requires the peer to be directly connected, otherwise, the packets expire along the way. You can adjust the TTL with the eBGP multihop option. An attacker can adjust the TTL of packets so that they look like they originate from a directly connected peer.

The BGP TTL security hops option inverts the direction in which BGP counts the TTL. Instead of accepting only packets with a TTL of 1, Cumulus Linux accepts BGP messages with a TTL greater than or equal to 255 minus the specified hop count.

When you use TTL security, you do not need eBGP multihop.

The following command example sets the TTL security hop count value to 200:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 ttl-security hops 200
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 ttl-security hops 200
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  ...
  neighbor swp51 ttl-security hops 200
...

  • When you configure ttl-security hops on a peer group instead of a specific neighbor, FRR does not add it to either the running configuration or to the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. To work around this issue, add ttl-security hops to individual neighbors instead of the peer group.
  • Enabling ttl-security hops does not program the hardware with relevant information. Cumulus Linux forwards frames to the CPU and then drops them. Use the NVUE Command to explicitly add the relevant entry to hardware. For more information about ACLs, see Netfilter - ACLs.

MD5-enabled BGP Neighbors

You can authenticate your BGP peer connection to prevent interference with your routing tables.

To enable MD5 authentication for BGP peers, set the same password on each peer.

The following example commands set the password mypassword on BGP peers leaf01 and spine01:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 password mypassword
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@spine01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp1 password mypassword
cumulus@spine01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 password mypassword
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

cumulus@spine01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
spine01# configure terminal
spine01(config)# router bgp 65199
spine01(config-router)# neighbor swp1 password mypassword
spine01(config-router)# end
spine01# write memory
spine01# exit

You can confirm the configuration with the vtysh show ip bgp neighbor <neighbor> command or the net show bgp neighbor <neighbor> command.

▼ example

Cumulus Linux does not enforce the MD5 password configured against a BGP listen-range peer group (used to accept and create dynamic BGP neighbors) and accepts connections from peers that do not specify a password.

Remove Private BGP ASNs

If you use private ASNs in the data center, routes advertised to neighbors contain your private ASNs. The examples below show how to remove the private ASNs from routes and how to replace the private ASNs with your public ASN.

The following example command removes private ASNs from routes advertised to the neighbor on swp51 (an unnumbered interface):

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath private-as remove
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

You can replace the private ASNs with your public ASN with the following command:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath replace-peer-as on
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

To unset the above configuration:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv unset vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath private-as remove
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv unset vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath replace-peer-as on
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

Add the line neighbor swp51 remove-private-AS to the address-family ipv4 unicast stanza:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo nano /etc/frr/frr.conf
...
router bgp 65101
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.1
 neighbor underlay peer-group
 neighbor underlay remote-as external
 neighbor swp51 interface peer-group underlay
 neighbor swp52 interface peer-group underlay
 neighbor swp53 interface peer-group underlay
 neighbor swp54 interface peer-group underlay
 !
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  redistribute connected
  neighbor swp51 remove-private-AS
 exit-address-family
 !
...

Multiple BGP ASNs

Cumulus Linux supports the use of distinct ASNs for different VRF instances.

The following example configures VRF RED and VRF BLUE on border01 to use ASN 65532 towards fw1 and 65533 towards fw2:

cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf RED router bgp autonomous-system 65532        
cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf RED router bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf RED router bgp neighbor swp3 remote-as external
cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf BLUE router bgp autonomous-system 65533 
cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf BLUE router bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
cumulus@border01:~$ nv set vrf BLUE router bgp neighbor swp4 remote-as external
cumulus@border01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@border01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
border01# configure terminal
border01(config)# router bgp 65532 vrf RED
border01(config-router)# bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
border01(config-router)# neighbor swp3 interface remote-as external
border01(config-router)# exit
border01(config)# router bgp 65533 vrf BLUE
border01(config-router)# bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
border01(config-router)# neighbor swp4 interface remote-as external
border01(config-router)# end
border01# write memory
border01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file:

cumulus@border01:~$ cat /etc/frr/frr.conf
...
log syslog informational
!
vrf RED
  vni 4001
vrf BLUE
  vni 4002
!
router bgp 65132
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
 bgp bestpath as-path multipath-relax
 neighbor underlay peer-group
 neighbor underlay remote-as external
 neighbor peerlink.4094 interface remote-as internal
 neighbor swp51 interface peer-group underlay
 neighbor swp52 interface peer-group underlay
 !
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  redistribute connected
 exit-address-family
 !
 address-family l2vpn evpn
  neighbor underlay activate
  advertise-all-vni
 exit-address-family
!
router bgp 65532 vrf RED
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
 neighbor swp3 remote-as external
 !
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  redistribute static
 exit-address-family
 !
 address-family l2vpn evpn
  neighbor underlay activate
  advertise-all-vni
 exit-address-family
!
router bgp 65533 vrf BLUE
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.63
 neighbor swp4 remote-as external
 !
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  redistribute static
 exit-address-family
 !
 address-family l2vpn evpn
  neighbor underlay activate
  advertise-all-vni
 exit-address-family
!
line vty

With the above configuration, the vtysh show ip bgp vrf RED summary command and the net show bgp vrf RED summary command output shows the local ASN as 65532.

cumulus@border01:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
border01# show ip bgp vrf RED summary
ipv4 unicast summary

BGP router identifier 10.10.10.63, local AS number 65532 vrf-id 35
BGP table version 1
RIB entries 1, using 192 bytes of memory
Peers 1, using 21 KiB of memory

Neighbor      V      AS   MsgRcvd   MsgSent   TblVer  InQ OutQ  Up/Down State/PfxRcd   PfxSnt
fw1(swp3)     4   65199      2015      2015        0    0    0 01:40:36            1        1

Total number of neighbors 1
...

The vtysh show ip bgp summary command and the net show bgp summary command displays the global table, where the local ASN 65132 peers with spine01.

cumulus@border01:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# show ip bgp summary
ipv4 unicast summary

BGP router identifier 10.10.10.63, local AS number 65132 vrf-id 0
BGP table version 3
RIB entries 5, using 960 bytes of memory
Peers 1, using 43 KiB of memory
Peer groups 1, using 64 bytes of memory

Neighbor        V         AS   MsgRcvd   MsgSent   TblVer  InQ OutQ  Up/Down State/PfxRcd   PfxSnt
spine01(swp51)  4      65199      2223      2223        0    0    0 01:50:18            1        3

Total number of neighbors 1
...

BGP allowas-in

To prevent loops, the switch automatically discards BGP network prefixes if it sees its own ASN in the AS path. However, you can configure Cumulus Linux to receive and process routes even if it detects its own ASN in the AS path (allowas-in).

To enable allowas-in:

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath allow-my-asn enable on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv4 unicast
switch(config-router-af)# neighbor swp51 allowas-in
switch(config-router-af)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the address-family stanza of the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.10.10.1/32
  redistribute connected
  neighbor swp51 allowas-in
...

You can configure additional options:

  • You can set the maximum number of occurrences of the local system’s AS number in the received AS path
  • You can allow a received AS path containing the ASN of the local system but only if it is the originating AS

The following example sets the maximum number of occurrences of the local system’s AS number in the received AS path to 4:

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath allow-my-asn occurrences 4
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv4 unicast
switch(config-router-af)# neighbor swp51 allowas-in 4
switch(config-router-af)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the address-family stanza of the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.10.10.1/32
  redistribute connected
  neighbor swp51 allowas-in 4
...

The following example allows a received AS path containing the ASN of the local system but only if it is the originating AS:

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast aspath allow-my-asn origin on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv4 unicast
switch(config-router-af)# neighbor swp51 allowas-in origin
switch(config-router-af)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the address-family stanza of the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.10.10.1/32
  redistribute connected
  neighbor swp51 allowas-in origin
...

ECMP

BGP supports equal-cost multipathing (ECMP). If a BGP node hears a certain prefix from multiple peers, it has the information necessary to program the routing table and forward traffic for that prefix through all these peers. BGP typically chooses one best path for each prefix and installs that route in the forwarding table.

Cumulus Linux enables the BGP multipath option by default and sets the maximum number of paths to 64 so that the switch can install multiple equal-cost BGP paths to the forwarding table and load balance traffic across multiple links. You can change the number of paths allowed, according to your needs.

The example commands change the maximum number of paths to 120. You can set a value between 1 and 256. 1 disables the BGP multipath option.

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp address-family ipv4-unicast multipaths ibgp 120 
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv4
switch(config-router-af)# maximum-paths 120
switch(config-router-af)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the address-family stanza of the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
address-family ipv4 unicast
 network 10.1.10.0/24
 network 10.10.10.1/32
 maximum-paths 120
exit-address-family
...

When you enable BGP multipath, Cumulus Linux load balances BGP routes from the same AS. If the routes go across several different AS neighbors, even if the AS path length is the same, they are not load balanced. To load balance between multiple paths received from different AS neighbors:.

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp path-selection multipath aspath-ignore on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# bgp bestpath as-path multipath-relax
switch(config-router)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  bgp router-id 10.0.0.1
  bgp bestpath as-path multipath-relax
...

When you disable the bestpath as-path multipath-relax option, EVPN type-5 routes do not use the updated configuration. Type-5 routes continue to use all available ECMP paths in the underlay fabric, regardless of ASN.

RFC 5549 defines how BGP advertises IPv4 prefixes with IPv6 next hops. The RFC does not make a distinction between whether the IPv6 peering and next hop values must be global unicast addresses (GUA) or link-local addresses. Cumulus Linux supports advertising IPv4 prefixes with IPv6 global unicast and link-local next hop addresses, with either unnumbered or numbered BGP.

When BGP peering uses IPv6 global addresses, and BGP advertises and installs IPv4 prefixes, Cumulus Linux uses IPv6 route advertisements to derive the MAC address of the peer so that FRR can create an IPv4 route with a link-local IPv4 next hop address (defined by RFC 3927). FRR configures these route advertisement settings automatically upon receiving an update from a BGP peer that uses IPv6 global addresses with an IPv4 prefix and an IPv6 next hop, and after it negotiates the enhanced-next hop capability.

To enable advertisement of IPv4 prefixes with IPv6 next hops over global IPv6 peerings, add the extended-nexthop capability to the global IPv6 neighbor statements on each end of the BGP sessions.

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capabilities extended-nexthop on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capability extended-nexthop
switch(config-router)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  ...
  neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capability extended-nexthop
...

Ensure that you have activated the IPv6 peers under the IPv4 unicast address family; otherwise, all peers activate in the IPv4 unicast address family by default. If you configure no bgp default ipv4-unicast, you need to activate the IPv6 neighbor under the IPv4 unicast address family as shown below:

cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capabilities extended-nexthop on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 address-family ipv4-unicast enable on
cumulus@switch:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo vtysh
...
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# router bgp 65101
switch(config-router)# neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capability extended-nexthop
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv4 unicast
switch(config-router-af)# neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 activate
switch(config-router-af)# end
switch# write memory
switch# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
router-id 10.10.10.1
no bgp default ipv4-unicast
neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 remote-as external
neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 capability extended-nexthop
!
address-family ipv4 unicast
  neighbor 2001:db8:0002::0a00:0002 activate
exit-address-family
...

Neighbor Maximum Prefixes

To protect against an internal network connectivity disruption caused by BGP, you can control the number of route announcements (prefixes) you want to receive from a BGP neighbor.

The following example commands set the maximum number of prefixes allowed from the BGP neighbor on swp51 to 3000:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast prefix-limits inbound maximum 3000
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65001
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 maximum-prefix 3000
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

Aggregate Addresses

To minimize the size of the routing table and save bandwidth, you can aggregate a range of networks in your routing table into a single prefix.

The following example command aggregates a range of addresses, such as 10.1.1.0/24, 10.1.2.0/24, 10.1.3.0/24 into the single prefix 10.1.0.0/16:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp address-family ipv4-unicast aggregate-route 10.1.0.0/16 
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

The summary-only option ensures that BGP suppresses longer-prefixes inside the aggregate address before sending updates:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp address-family ipv4-unicast aggregate-route 10.1.0.0/16 summary-only on
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

Suppress Route Advertisement

You can configure BGP to wait for a response from the RIB indicating that the routes installed in the RIB are also installed in the ASIC before sending updates to peers.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp wait-for-install on
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

  1. Run the following vtysh commands:

    cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp suppress-fib-pending
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

    The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

    ...
router bgp 65199
bgp router-id 10.10.10.101
neighbor swp51 remote-as external
bgp suppress-fib-pending
...

  2. Edit the /etc/cumulus/switchd.d/kernel_route_offload_flags.conf file to set the kernel_route_offload_flags parameter to 2:

    cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo nano /etc/cumulus/switchd.d/kernel_route_offload_flags.conf  
# Set routing-forwarding-sync mode for routes.
#  0: No notification on HW install success or failure (default mode)
#  1: Notify HW install failure
#  2: Notify HW install success/failure
kernel_route_offload_flags = 2

  3. Restart switchd:

    cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo systemctl restart switchd.service

The Smart System Manager suppresses route advertisement automatically when upgrading or troubleshooting an active switch so that there is minimal disruption to the network.

BGP add-path

Cumulus Linux supports both BGP add-path RX and BGP add-path TX.

BGP add-path RX

BGP add-path RX enables BGP to receive multiple paths for the same prefix. A path identifier ensures that additional paths do not override previously advertised paths. Cumulus Linux enables BGP add-path RX by default; you do not need to perform additional configuration.

To view the existing capabilities, run the vtysh show ip bgp neighbors command. You can see the existing capabilities in the subsection Add Path, below Neighbor capabilities.

The following example output shows that BGP can send and receive additional BGP paths, and that the BGP neighbor on swp51 supports both.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# show ip bgp neighbors
BGP neighbor on swp51: fe80::7c41:fff:fe93:b711, remote AS 65199, local AS 65101, external link
Hostname: spine01
  BGP version 4, remote router ID 10.10.10.101, local router ID 10.10.10.1
  BGP state = Established, up for 1d12h39m
  Last read 00:00:03, Last write 00:00:01
  Hold time is 9, keepalive interval is 3 seconds
  Neighbor capabilities:
    4 Byte AS: advertised and received
    AddPath:
      IPv4 Unicast: RX advertised IPv4 Unicast and received
    Extended nexthop: advertised and received
      Address families by peer:
                   IPv4 Unicast
    Route refresh: advertised and received(old & new)
    Address Family IPv4 Unicast: advertised and received
    Hostname Capability: advertised (name: leaf01,domain name: n/a) received (name: spine01,domain name: n/a)
    Graceful Restart Capability: advertised and received
...

To view the current additional paths, run the vtysh show ip bgp <prefix> command or the net show bgp <prefix> command. The example output shows that the TX node adds an additional path for receiving. Each path has a unique AddPath ID.

cumulus@leaf01:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# show ip bgp 10.10.10.9
BGP routing table entry for 10.10.10.9/32
Paths: (2 available, best #1, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)
  Advertised to non peer-group peers:
  spine01(swp51) spine02(swp52)
  65020 65012
    fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:5c from spine01(swp51) (10.10.10.12)
    (fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:5c) (used)
      Origin incomplete, localpref 100, valid, external, multipath, bestpath-from-AS 65020, best (Older Path)
      AddPath ID: RX 0, TX 6
      Last update: Wed Nov 16 22:47:00 2016
  65020 65012
    fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:2b from spine02(swp52) (10.10.10.12)
    (fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:2b) (used)
      Origin incomplete, localpref 100, valid, external, multipath
      AddPath ID: RX 0, TX 3
      Last update: Fri Oct  2 03:56:33 2020

BGP add-path TX

BGP add-path TX enables BGP to advertise more than just the best path for a prefix. Cumulus Linux includes two options:

  • addpath-tx-all-paths advertises all known paths to a neighbor.
  • addpath-tx-bestpath-per-AS advertises only the best path learned from each AS to a neighbor.

The following example commands configure leaf01 to advertise the best path learned from each AS to the BGP neighbor on swp50:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp autonomous-system 65101
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp50 address-family ipv4-unicast add-path-tx best-per-as
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp50 addpath-tx-bestpath-per-AS
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The following example commands configure leaf01 to advertise all paths learned from each AS to the BGP neighbor on swp50:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp autonomous-system 65101
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp50 address-family ipv4-unicast add-path-tx all-paths
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp50 addpath-tx-all-paths
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The following example configuration shows how BGP add-path TX advertises the best path learned from each AS.
In this configuration:
  • Every leaf and every spine has a different ASN
  • eBGP is configured between:
    • leaf01 and spine01, spine02
    • leaf03 and spine01, spine02
    • leaf01 and leaf02 (leaf02 only has a single peer, which is leaf01)
  • leaf01 is configured to advertise the best path learned from each AS to BGP neighbor leaf02
  • leaf03 generates a loopback IP address (10.10.10.3/32) into BGP with a network statement

When you run the show ip bgp 10.10.10.3/32 command or the net show bgp 10.10.10.3/32 command on leaf02, the command output shows the leaf03 loopback IP address and two BGP paths, both from leaf01:

cumulus@leaf02:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf02# show ip bgp 10.10.10.3/32
BGP routing table entry for 10.10.10.3/32
Paths: (2 available, best #2, table default)
       Advertised to non peer-group peers:
       leaf01(swp50)
  65101 65199 65103
    fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:13 from leaf01(swp50) (10.10.10.1)
    (fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:13) (used)
      Origin IGP, valid, external
      AddPath ID: RX 4, TX-All 0 TX-Best-Per-AS 0
      Last update: Thu Oct 15 18:31:46 2020
  65101 65198 65103
    fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:13 from leaf01(swp50) (10.10.10.1)
    (fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:13) (used)
      Origin IGP, valid, external, bestpath-from-AS 65101, best (Nothing left to compare)
      AddPath ID: RX 3, TX-All 0 TX-Best-Per-AS 0
      Last update: Thu Oct 15 18:31:46 2020

Conditional Advertisement

Routes are typically propagated even if a different path exists. The BGP conditional advertisement feature lets you advertise certain routes only if other routes either do or do not exist.

This feature is typically used in multihomed networks where BGP advertises some prefixes to one of the providers only if information from the other provider is not present. For example, a multihomed router can use conditional advertisement to choose which upstream provider learns about the routes it provides so that it can influence which provider handles traffic destined for the downstream router. This is useful for cost of service, latency, or other policy requirements that are not natively accounted for in BGP.

Conditional advertisement uses the non-exist-map or the exist-map and the advertise-map keywords to track routes by route prefix. You configure the BGP neighbors to use the route maps.

Use caution when configuring conditional advertisement on a large number of BGP neighbors. Cumulus Linux scans the entire RIB table every 60 seconds by default; depending on the number of routes in the RIB, this can result in longer processing times. NVIDIA does not recommend that you configure conditional advertisement on more than 50 neighbors.

The following example commands configure the switch to send a 10.0.0.0/8 summary route only if the 10.0.0.0/24 route exists in the routing table. The commands perform the following configuration:

  • Enable the conditional advertisement option.
  • Create a prefix list called EXIST with the route 10.0.0.0/24.
  • Create a route map called EXISTMAP that uses the prefix list EXIST. You must provide the route map match type (ipv4 or ipv6).
  • Create a prefix list called ADVERTISE with the route to advertise (10.0.0.0/8).
  • Create a route map called ADVERTISEMAP that uses the prefix list ADVERTISE. You must provide the route map match type (ipv4 or ipv6).
  • Configure BGP neighbor swp51 to use the route maps.
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast conditional-advertise enable on 
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy prefix-list EXIST rule 10 match 10.0.0.0/24
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy prefix-list EXIST rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map EXISTMAP rule 10 match type ipv4
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map EXISTMAP rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map EXISTMAP rule 10 match ip-prefix-list EXIST
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy prefix-list ADVERTISE rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy prefix-list ADVERTISE rule 10 match 10.0.0.0/8
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map ADVERTISEMAP rule 10 match type ipv4
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map ADVERTISEMAP rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map ADVERTISEMAP rule 10 match ip-prefix-list ADVERTISE
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast conditional-advertise advertise-map ADVERTISEMAP
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 address-family ipv4-unicast conditional-advertise exist-map EXIST
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# ip prefix-list EXIST seq 10 permit 10.0.0.0/24
leaf01(config)# route-map EXISTMAP permit 10
leaf01(config-route-map)# match ip address prefix-list EXIST
leaf01(config-route-map)# exit
leaf01(config)# ip prefix-list ADVERTISE seq 10 permit 10.0.0.0/8
leaf01(config)# route-map ADVERTISEMAP permit 10
leaf01(config-route-map)# match ip address prefix-list ADVERTISE
leaf01(config-route-map)# exit
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 advertise-map ADVERTISEMAP exist-map EXISTMAP
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo cat /etc/frr/frr.conf
...
neighbor swp51 activate
neighbor swp51 advertise-map ADVERTISEMAP exist-map EXIST
...
ip prefix-list ADVERTISE seq 10 permit 10.0.0.0/8
ip prefix-list EXIST seq 10 permit 10.0.0.0/24
route-map ADVERTISEMAP permit 10
match ip address prefix-list ADVERTISE
route-map EXISTMAP permit 10
match ip address prefix-list EXIST

Cumulus Linux scans the entire RIB table every 60 seconds. You can set the conditional advertisement timer to increase or decrease how often you want Cumulus Linux to scan the RIB table. You can set a value between 5 and 240 seconds.

A lower value (such as 5) increases the amount of processing needed. Use caution when configuring conditional advertisement on a large number of BGP neighbors.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp timers conditional-advertise 100
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# bgp conditional-advertisement timer 100
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo cat /etc/frr/frr.conf
...
router bgp 65101
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.1
 bgp conditional-advertisement timer 100
 neighbor swp51 interface remote-as external
 neighbor swp51 advertisement-interval 0
 neighbor swp51 timers 3 9
 neighbor swp51 timers connect 10
 neighbor swp52 interface remote-as external
 neighbor swp52 advertisement-interval 0
 neighbor swp52 timers 3 9
 neighbor swp52 timers connect 10
...

Next Hop Tracking

By default, next hop tracking does not resolve next hops through the default route. If you want BGP to peer across the default route, run the vtysh ip nht resolve-via-default command.

The following example command configures BGP to peer across the default route from the default VRF.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# ip nht resolve-via-default
leaf01(config)# exit
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The following example command configures BGP to peer across the default route from VRF BLUE:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# vrf BLUE
leaf01(config-vrf)# ip nht resolve-via-default
leaf01(config-vrf)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit
cumulus@leaf01:~$

BGP Timers

BGP includes several timers that you can configure.

Keepalive Interval and Hold Time

By default, BGP exchanges periodic keepalive messages to measure and ensure that a peer is still alive and functioning. If BGP does not receive a keepalive or update message from the peer within the hold time, it declares the peer down and withdraws all routes received by this peer from the local BGP table. By default, the keepalive interval is 3 seconds and the hold time is 9 seconds. To decrease CPU load when there are a lot of neighbors, you can increase the values of these timers or disable the exchange of keepalives. When manually configuring new values, the keepalive interval can be less than or equal to one third of the hold time, but cannot be less than 1 second. Setting the keepalive and hold time values to 0 disables the exchange of keepalives.

The following example commands set the keepalive interval to 10 seconds and the hold time to 30 seconds.

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 timers keepalive 10
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 timers hold 30
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 timers 10 30
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  ...
  neighbor swp51 timers 10 30
...

Reconnect Interval

By default, the BGP process attempts to connect to a peer after a failure (or on startup) every 10 seconds. You can change this value to suit your needs.

The following example commands set the reconnect value to 30 seconds:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 timers connection-retry 30
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 timers connect 30
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  ...
  neighbor swp51 timers connect 30
...

After making a new best path decision for a prefix, BGP can insert a delay before advertising the new results to a peer. This delay rate limits the amount of changes advertised to downstream peers and lowers processing requirements by slowing down convergence. By default, this interval is 0 seconds for both eBGP and iBGP sessions, which allows for fast convergence. For more information about the advertisement interval, see this IETF draft.

The following example commands set the advertisement interval to 5 seconds:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 timers route-advertisement 5
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 advertisement-interval 5
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65101
  ...
  neighbor swp51 advertisement-interval 5
...

Route Reflectors

iBGP rules state that BGP cannot send a route learned from an iBGP peer to another iBGP peer. In a data center spine and leaf network using iBGP, this prevents a spine from sending a route learned from a leaf to any other leaf. As a workaround, you can use a route reflector. When an iBGP speaker is a route reflector, it can send iBGP learned routes to other iBGP peers.

In the following example, spine01 is acting as a route reflector. The leaf switches, leaf01, leaf02 and leaf03 are route reflector clients. BGP sends any route that spine01 learns from a route reflector client to other route reflector clients.

To configure the BGP node as a route reflector for a BGP peer, set the neighbor route-reflector-client option. The following example sets spine01 shown in the illustration above to be a route reflector for leaf01 (on swp1), which is a route reflector client. You do not have to configure the client.

cumulus@spine01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp neighbor swp1 address-family ipv4-unicast route-reflector-client on
cumulus@spine01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@spine01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
spine01# configure terminal
spine01(config)# router bgp 65199
spine01(config-router)# address-family ipv4
spine01(config-router-af)# neighbor swp1 route-reflector-client
spine01(config-router-af)# end
spine01# write memory
spine01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65199
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.101
 neighbor swp51 remote-as external
 !
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.10.10.101/32
  neighbor swp51 route-reflector-client
 exit-address-family
...

When you configure BGP for IPv6, you must run the route-reflector-client command after the activate command.

Administrative Distance

Cumulus Linux uses the administrative distance to choose which routing protocol to use when two different protocols provide route information for the same destination. The smaller the distance, the more reliable the protocol. For example, if the switch receives a route from OSPF with an administrative distance of 110 and the same route from BGP with an administrative distance of 100, the switch chooses BGP.

The following example commands set the administrative distance for external routes to 150 and internal routes to 110:

cumulus@spine01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp address-family ipv4-unicast admin-distance external 150
cumulus@spine01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp address-family ipv4-unicast admin-distance internal 110
cumulus@spine01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@spine01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
spine01# configure terminal
spine01(config)# router bgp 65101
spine01(config-router)# distance bgp 150 110
spine01(config-router)# end
spine01# write memory
spine01# exit

Graceful BGP Shutdown

To reduce packet loss during planned maintenance of a router or link, you can configure graceful BGP shutdown, which forces traffic to route around the BGP node:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-shutdown on
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

To disable graceful shutdown:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-shutdown off
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

To enable graceful shutdown:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-shutdown
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

To disable graceful shutdown:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# no bgp graceful-shutdown
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

When you enable graceful BGP shutdown, Cumulus Linux adds the graceful-shutdown community to all inbound and outbound routes from eBGP peers and sets the local-pref for that route to 0 (refer to RFC8326). To see the configuration, run the vtysh show ip bgp <route> command or the net show bgp <route> command. For example:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
leaf01# show ip bgp 10.10.10.0/24
BGP routing table entry for 10.10.10.0/24
Paths: (2 available, best #1, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)
  Advertised to non peer-group peers:
  bottom0(10.10.10.2)
  30 20
    10.10.10.2 (metric 10) from top1(10.10.10.2) (10.10.10.2)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, internal, bestpath-from-AS 30, best
      Community: 99:1
      AddPath ID: RX 0, TX 52
      Last update: Mon Sep 18 17:01:18 2017

  20
    10.10.10.3 from bottom0(10.10.10.32) (10.10.10.10)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 0, valid, external, bestpath-from-AS 20
      Community: 99:1 graceful-shutdown
      AddPath ID: RX 0, TX 2
      Last update: Mon Sep 18 17:01:18 2017

As optional configuration, you can create a route map to prepend the AS so that reduced preference using a longer AS path propagates to other parts of network.

▼ Example Configuration Using a Route Map

Graceful BGP Restart

When BGP restarts on a switch, all BGP peers detect that the session goes down and comes back up. This session transition results in a routing flap on BGP peers that causes BGP to recompute routes, generate route updates, and add unnecessary churn to the forwarding tables. The routing flaps can create transient forwarding blackholes and loops, and also consume resources on the switches affected by the flap, which can affect overall network performance.

To minimize the negative effects that occur when BGP restarts, you can enable the BGP graceful restart feature. This enables a BGP speaker to signal to its peers that it can preserve its forwarding state and continue data forwarding during a restart. It also enables a BGP speaker to continue to use routes announced by a peer even after the peer has gone down.

When BGP establishes a session, BGP peers use the BGP OPEN message to negotiate a graceful restart. If the BGP peer also supports graceful restart, it activates for that neighbor session. If the BGP session stops, the BGP peer (the restart helper) flags all routes associated with the device as stale but continues to forward packets to these routes for a certain period of time. The restarting device also continues to forward packets during the graceful restart. After the device comes back up and establishes BGP sessions again with its peers (restart helpers), it waits to learn all routes that these peers announce before selecting a cumulative path; after which, it updates its forwarding tables and re-announces the appropriate routes to its peers. These procedures ensure that if there are any routing changes while the BGP speaker is restarting, the network converges.

  • Cumulus Linux supports BGP graceful restart for both IPv4 and IPv6.
  • You must enable BGP graceful restart (restarting router mode) to achieve a switch restart or switch software upgrade with minimal traffic loss in a BGP configuration. Refer to Smart System Manager for more information.
  • BGP goes through a graceful restart (as a restarting router) with a planned switch restart event that the Smart System Manager initiates. Any other time BGP restarts, such as when the BGP daemon restarts due to a software exception, or you restart the FRR service, BGP goes through a regular restart where the BGP session with peers terminates and Cumulus Linux removes the learned routes from the forwarding plane.
  • For warm boot to restart the switch with no interruption to traffic for existing route entries, you must enable BGP graceful restart in all BGP VRFs.

To enable graceful restart globally on the switch:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set vrf default router bgp graceful-restart
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-restart
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The following example commands enable BGP graceful restart on the BGP peer connected on swp51.

Cumulus Linux does not provide NVUE commands for graceful restart on an interface. 
cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 graceful-restart
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

Cumulus Linux supports graceful restart full mode and helper-only mode. To enable graceful restart helper-only mode:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-restart mode helper-only
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 graceful-restart-helper
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65199
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.101
 neighbor swp51 remote-as external
 neighbor swp51 graceful-restart
...

You can configure the following graceful restart timers.

Timer
 Description
restart-time The number of seconds to wait for a graceful restart capable peer to re-establish BGP peering. The default is 120 seconds. You can set a value between 1 and 4095.
pathselect-defer-time The number of seconds a restarting peer defers path-selection when waiting for the EOR marker from peers. The default is 360 seconds. You can set a value between 0 and 3600.
stalepath-time The number of seconds to hold stale routes for a restarting peer. The default is 360 seconds. You can set a value between 1 and 4095.

The following example commands set the restart-time to 400 seconds, pathselect-defer-time to 300 seconds, and stalepath-time to 400 seconds:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-restart restart-time 400
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-restart path-selection-deferral-time 300
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp graceful-restart stale-routes-time 400
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-restart restart-time 400
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-restart select-defer-time 300
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-restart stalepath-time 400
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65199
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.101
 neighbor swp51 remote-as external
 bgp graceful-restart restart-time 400
 bgp graceful-restart select-defer-time 300
 bgp graceful-restart stalepath-time 400
...

The following example commands disable global graceful restart:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv unset router bgp graceful-restart mode
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply$

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# bgp graceful-restart-disable
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The following example commands disable graceful BGP restart on a BGP peer:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv unset vrf default router bgp neighbor swp51 graceful-restart-mode
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp 65101
leaf01(config-router)# neighbor swp51 graceful-restart-disable
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

To show BGP graceful restart information, run the vtysh show ip bgp neighbor <neighbor> graceful-restart command or the net show bgp neighbor <neighbour> graceful-restart command.

cumulus@leaf01:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# show ip bgp neighbor swp51 graceful-restart
Codes: GR - Graceful Restart, * -  Inheriting Global GR Config,
       Restart - GR Mode-Restarting, Helper - GR Mode-Helper,
       Disable - GR Mode-Disable.

BGP neighbor on swp51: fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:2, remote AS 65199, local AS 65101, external link
  BGP state = Established, up for 00:15:54
  Neighbor GR capabilities:
    Graceful Restart Capability: advertised and received
      Remote Restart timer is 120 seconds
      Address families by peer:
        none
  Graceful restart information:
    End-of-RIB send: IPv4 Unicast
    End-of-RIB received: IPv4 Unicast
    Local GR Mode: Helper*
    Remote GR Mode: Helper
    R bit: False
    Timers:
      Configured Restart Time(sec): 120
      Received Restart Time(sec): 120
    IPv4 Unicast:
      F bit: False
      End-of-RIB sent: Yes
      End-of-RIB sent after update: Yes
      End-of-RIB received: Yes
      Timers:
        Configured Stale Path Time(sec): 360

Enable Read-only Mode

Sometimes, as Cumulus Linux establishes BGP peers and receives updates, it installs prefixes in the RIB and advertises them to BGP peers before receiving and processing information from all the peers. Also, depending on the timing of the updates, Cumulus Linux sometimes installs prefixes, then withdraws and replaces them with new routing information. Read-only mode minimizes this BGP route churn in both the local RIB and with BGP peers.

Enable read-only mode to reduce CPU and network usage when restarting the BGP process. Because intermediate best paths are possible for the same prefix as peers establish and start receiving updates at different times, read-only mode is useful in topologies where BGP learns a prefix from a large number of peers and the network has a high number of prefixes.

While in read-only mode, BGP does not run best-path or generate any updates to its peers.

The following example commands enable read-only mode:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp convergence-wait time 300
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router bgp convergence-wait establish-wait-time 200
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# router bgp
leaf01(config-router)# update-delay 300 90
leaf01(config-router)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

The vtysh commands save the configuration in the /etc/frr/frr.conf file. For example:

...
router bgp 65199
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.101
 neighbor swp51 remote-as external
 bgp update-delay 300 200
...

To show the configured timers and information about the transitions when a convergence event occurs, run the vtysh show ip bgp summary command or the net show bgp summary command.

cumulus@leaf01:mgmt:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# show ip bgp summary
ipv4 Unicast Summary

BGP router identifier 10.10.10.1, local AS number 65101 vrf-id 0
Read-only mode update-delay limit: 300 seconds
                   Establish wait: 200 seconds
BGP table version 0
RIB entries 3, using 576 bytes of memory
Peers 1, using 21 KiB of memory

Neighbor        V         AS   MsgRcvd   MsgSent   TblVer  InQ OutQ  Up/Down State/PfxRcd   PfxSnt
spine01(swp51)  4      65199     30798     30802        0    0    0 1d01h09m            0        0

Total number of neighbors 1
...

The vtysh show ip bgp summary json command and the net show bgp summary json command shows the last convergence event.

BGP Community Lists

You can use community lists to define a BGP community to tag one or more routes. You can then use the communities to apply a route policy on either egress or ingress.

The BGP community list can be either standard or expanded. The standard BGP community list is a pair of values (such as 100:100) that you can tag on a specific prefix and advertise to other neighbors or you can apply them on route ingress. Or, the standard BGP community list can be one of four BGP default communities:

  • internet: a BGP community that matches all routes
  • local-AS: a BGP community that restricts routes to your confederation’s sub-AS
  • no-advertise: a BGP community that is not advertised to anyone
  • no-export: a BGP community that is not advertised to the eBGP peer

An expanded BGP community list takes a regular expression of communities and matches the listed communities.

When the neighbor receives the prefix, it examines the community value and takes action accordingly, such as permitting or denying the community member in the routing policy.

Community list names must start with a letter and can contain letters, digits, underscores and dashes. For example, you can name a community list COMMUNITY1 or EXTENDED-COMMUNITY_10 but you cannot name a community list 10 or 10_COMMUNITY.

Here is an example of a standard community list filter:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy community-list COMMUNITY1 rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy community-list COMMUNITY1 rule 10 community 100:100
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# bgp community-list standard COMMUNITY1 permit 100:100
leaf01(config)# exit
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

You can apply the community list to a route map to define the routing policy:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map ROUTEMAP1 rule 10 match community-list COMMUNITY1
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv set router policy route-map ROUTEMAP1 rule 10 action permit
cumulus@leaf01:~$ nv config apply

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo vtysh
...
leaf01# configure terminal
leaf01(config)# route-map ROUTEMAP1 
leaf01(config-route-map)# match community COMMUNITY1
leaf01(config-route-map)# end
leaf01# write memory
leaf01# exit

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