Central Routing Algorithm: An Alternative Solution to Avoid Mesh Topology in iBGP

This paper presents a novel and efficient algorithm to implement Central Routing (CR) as an alternative to the existing approaches to avoid full mesh topology in internal border gateway protocol (iBGP). BGP is a key protocol to exchange routing information within an Autonomous System (AS) and among various ASes. All the routers inside an AS have to be connected in full mesh topology to run iBGP protocol to make discoveries such as the selection of root node and the exchange of information. A full mesh topology becomes cumbersome and hard to manage as a network grows. For large networks alternatives to a full mesh topology are available such as route reflectors and BGP confederation at the cost of increased overheads and the possibility of network inconsistencies. The concept of CR is an alternative solution, where the root node in an AS is responsible for all the control and management operations such as maintaining routing tables and calculating paths. The proposed CR based scheme has been implemented through simulations and the results prove CR to be a successful alternative of route reflectors and BGP confederation.