Networking / Beginners

IP Address Management

The key to a successful hierarchical network structure is proper IP address management. If addresses are assigned appropriately, it is possible to summarize routing information. The two significant reasons to summarize routes follows:

  • Summarization localizes the effects of topology changes and thus contributes to network stability.
  • Summarization reduces the amount of routing information that is carried by all routers.

These reasons simplify network administration and troubleshooting, in addition to reducing the resources that are consumed by the routing protocol (CPU, memory, and so on).

TIP Each area used by OSPF or integrated IS-IS should have a contiguous set of network or subnet numbers assigned to it. The area border routers should summarize that set of addresses with an address mask. Summarization provides substantial benefits for your network.

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In this tutorial:

  1. OSPF Basics
  2. What Is a Routing Protocol?
  3. Basic Routing Protocol Operation
  4. Link-State Versus Distance Vector Routing Protocols
  5. Link-State Routing Protocols
  6. OSPF Characteristics
  7. Integrated Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System
  8. Distance Vector Routing Protocols
  9. Selecting a Routing Protocol
  10. Operational Considerations
  11. Protocols Supported
  12. Routing Hierarchies
  13. IP Address Management
  14. IP Encapsulation Support
  15. Technical Considerations
  16. Routing Updates
  17. Scalability
  18. Business Considerations
  19. SPF Overview
  20. OSPF Routing Hierarchy
  21. Hierarchical Network Design Techniques
  22. Routing Types Within an OSPF Network
  23. External Routes
  24. OSPF Areas
  25. Characteristics of a Standard OSPF Area
  26. Stub Areas
  27. Not-So-Stubby Areas
  28. OSPF Operational Environment
  29. Types of OSPF Routers
  30. OSPF Network Types
  31. Router Identification
  32. Neighbors
  33. Adjacencies