BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Last Updated: November 21, 2012

The BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature introduces a modification to the existing Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) path import process. The enhanced BGP path import is driven by events; when a BGP path changes, all of its imported copies are updated as soon as processing is available. Convergence times are significantly reduced because there is no longer any delay in the propagation of routes due to the software waiting for a periodic scanner time interval before processing the updates. To implement the new processing, new command-line interface (CLI) commands are introduced.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Prerequisites for BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Cisco Express Forwarding or distributed Cisco Express Forwarding must be enabled on all participating routers.

Information About BGP Event-Based VPN Import

BGP Event-Based VPN Import

The BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature introduces a modification to the existing BGP path import process. BGP Virtual Private Network (VPN) import provides importing functionality for BGP paths where BGP paths are imported from the BGP VPN table into a BGP virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) topology. In the existing path import process, when path updates occur, the import updates are processed during the next scan time which is a configurable interval of 5 to 15 seconds. The scan time adds a delay in the propagation of routes. The enhanced BGP path import is driven by events; when a BGP path changes, all of its imported copies are updated as soon as processing is available.

Using the BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature, convergence times are significantly reduced because provider edge (PE) routers can propagate VPN paths to customer edge (CE) routers without the scan time delay. Configuration changes such as adding imported route-targets to a VRF are not processed immediately, and are still handled during the 60-second periodic scanner pass.

Import Path Selection Policy

Event-based VPN import introduces three path selection policies:

  • All--Import all available paths from the exporting net that match any route target (RT) associated with the importing VRF instance.
  • Best path--Import the best available path that matches the RT of the VRF instance. If the best path in the exporting net does not match the RT of the VRF instance, a best available path that matches the RT of the VRF instance is imported.
  • Multipath--Import the best path and all paths marked as multipaths that match the RT of the VRF instance. If there are no best path or multipath matches, then the best available path is selected.

Multipath and best path options can be restricted using an optional keyword to ensure that the selection is made only on the configured option. If the strict keyword is configured in the import path selection command, the software disables the fall back safety option of choosing the best available path. If no paths appropriate to the configured option (best path or multipath) in the exporting net match the RT of the VRF instance, then no paths are imported. This behavior matches the behavior of the software before the BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature was introduced.

When the restriction is not set, paths that are imported as the best available path are tagged. In show command output these paths are identified with the wording, "imported safety path."

The paths existing in an exporting net that are considered for import into a VRF instance may have been received from another peer router and were not subject to the VPN importing rules. These paths may contain the same route-distinguisher (RD) information because the RD information is local to a router, but some of these paths do not match the RT of the importing VRF instance and are marked as "not-in-vrf" in the show command output. Any path that is marked as "not-in-vrf" is not considered as a best path because paths not in the VRF appear less attractive than paths in the VRF.

Import Path Limit

To control the memory utilization, a maximum limit of the number of paths imported from an exporting net can be specified per importing net. When a selection is made of paths to be imported from one or more exporting net, the first selection priority is a best path, the next selection priority is for multipaths, and the lowest selection priority is for nonmultipaths.

How to Configure BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Configuring a Multiprotocol VRF

Perform this task to configure a multiprotocol VRF that allows you to share route-target policies (import and export) between IPv4 and IPv6 or to configure separate route-target policies for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs. In this task, only the IPv4 address family is configured, but we recommend using the multiprotocol VRF configuration for all new VRF configurations.


Note
This task is not specific to the BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature.
SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    vrf definition vrf-name

4.    rd route-distinguisher

5.    route-target {import | export | both} route-target-ext-community

6.    address-family ipv4 [unicast]

7.    exit-address-family

8.    exit

9.    interface type number

10.    vrf forwarding vrf-name

11.    ip address ip-address mask

12.    no shutdown

13.    exit

14.    Repeat Step 3 through Step 13 to bind other VRF instances with an interface.

15.    end


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
vrf definition vrf-name


Example:

Router(config)# vrf definition vrf-A

 

Configures a VRF routing table and enters VRF configuration mode.

  • Use the vrf-name argument to specify a name to be assigned to the VRF.
 
Step 4
rd route-distinguisher


Example:

Router(config-vrf)# rd 45000:1

 

Creates routing and forwarding tables and specifies the default route distinguisher for a VPN.

  • Use the route-distinguisher argument to add an 8-byte value to an IPv4 prefix to create a unique VPN IPv4 prefix.
 
Step 5
route-target {import | export | both} route-target-ext-community


Example:

Router(config-vrf)# route-target both 45000:100

 

Creates a route target extended community for a VRF.

  • Use the import keyword to import routing information from the target VPN extended community.
  • Use the export keyword to export routing information to the target VPN extended community.
  • Use the both keyword to both import routing information from, and export routing information to, the target VPN extended community.
  • Use the route-target-ext-community argument to add the route target extended community attributes to the VRF's list of import, export, or both (import and export) route target extended communities.
 
Step 6
address-family ipv4 [unicast]


Example:

Router(config-vrf)# address-family ipv4 unicast

 

Specifies the IPv4 address family and enters VRF address family configuration mode.

  • This step is required here to specify an address family for the VRF defined in the previous steps.
 
Step 7
exit-address-family


Example:

Router(config-vrf-af)# exit-address-family

 

Exits VRF address family configuration mode and returns to VRF configuration mode.

 
Step 8
exit


Example:

Router(config-vrf)# exit

 

Exits VRF configuration mode and enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 9
interface type number


Example:

Router(config)# interface FastEthernet 1/1

 

Enters interface configuration mode.

 
Step 10
vrf forwarding vrf-name


Example:

Router(config-if)# vrf forwarding vrf-A

 

Associates a VRF instance with the interface configured in Step 9.

  • When the interface is bound to a VRF, previously configured IP addresses are removed, and the interface is disabled.
 
Step 11
ip address ip-address mask


Example:

Router(config-if)# ip address 10.4.8.149 255.255.255.0

 

Configures an IP address for the interface.

 
Step 12
no shutdown


Example:

Router(config-if)# no shutdown

 

Restarts a disabled interface.

 
Step 13
exit


Example:

Router(config-if)# exit

 

Exits interface configuration mode and enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 14
Repeat Step 3 through Step 13 to bind other VRF instances with an interface.  

--

 
Step 15
end


Example:

Router(config)# end

 

Exits global configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

 

Configuring Event-Based VPN Import Processing for BGP Paths

Perform this task to reduce convergence times when BGP paths change by configuring event-based processing for importing BGP paths into a VRF table. Two new CLI commands allow the configuration of a maximum number of import paths per importing net and the configuration of a path selection policy.

Before You Begin

This task assumes that you have previously configured the VRF to be used with the VRF address family syntax. To configure a VRF, see the "Configuring a Multiprotocol VRF" section earlier in this module.

Complete BGP neighbor configuration is also assumed. For an example configuration, see the "Example: Configuring Event-Based VPN Import Processing for BGP Paths" section in this module.


SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    router bgp autonomous-system-number

4.    address-family ipv4 vrf vrf-name

5.    import path selection {all | bestpath [strict] | multipath [strict]}

6.    import path limit number-of-import-paths

7.    end


DETAILED STEPS
  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
enable


Example:

Router> enable

 

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.
 
Step 2
configure terminal


Example:

Router# configure terminal

 

Enters global configuration mode.

 
Step 3
router bgp autonomous-system-number


Example:

Router(config)# router bgp 45000

 

Enters router configuration mode for the specified routing process.

 
Step 4
address-family ipv4 vrf vrf-name


Example:

Router(config-router)# address-family ipv4 vrf vrf-A

 

Specifies the IPv4 address family and enters address family configuration mode.

  • Use the vrf keyword and vrf-name argument to specify the name of the VRF instance to associate with subsequent IPv4 address family configuration mode commands.
 
Step 5
import path selection {all | bestpath [strict] | multipath [strict]}


Example:

Router(config-router-af)# import path selection all

 

Specifies the BGP path selection policy for importing routes into a VRF table.

  • In this example, all paths that match any RT of the VRF instance are imported.
 
Step 6
import path limit number-of-import-paths


Example:

Router(config-router-af)# import path limit 3

 

Specifies, per importing net, a maximum number of BGP paths that can be imported from an exporting net.

 
Step 7
end


Example:

Router(config-router-af)# end

 

Exits address family configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

 

Monitoring and Troubleshooting BGP Event-Based VPN Import Processing

Perform the steps in this task as required to monitor and troubleshoot the BGP event-based VPN import processing.

Only partial command syntax for the show commands used in this task is displayed. For more details, see the Cisco IOS IP Routing: BGP Command Reference.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    show ip bgp vpnv4 {all | rd route-distinguisher | vrf vrf-name} [network-address [mask]]

3.    show ip route [vrf vrf-name] [ip-address [mask]]

4.    debug ip bgp vpnv4 unicast import {events | updates [access-list]}


DETAILED STEPS
Step 1   enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.



Example: 
Router> enable
Step 2   show ip bgp vpnv4 {all | rd route-distinguisher | vrf vrf-name} [network-address [mask]]

In this example output, a safe import path selection policy is in effect because the strict keyword is not configured using the import path selection command. When a path is imported as the best available path (when the bestpath or multipaths are not eligible for import), the path is marked with "imported safety path," as shown in the output.



Example: 
Router# show ip bgp vpnv4 all 172.17.0.0

BGP routing table entry for 45000:1:172.17.0.0/16, version 10
Paths: (1 available, best #1, table vrf-A)
Flag: 0x820
   Not advertised to any peer
   2, imported safety path from 50000:2:172.17.0.0/16
     10.0.101.1 from 10.0.101.1 (10.0.101.1)
       Origin IGP, metric 200, localpref 100, valid, internal, best
       Extended Community: RT:45000:100

The paths existing in an exporting net that are considered for import into a VRF instance may have been received from another peer router and were not subject to the VPN importing rules. These paths may contain the same route-distinguisher (RD) information because the RD information is local to a router, but some of these paths do not match the RT of the importing VRF instance and are marked as "not-in-vrf" in the show command output.

In the following example output, a path was received from another peer router and was not subject to the VPN importing rules. This path, 10.0.101.2, was added to the VPNv4 table and associated with the vrf-A net because it contains a match of the RD information although the RD information was from the original router. This path is not, however, an RT match for vrf-A and is marked as "not-in-vrf." Note that on the net for vrf-A, this path is not the bestpath because any paths that are not in the VRF appear less attractive than paths in the VRF.



Example: 
Router# show ip bgp vpnv4 all 172.17.0.0

BBGP routing table entry for 45000:1:172.17.0.0/16, version 11
Paths: (2 available, best #2, table vrf-A)
Flag: 0x820
   Not advertised to any peer
   2
     10.0.101.2 from 10.0.101.2 (10.0.101.2)
       Origin IGP, metric 100, localpref 100, valid, internal, not-in-vrf
       Extended Community: RT:45000:200
       mpls labels in/out nolabel/16
   2
     10.0.101.1 from 10.0.101.1 (10.0.101.1)
       Origin IGP, metric 50, localpref 100, valid, internal, best
       Extended Community: RT:45000:100
       mpls labels in/out nolabel/16
Step 3   show ip route [vrf vrf-name] [ip-address [mask]]

In this example output, information about the routing table for VRF vrf-A is displayed:



Example: 
Router# show ip route vrf vrf-A 172.17.0.0

Routing Table: vrf-A
Routing entry for 172.17.0.0/16
  Known via "bgp 1", distance 200, metric 50
  Tag 2, type internal
  Last update from 10.0.101.33 00:00:32 ago
  Routing Descriptor Blocks:
  * 10.0.101.33 (default), from 10.0.101.33, 00:00:32 ago
      Route metric is 50, traffic share count is 1
      AS Hops 1
      Route tag 2
      MPLS label: 16
      MPLS Flags: MPLS Required
Step 4   debug ip bgp vpnv4 unicast import {events | updates [access-list]}

Use this command to display debugging information related to the importing of BGP paths into a VRF instance table. The actual output depends on the commands that are subsequently entered.

Note    If no access list to filter prefixes is specified when using the updates keyword, all updates for all prefixes are displayed and this may slow down your network.


Example: 
Router# debug ip bgp vpnv4 unicast import events

BGP import events debugging is on

Configuration Examples for BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Example: Configuring Event-Based VPN Import Processing for BGP Paths

In this example, a VRF (vrf-A) is configured and VRF forwarding is applied to Fast Ethernet interface 1/1. In address family mode, the import path selection is set to all and the number of import paths is set to 3. Two BGP neighbors are configured under the IPv4 address family and activated under the VPNv4 address family. 

vrf definition vrf-A
 rd 45000:1
 route-target import 45000:100
 address-family ipv4
  exit-address-family
!
interface FastEthernet1/1
 no ip address
 vrf forwarding vrf-A
 ip address 10.4.8.149 255.255.255.0
 no shut
 exit
!
router bgp 45000
 network 172.17.1.0 mask 255.255.255.0
 neighbor 192.168.1.2 remote-as 40000
 neighbor 192.168.3.2 remote-as 50000
 address-family ipv4 vrf vrf-A
  import path selection all
  import path limit 3
  exit-address-family
 address-family vpnv4
  neighbor 192.168.1.2 activate
  neighbor 192.168.3.2 activate
  end

Additional References

Related Documents

Related Topic

Document Title

Cisco IOS commands

Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases

BGP commands

Cisco IOS IP Routing: BGP Command Reference

Standards

Standard

Title

No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.

--

MIBs

MIB

MIBs Link

No new or modified MIBs are supported by this feature, and support for existing MIBs has not been modified by this feature.

To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

RFCs

RFC

Title

No new or modified RFCs are supported by this feature, and support for existing RFCs has not been modified by this feature.

--

Technical Assistance

Description

Link

The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html

Feature Information for BGP Event-Based VPN Import

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Table 1 Feature Information for BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

BGP Event-Based VPN Import

Cisco IOS XE Release 2.6

Cisco IOS XE Release 3.3SG

The BGP Event-Based VPN Import feature introduces a modification to the existing Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) path import process. The enhanced BGP path import is driven by events; when a BGP path changes, all of its imported copies are updated as soon as processing is available. Convergence times are significantly reduced because there is no longer any delay in the propagation of routes due to the software waiting for a periodic scanner time interval before processing the updates. To implement the new processing, new command-line interface (CLI) commands are introduced.

The following commands were introduced or modified:

  • bgp scan-time
  • import path limit
  • import path selection
  • maximum-path ebgp
  • maximum-path ibgp
  • show ip bgp vpnv4
  • show ip bgp vpnv6

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

© 2012 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.