RFC 2260 (rfc2260) - Page 1 of 12
Scalable Support for Multi-homed Multi-provider Connectivity
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group T. Bates
Request for Comments: 2260 Cisco Systems
Category: Informational Y. Rekhter
Cisco Systems
January 1998
Scalable Support for Multi-homed Multi-provider Connectivity
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
2. Abstract
This document describes addressing and routing strategies for multi-
homed enterprises attached to multiple Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) that are intended to reduce the routing overhead due to these
enterprises in the global Internet routing system.
3. Motivations
An enterprise may acquire its Internet connectivity from more than
one Internet Service Provider (ISP) for some of the following
reasons. Maintaining connectivity via more than one ISP could be
viewed as a way to make connectivity to the Internet more reliable.
This way when connectivity through one of the ISPs fails,
connectivity via the other ISP(s) would enable the enterprise to
preserve its connectivity to the Internet. In addition to providing
more reliable connectivity, maintaining connectivity via more than
one ISP could also allow the enterprise to distribute load among
multiple connections. For enterprises that span wide geographical
area this could also enable better (more optimal) routing.
The above considerations, combined with the decreasing prices for the
Internet connectivity, motivate more and more enterprises to become
multi-homed to multiple ISPs. At the same time, the routing overhead
that such enterprises impose on the Internet routing system becomes
more and more significant. Scaling the Internet, and being able to
support a growing number of such enterprises demands mechanism(s) to
contain this overhead. This document assumes that an approach where
routers in the "default-free" zone of the Internet would be required
Bates & Rekhter Informational