Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification: OSPF ASBRs Explained And Illustrated

When I first started studying for my CCNP, some of the concepts of OSPF really confused me. This was especially true for the ASBR, stub areas, and total stub areas. Sure, I could memorize the LSA types associated with these devices and area types, but there just weren't any illustrations that explained exactly what was going on.This CCNP tutorial shows an ASBR in operation, and also introduces you to a basic example of route redistribution. Don't worry, it gets more complicated. :)Here's the network we'll be working with in this tutorial:R5|R1/ \R2 R3Networks:R1 - R5 Ethernet Segment: 10.1.1.0 /24R1 - R2 - R3 Serial Segment: 172.16.123.0 /24 (Preconfigured with OSPF)R1 and R5 are running RIP over their common Ethernet segment, 10.1.1.0 /24. R5 has three loopbacks it will be advertising into the RIP domain.R1 is also running OSPF, with R2 and R3 as neighbors. Even though R1 knows about the loopbacks on R5, its OSPF neighbors do not. R1 has these routes in its RIP routing table, and for OSPF neighbors to learn of these routes, route redistribution must be manually configured.R5#conf t R5(config)#router rip R5(config-router)#version 2 R5(config-router)#no auto-summary R5(config-router)#network 5.0.0.0 R5(config-router)#network 10.0.0.0R1#conf t R1(config)#router rip R1(config-router)#version 2 R1(config-router)#no auto-summary R1(config-router)#network 10.0.0.0R1#show ip route rip 5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets R 5.1.1.0 [120/1] via 10.1.1.5, 00:00:10, Ethernet0 R 5.2.1.0 [120/1] via 10.1.1.5, 00:00:10, Ethernet0 R 5.3.1.0 [120/1] via 10.1.1.5, 00:00:10, Ethernet0R1 has a route for all three of R5’s loopback interfaces, learned via RIP. R1 is also running OSPF, but its neighbors R2 and R3 don’t know about these RIP routes:R2#show ip route ospfR2# < no output from show command means no routes! >R3#show ip route ospfR3#Be careful when configuring redistribution use IOS Help to make sure you’re not missing any vital options. IOS Help shows that there is a “subnets” option when redistributing RIP into OSPF. If that is left off, only classful networks are redistributed (as the router is kind enough to tell us). In this case, we have no classful networks, so there will be no redistribution. R2 will not see the RIP routes.R1(config)#router ospf 1 R1(config-router)#redistribute rip ?metric Metric for redistributed routes metric-type OSPF/IS-IS exterior metric type for redistributed routes route-map Route map reference subnets Consider subnets for redistribution into OSPF tag Set tag for routes redistributed into OSPFR1(config-router)#redistribute rip % Only classful networks will be redistributedR2#show ip route ospfR2#clear ip route *R2#show ip route ospfR2#On R1, we’ll now use the “subnets” option, and the RIP subnets are successfully redistributed into OSPF.R1(config)#router ospf 1R1(config-router)#redistribute rip subnetsR2 now sees the redistributed routes.R2#show ip route ospf5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnetsO E2 5.1.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.123O E2 5.2.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.123O E2 5.3.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.12310.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnetsO E2 10.1.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.123Notice that the routes are marked as “E2”. The E indicates that these are external routes these are routes that were learned by OSPF via redistribution.Naturally, you’ll want to ping these networks to make sure you have two-way communication. Even though the routes to these loopbacks are in the routing table, pings fail:R2#ping 5.1.1.1Type escape sequence to abort.Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 5.1.1.1, timeout is 2 seconds:.....Success rate is 0 percent (0/5)Keep this in mind when troubleshooting: It’s not enough to have a route to a destination for pings to succeed there’s got to be a path back. At this point, R5 doesn’t know where the 172.12.123.0 network is, so there’s no way the ping can get back. More route redistribution is necessary on R1.Your first instinct may be to redistribute OSPF routes into RIP to make this work, but remember that the 172.12.123.0 /24 network isn’t known to R1 via OSPF it’s a directly connected network. We can redistribute connected networks into RIP to give R5 a route to 172.12.123.0 /24, which will give the ICMP packets a path back to R2, which will allow pings to succeed.R1(config)#router ripR1(config-router)#redistribute connectedR5#show ip route rip1.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnetsR 1.1.1.1 [120/1] via 10.1.1.1, 00:00:02, Ethernet0172.12.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnetsR 172.12.123.0 [120/1] via 10.1.1.1, 00:00:02, Ethernet0R2#ping 5.1.1.1Type escape sequence to abort.Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 5.1.1.1, timeout is 2 seconds:!!!!!Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 68/69/76 msPerforming this redistribution makes R1 an ASBR, as shown here with show ip ospf. This command even shows you what protocol(s) are being redistributed into OSPF.R1#show ip ospfRouting Process "ospf 1" with ID 1.1.1.1Supports only single TOS(TOS0) routesSupports opaque LSAIt is an autonomous system boundary routerRedistributing External Routes from,rip, includes subnets in redistributionKnowing exactly what the ASBR does and how to configure route redistribution are just a few of the many OSPF skills you'll need to earn your CCNP. Like any other Cisco skill, breaking a complex topic like OSPF down into smaller, manageable pieces is the best way to master these topics and pass the CCNP exams.Keep watching The Bryant Advantage website for more free CCNA and CCNP tutorials!To your success, Chris Bryant CCIE #12933 chris@thebryantadvantage.comChris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage. The Bryant Advantage offers dozens of FREE CCNA, CCNP, and Home Lab tutorials and articles. The Bryant Advantage sells the world's most comprehensive CCNA Study Guide, and my exclusive Binary Math and Subnetting Mastery book. My CCNA Online Fast Track is the world's fastest-growing CCNA course. Get your CCNA and CCNP today at http://www.thebryantadvantage.com

Chris Bryant