BGP

Chapter 8. Day-to-Day Operation of the Network

Finally! All the connections are in place, all the routers have been configured, all the BGP sessions are up, and lots of traffic is flowing. So now you can go back to doing your regular work, right? Don’t count on it. Few users of the network are familiar with the details of interdomain routing, so they’ll come to you whenever they can’t reach their favorite web site or when an email bounces. It’s possible to deter them by adopting a brusque demeanor, of course, but this will give you only temporary relief until the users counter this with unpleasant attitudes of their own. A better solution is to make sure you can quickly separate the problems you should deal with from the perceived problems that don’t exist, must be fixed by someone else, or just can’t be fixed and must be endured. Unfortunately, in all but the smallest organizations, even taking a quick look at all the potential problems users drop at your feet takes a serious amount of time. This is one of the three main reasons why it’s a good idea to create a Network Operations Center (NOC).

Another reason is the fact that you are now participating in the worldwide interdomain routing system. This means you should be reachable in case others want to notify you when there are problems that affect your network or, worse, originate there. The third reason may seem a bit silly, but it’s just as important: the fact that there is a dedicated part of the organization dealing with interdomain ...