Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

Hybrid protocol (both distance vector and link state features)

Works with AS
Uses metric = K-value
K-1 * 1 = Bandwidth
K-2 * 0 = Load
K-3 * 1 = Delay
K-4 * 0 = Reliability
K-5 * 0 = MTU
By default, K-1 and K-3 are multiplied by 1, meaning that by default K-1 and K-3 are being used
for metric calculation by default. Both K values are fixed. Other 3 K values are not fixed, that is
why these values are not used in calculating metric by default.
Formula for metric calculation:
Metric = (107/least BW (kbps) + cumulative delay/10) x 256
Fixed Delays:
Serial = 20,000
Ethernet = 10,000
FastEthernet = 1000
GigabitEthernet = 100
10 GigabitEthernet = 10
Only receiving port delay is calculated and all the port delays are aggregated into cumulative
delay.
Fixed Bandwidths:
Serial = 1544 kbps
Ethernet = 10,000 kbps
FastEthernet = 100,000 kbps
GigabitEthernet = 100,0000 kbps
Lease BW of the complete link is considered in the formula.
By default, max paths are 4 but can be extended to 16/32 for load balancing.
A.D Value = 90/170
Multicast IP address = 224.0.0.10
IP protocol no = 88
WILDCARD MASK:
12.0.0.0 0.255.255.255
0 means that the corresponding bits must match, while 255 means do not match
That means that all the IPs with 12 in the first octet will be considered and the last 3 octets will
be ignored.
12.1.1.0 0.0.0.255
IP with 12.1.1 in the first 3 octets will be considered and the last one will be ignored.
12.1.1.1 0.0.0.0
All the 4 octets will be considered.
As soon as the link is advertised in EIGRP, it will join multicast group 224.0.0.10 and will accept
all the packets coming with multicast IP address in the IP header and multicast MAC address in
the ethernet header.
By default, hop count limit = 100 which can be extended to 255.
By default, auto-summary is enabled.
Classless routing protocol means that routers will share their prefixes with subnet mask.
Classful routing protocol (like RIP) routers share their prefixes without subnet mask and
complete /8 pool.
With auto-summary on, EIGRP will summarize the routes automatically as /8 pool causing the
same issue as classful protocol. Hence, auto-summary which is enabled by default is turned off
and manual summarization is done.
Manual Summarization
First, the decimal form is converted into binary form of the first and the last IP of the series,
then all the common bits are considered while the remaining are made zero, then convert back
to decimal. CIDR value will be the number of bits that are common. Example follows, same bits
are highlighted which are 22.
10.1.1.0/24 00001010.00000001.00000001.00000000
10.1.2.0/24
10.1.3.0/24 00001010.00000001.00000011.00000000
BINARY: 10.1.0.0/22
It uses Dual Algorithm for Best Path Selection.
DUAL stands for Diffusing Update Algorithm. It has following components:
FD: Feasible Distance [Total metric from source to destination]
RD: Reported Distance [Metric from neighbor to destination]
FD/RD
Successor: Best Path
Feasible Successor: Backup Path

FD value calculated will be installed in the topology table as successor.

For a path to become feasible successor, RD should be less than FD of the successor.
When successor gets down, feasible success takes its place as the routing path.
Feasible successor is installed in the topology table only and will be installed in the routing table
only when the successor information is removed from the routing table after the neighborship
is broken from the neighbor table.
Since, EIGRP keeps information of the feasible successor (backup path) in its topology table, its
convergence is the fastest among all the routing protocols.
Table Types:
1. Topology table
2. Neighbor table
3. Routing table
After a network is advertised on a router, it will share its prefix with its neighbor via a multicast
msg with a sequence no and will wait for SRTT time for the acknowledgment. If
acknowledgement is not received then the router will share the prefix again, this time unicast
with the same sequence no and will wait for RTO time. If the acknowledge is still not received,
16 unicast msgs will be sent, each after RTO time duration ultimately breaking the
neighborship. There is a Q count, which becomes 1 when the acknowledgement is received and
remains 0 if not. By default, Q count is 0.
Calculation of SRTT and RTO time (NULL UPDATE):
As soon the neighborship is developed between the routers, R1 sends a NULL UPDATE msg to
its neighbor with a sequence no 1. Neighbor R2 will then send acknowledgement in the form of
its UPDATE NULL msg with acknowledgement no 1 and its own sequence no 1. R1 will in return
send acknowledgement to R2 with acknowledgement no 1. In this way, both the routers will
send NULL UPDATE msgs and will get their respective acknowledgements, hence they will
calculate the time in which the acknowledgement is received and store that time as SRTT
(Smooth Round Trip Time). RTO time is calculated by multiplying certain figure with the SRTT.
NULL update is named so, because there is no update of any sort in it. Acknowledgement and
NULL update in one msg is called piggy back acknowledgement. NULL UPDATE is unicast msg.
Query Message:
When a link connected with a router gets down, it sends a Query msg to its neighbor which
informs that the link (prefix) previously shared by it is no longer active. Before sharing, the
router removes that prefix from its topology table and change the prefix state from Passive to
Active in its routing table. In response, the neighbor also removes the prefix from its topology
table. Query msg is sent with MAX DELAY (called ROUTE POISON) and 0 BW containing the
prefix that has gone down. Neighbor then sends back acknowledgement to the Query msg
sender router to acknowledge that it has received the query msg.
Query msg also asks the neighboring router if there is any other alternative path to that prefix
available in its topology table that was not shared by the sender router. If there is any other
alternative route present to that prefix, the neighbor will send a positive reply otherwise it will
send a negative reply. The router will wait for 180 sec for the reply and if reply not received
within the given time, the prefix state will be changed to SIA (Stuck in Active), meaning that
router will break the neighborship with its neighbor.
Types of Neighborship
Dynamic Neighborship is formed by as soon as the links are advertised on the interfaces.
Multicast update msgs.
Static Neighborship is formed by manually telling the neighbor on the interface after
advertising the links on the interfaces. Unicast update msgs.
In order to make neighborship, both routers will have with static and dynamic neighborships.
Router running static neighborship will break neighborship with the neighbor running dynamic
neighborship and vice versa.
Topologies
Full Mesh Topology is where all the routers are neighbors of each other.
Hub-Spoke Topology is where all the routers are neighbors of each other instead all the spoke
routers are neighbors of the hub router.
Split Horizon
Split Horizon is a loop avoidance mechanism in distance vector routing protocols (RIP & EIGRP)
that is enabled by default. Split Horizon bounds the prefixes that are shared by the routers with
their neighbors. The information that is bounded by the split horizon is:
1. The prefix configured on the interface through which the update msg is sent is not
included in the update msg.
2. Any prefix received on a certain interface will never be advertised from that same
interface.
IP Next Hop Self Rule
When router shares its prefix with its neighbor, it will share the IP of the interface via which the
prefix is being advertised as the next hop. Neighbor will add the route in its routing table via the
same next hop.