Setting Up OSPF Routing

To enable OSPF (OSPF RFC2328) routing, you must:

  • Specify at least one topology on which OSPF is enabled on the Port Settings option of the OSPF tab. This is the interface on which you can establish OSPF adjacency.
  • Enable OSPF globally on the controller.
  • Define the global OSPF parameters.

Ensure that the OSPF parameters defined here for the controller are consistent with the adjacent routers in the OSPF area. This consistency includes the following:

  • If the peer router has different timer settings, the protocol timer settings in the controller must be changed to match to achieve OSPF adjacency.
  • The MTU of the ports on either end of an OSPF link must match. The MTU for ports on the controller is fixed at 1500. This matches the default MTU in standard routers. The maximum MTU can be increased to 1800 bytes by enabling Jumbo Frames support (for more information, see Setting Up the Data Ports).

It is important to ensure that the MTU of the ports on either end of an OSPF link match. If there is a mismatch in the MTU, then the OSPF adjacency between the controller and the neighboring router might not get established.

To Set OSPF Routing Global Settings on the controller:

  1. From the top menu, click Controller.
  2. In the left pane, click Network > Routing Protocols. The Static Routes tab is displayed by default.
  3. Click the OSPF tab.
    Click to expand in new window
    Graphics/routing_protocols_ospf.jpg
  4. From the OSPF Status drop-down list, click On to enable OSPF.

    In the Router ID box, type the IP address of the controller. This ID must be unique across the OSPF area. If left blank, the OSPF daemon automatically picks a router ID from one of the controller‘s interface IP addresses.

  5. In the Area ID box, type the area. 0.0.0.0 is the main area in OSPF.
  6. In the Area Type drop-down list, click one of the following:
    • Default — The default acts as the backbone area (also known as area zero). It forms the core of an OSPF network. All other areas are connected to it, and inter-area routing happens via a router connected to the backbone area.
    • Stub — The stub area does not receive external routes. External routes are defined as routes which were distributed in OSPF via another routing protocol. Therefore, stub areas typically rely on a default route to send traffic routes outside the present domain.
    • Not-so-stubby — The not-so-stubby area is a type of stub area that can import autonomous system (AS) external routes and send them to the default/backbone area, but cannot receive AS external routes from the backbone or other areas.
  7. To save your changes, click Save.

    To Set OSPF Routing Port Settings on the Controller:

  8. In the left pane, click Network > Routing Protocols.
  9. Click the OSPF tab.
  10. To add a new OSPF interface, click New or select a port to configure by clicking on the desired port in the Port Settings table.
    The Edit Port dialog displays.
    Click to expand in new window
    Graphics/Edit_port.jpg
  11. In the Link Cost box, type the OSPF standard value for your network for this port. This is the cost of sending a data packet on the interface. The lower the cost, the more likely the interface is to be used to forward data traffic.
    Note

    Note

    If more than one port is enabled for OSPF, it is important to prevent the controller from serving as a router for other network traffic (other than the traffic from wireless device users on routed topologies controlled by the controller). For more information, see Policy Rules.
  12. In the Authentication drop-down list, click the authentication type for OSPF on your network: None or Password. The default setting is None.
  13. If Password is selected as the authentication type, in the Password box, type the password.

    If None is selected as the Authentication type, leave this box empty. This password must match on either end of the OSPF connection.

  14. Type the following:
    • Hello-Interval — Specifies the time in seconds (displays OSPF default).The default setting is 10 seconds.
    • Dead-Interval — Specifies the time in seconds (displays OSPF default). The default setting is 40 seconds.
    • Retransmit-Interval — Specifies the time in seconds (displays OSPF default). The default setting is 5 seconds.
    • Transmit Delay— Specifies the time in seconds (displays OSPF default). The default setting is 1 second.
  15. To save your changes, click Save.

    To Confirm That Ports Are Set for OSPF:

  16. To confirm that the ports are set up for OSPF, and that advertised routes from the upstream router are recognized, click View Forwarding Table. The Forwarding Table is displayed.

    The following additional reports display OSPF information when the protocol is in operation:

    • OSPF Neighbor — Displays the current neighbors for OSPF (routers that have interfaces to a common network)
    • OSPF Linkstate — Displays the Link State Advertisements (LSAs) received by the currently running OSPF process. The LSAs describe the local state of a router or network, including the state of the router‘s interfaces and adjacencies.
  17. To update the display, click Refresh.