Virtual links OSPF from one area to the backbone through two differents areas.

Jun 05, 2012 4 Replies
A
Virtual links OSPF from one area to the backbone through two differents areas. open original image

Hi folks,



hope this is the right place to post my question. I'll try to be as concise as I can. I'm studying OSPF with dynamips/IOS and I have read many sources. So far I was told that virtual links can link areas to the bacbone (area 0) through one non-backbone area. The main purpose being the fact that this way the topology of the OSPF areas is always a star topology and hence loop free.



But what happens if I connect the same area to the backbone through two different areas?



Is this allowed? So far I haven't seen anything on such configuration. I'm playing with IOS and dynamips and I'm getting some weird results. But before moving forward with my questions I'd like to know if this is allowed in OSPF and supposed to work.



Thanks in advance,



Alex



P.S. I'm also aware that virtual links are a temporary solution ;)


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M

Hi, I think it is not allowed. You can have *one* transit area only.

However, you can get the same result with a daisy chain of ospf virtual links. It's interesting to try on dynamips!

Check this url for an in-depth explanation...

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A

I've just posted a comment on it since I have a small doubt. Hopefully somebody will reply and I don't know if anyone here agrees with my comment I left. Anyone willing?

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S

then you are not linking to the nearest backbone connection.

If that matters, then you need to think about your backbone + area structure - if you need to push past the topology required by the protocol it is a good indication that the design is sub optimal.

Since each aera needs to be linked to the backbone, you should be able to link by going through a single area.

There were some add on tinkering for OSPF ABR setups as a way to allow an ABR to keep on working when it loses its backbone connection - this makes resilience easier with some ABR setups.

The RFC might have something to say about transiting 2 areas.....

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