Chapter 4. OSPF Network Design

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is one of the most widely deployed routing protocols in networks worldwide, stretching across markets from service provider, to Enterprise, to various government organizations. OSPF was standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as RFC 1131 and then updated through a series of RFCs:

RFC 1247 in 1991
RFC 1583 in 1994
RFC 2178 in 1997
RFC 2328 in 1998 (most recent)

A series of RFCs describes options and additional capabilities added to the protocols since its original specification, including RFC 3101, "The OSPF Not-So-Stubby Area (NSSA) Option."

NOTE

For more information on OSPF operation, see Appendix B, "OSPF Basics of Operation," and Routing TCP/IP Volume I, by Jeff Doyle, available through Cisco Press.

This chapter begins with coverage of summarization and aggregation in OSPF and then examines OSPF deployment in a three- and two-layer hierarchy. The chapter continues with coverage of some specific topologies, including dial-in links, hub-and-spoke networks, and full mesh networks. The chapter concludes with coverage of redistribution and other issues.

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