Managing Your OSPF Network | OSPF Network Design Solutions

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The excerpt that follows is straight from RFC 1850 and details the procedure on how to configure a router for OSPF using the OSPF MIBs. This excerpt should provide you with what you need to know before you start and with the default OSPF values when it is started.

“OSPF is a powerful routing protocol, equipped with features to handle virtually any configuration requirement that might reasonably be found within an Autonomous System. With this power comes a fair degree of complexity, which the sheer number of objects in the MIB will attest to. Care has therefore been taken, in constructing this MIB, to define default values for virtually every object, to minimize the amount of parameterization required in the typical case. That default configuration is as follows:

Assuming the following conditions:

• IP has already been configured

• The ifTable has already been configured

• ifSpeed is estimated by the interface drivers

• The OSPF Process automatically discovers all IP

• Interfaces and creates corresponding OSPF Interfaces

• The TOS 0 metrics are autonomously derived from ifSpeed

• The OSPF Process automatically creates the Areas required for the Interfaces

The simplest configuration of an OSPF process requires that the OSPF process be enabled. This can be accomplished with a single SET: ospfAdminStat := enabled.

The configured system will have the following attributes:

• The RouterID will be one of the IP addresses of the device

• The device will be neither an area border router nor an autonomous system border router.

• Every IP Interface, with or without an address, will be an OSPF Interface.

• The AreaID of each interface will be 0.0.0.0, the backbone.

• Authentication will be disabled

• All broadcast and point-to-point interfaces will be operational. NBMA Interfaces require the configuration of at least one neighbor.

• Timers on all direct interfaces will be as follows:

• Hello Interval: 10 seconds

• Dead Timeout: 40 Seconds

• Retransmission: 5 Seconds

• Transit Delay: 1 Second

• Poll Interval: 120 Seconds

• No direct links to hosts will be configured.

• No addresses will be summarized

• Metrics, being a measure of bit duration, are unambiguous and intelligent.

• No Virtual Links will be configured.”

Additional Resources on OSPF MIBs

Finding additional resources that deal specifically with OSPF MIBs can be tricky because it is a very specific topic. However, there are a few resources that are very helpful, such as the following RFCs:

• RFC1850: OSPF v2 Management Information Base

• RFC2178: OSPF v2

The Entrance of Remote Monitoring (RMON) Technology

Even though SNMP and proprietary MIBs were a dramatic improvement over earlier management capabilities, more could be done to increase the information provided to the network managers while reducing impact to network bandwidth.

The next generation of network management began in 1992 with the development of remote monitoring (RMON) technology (RFC 1271) to proactively monitor Ethernet networks. RMON is now covered by RFC 1757, which combines 1271 with the RFC standard for Token Ring (RFC 1513). RMON2, continuing development of this technology, was introduced via RFC 2021 in February 1997, to provide more detailed information regarding protocol and application utilization. RMON will be covered in more depth in Chapter 12, “Future Network Considerations.”

Chapter Summary

This chapter discussed and proved the importance of consistent network management. We discussed the more commonly developed and deployed network management models. The first section briefly covered a few tools, some free of charge, that are available to assist you in managing your OSPF network.

The second section, “Simple Network Management Protocol,” covered the use of SNMP and how it fits into today’s complex networks as the de facto network management standard. This coverage included components found within an SNMP managed network such as the Network Management System (NMS), managed devices, and their SNMP agents. This section also covered SNMP’s operation, commands, and the various messages used by SNMP to communicate with the devices in the network.

The third part of this chapter, “Management Information Bases (MIBs)” discussed the powerful tools known as MIBs and the role they play in network management. We were able to pull back the curtain a bit to see how MIBs are used by Network Management Systems to retrieve information from network devices. We also broke down the available OSPF MIBs and discussed how they can be used to find out important OSPF information on how and what it is doing within a router. We also discussed how the OSPF MIB has been designed with giving network managers the ability to quickly configure OSPF on routers. This information was provided directly from RFC 1850.

In conclusion, this chapter has covered how important proper network management is to any network. We have peeled back the onion in many places to understand how network management is actually being performed over the network through SNMP and its various features.

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