[ixpmanager] arouteserver vs IXP Manager

[Barry O'Donovan (INEX)]

Nishal Goburdhan via ixpmanager wrote on 01/05/2023 16:14:
>> I have read a little about route collectors. Am I correct in
>> understanding that they are the same as a route server, except they
>> are input only? And everyone peers with them? Do you get any push
>> back on that requirement from bilateral only networks?
> 
> loosely speaking that’s correct.  a route collector usually does not
> advertise anything.  (in some cases, a route collector might
> advertise a single, unused prefix, just so you know that the BGP
> session is _actually_ working, but who has IPv4 to waste these days?
> :-))

Indeed! A long time ago we used to advertise a prefix on it but it was, 
to quote Nick, a bit ghetto.

Now we have an explicit 'export none;' in the config - e.g.

https://github.com/inex/IXP-Manager/blob/master/data/ci/known-good/ci-apiv4-b2-rc1-lan1-ipv4.conf#L444


As for push-back, at INEX peering with the route collector is part of 
our MoU so it's a requirement of membership. We don't get push-back but 
like Nichal mentions, there's always an element of work in ensuring all 
members keep their sessions up.

In production, we use the route collector for, among other things:

- monitoring (sessions up? very useful for pre- and post-maintenance 
comparison);

- we take a nightly snapshot of all routes for historical purposes;

- troubleshooting, route diagnostics from member and other queries.


We also have a quarantine process and the same config generation creates 
an identical route collector on our quarantine LAN (same IP, same MAC, 
same config). We use this for bringing up new members (or for assisting 
members with issues where it's prudent to bounce them into quarantine).

As part of onboarding, we check prefixes, etc and when we bounce the LAN 
from quarantine to production, the new member just sees the quarantine 
collector session reset.

  - barry



> we generally don’t get pushback.  sometimes, you will run into
> someone that doesn’t understand why this is helpful, and for those
> occasions, it helps to have a FAQ ready [1].  it also helps if the
> route-collector ASN is _different_ to the route-servers ASN so that,
> once again, there is a mental divide between the different services;
> especially for large operators that might be uncomfortable with route
> servers.  getting folks to _keep_ their sessions up, however, is
> another exercise  :-/
> 
> the ixpmanager docs on route collector setup is here:
> https://docs.ixpmanager.org/features/route-collectors/
> 
> -n.
> 
> [1] here’s ours:
> https://support.inx.net.za/en/kb/article/why-do-you-want-me-to-peer-with-the-route-collector
>
> 
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-- 

Kind regards,
Barry O'Donovan
INEX Operations

https://www.inex.ie/support/
+353 1 531 3339