BGP Timers

BGP uses two timers to manage protocol functions:

• Keepalive Default is 60 seconds. The keepalive timer is the maximum amount of time a BGP router will let pass between routing updates.

• Hold-down Default is 180 seconds. The hold-down timer is the maximum amount of time a BGP route will hold the route in its table after the keepalive timer has passed with no update.

The amount of time for routing updates, keepalive, and hold-down is negotiated between BGP peers upon session initialization. In the absence of a timer, the defaults are used. These timers may be manually configured; however, the BGP router will use the lower value discovered during session negotiation.