16

Routing Protocols

16.1 Routing Protocols Overview

Routing protocols give the ZyWALL routing information about the network from other routers. The ZyWALL stores this routing information in the routing table it uses to make routing decisions. In turn, the ZyWALL can also use routing protocols to propagate routing information to other routers. See Section 6.6 on page 114 for related information on the RIP and OSPF screens.

Routing protocols are usually only used in networks using multiple routers like campuses or large enterprises.

16.1.1What You Can Do in this Chapter

•Use the RIP screen (see Section 16.2 on page 364) to configure the ZyWALL to use RIP to receive and/or send routing information.

•Use the OSPF screen (see Section 16.3 on page 365) to configure general OSPF settings and manage OSPF areas.

•Use the OSPF Area Add/Edit screen (see Section 16.3.2 on page 372) to create or edit an OSPF area.

16.1.2What You Need to Know

The ZyWALL supports two standards, RIP and OSPF, for routing protocols. RIP and OSPF are compared here and discussed further in the rest of the chapter.

Table 86 RIP vs. OSPF

 

RIP

OSPF

Network Size

Small (with up to 15 routers)

Large

 

 

 

Metric

Hop count

Bandwidth, hop count, throughput,

 

 

round trip time and reliability.

 

 

 

Convergence

Slow

Fast

 

 

 

Finding Out More

See Section 16.4 on page 374 for background information on routing protocols.

 

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ZyWALL USG 2000 User’s Guide