Learn to advertise a default route in BGP with default information originate and per-neighbor default originate. Use redistributing static and prefix-list filtering to control which defaults are advertised.

Explore administrative distance in BGP versus IGP, differentiate internal and external routes, and learn to tweak AD with distance commands and redistribution to steer routing.

Configure VRF lite by creating VRF definitions and VRF apps, assign interfaces, and run BGP within each VRF to isolate routing tables across IPv4 and IPv6 address families.

Apply route-maps to BGP neighbors to filter prefixes using ACLs or prefix lists; understand inbound vs outbound ordering and route-map versus ACL logic to control which prefixes enter routing table.

Explore filtering BGP updates with filter lists and regex, covering inbound and outbound order, route maps, prefix and distribute lists, and AS-path matching to permit or deny prefixes.

Apply per-neighbor prefix lists in BGP to block 192.168.5.0/24 through /32 inbound and permit all other prefixes; mirror the filter for outbound and follow the inbound order of operations.

Filter BGP prefixes with distribute lists, applying ACLs or prefix lists inbound or outbound, globally or per neighbor, to control routes in the BGP table.

Master redistributing between OSPF and BGP using route maps to selectively inject loopback and connected routes, adjust metrics, and maintain reachability across iBGP and eBGP neighbors.

Explore redistributing RIP version 2 into BGP and back, using route maps to prevent loopback redistribution, tune metrics and hop counts, and troubleshoot with access lists.

Explore redistribution between IRP and BGP, using route maps to exclude loopback0 and stabilize reachability. See how metrics and mutual redistribution enable full reachability across the network.

Learn how bidirectional forwarding detection detects link failures and reports to routing protocols, enabling millisecond convergence and rapid failover in BGP and other protocols.

Enable BGP MD5 authentication by configuring a per-neighbor password. Ensure the password is carried in the TCP header so the adjacency forms only after successful authentication.

Explore how BGP peer groups template shared attributes, outbound and inbound policies, and remote autonomous system, then apply them to multiple neighbors for efficient, scalable adjacencies.

Explore how BGP templates split session and policy to manage neighbors more efficiently, with inheritance across sessions and templates, improving scalability beyond traditional peer groups.

Control bgp adjacencies by designating active or passive tcp sessions. Use transport connection mode to force who initiates the tcp handshake and verify with show tcp brief.

Explain the BGP neighbor states from idle to established, focusing on TCP port 179 handshakes, phase one TCP reachability, and open/keepalive exchanges that form adjacencies.

Explore bgp timers for ibgp and ebgp, including keepalive, hold downtime, and advertise interval shaping adjacency. Learn how defaults and per neighbor settings influence timer negotiation.

Learn to configure dynamic neighbors in BGP using a peer group and listen range to automatically form adjacencies in hub-and-spoke networks.

Explores the differences between iBGP and eBGP, including the split horizon rule, and shows how to fix it with full mesh, route reflectors, or confederations, plus next-hop self concepts.

Discover the four-byte ASN, its ~4.2 billion range beyond the two-byte space, ace and ace dot notation, and how open messages use a compatibility field and new-path for legacy devices.