BLADE OS™ Application Guide HP GbE2c Ethernet Blade Switch for c-Class BladeSystem Version 5.1 Advanced Functionality Software

Table Of Contents
BMD00113, September 2009 191
CHAPTER 12
OSPF
BLADE OS supports the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol. The BLADE OS
implementation conforms to the OSPF version 2 specifications detailed in Internet RFC 1583. The
following sections discuss OSPF support for the HP GbE2c Ethernet Blade Switch (GbE2c):
“OSPF Overview” on page 191. This section provides information on OSPF concepts, such as
types of OSPF areas, types of routing devices, neighbors, adjacencies, link state database,
authentication, and internal versus external routing.
“OSPF Implementation in BLADE OS” on page 196. This section describes how OSPF is
implemented in BLADE OS, such as configuration parameters, electing the designated router,
summarizing routes, defining route maps and so forth.
“OSPF Configuration Examples” on page 206. This section provides step-by-step instructions
on configuring different configuration examples:
Creating a simple OSPF domain
Creating virtual links
Summarizing routes
OSPF Overview
OSPF is designed for routing traffic within a single IP domain called an Autonomous System (AS).
The AS can be divided into smaller logical units known as areas.
All routing devices maintain link information in their own Link State Database (LSDB). The LSDB
for all routing devices within an area is identical but is not exchanged between different areas. Only
routing updates are exchanged between areas, thereby significantly reducing the overhead for
maintaining routing information on a large, dynamic network.
The following sections describe key OSPF concepts.