Dynamic Routing Protocol Basics

Three routing protocols are supported in pfSense® software using the FRR package:

  • BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)

  • OSPF (Open Shortest Path First v2, for IPv4).

  • OSPF6 (Open Shortest Path First v3, for IPv6).

An in depth discussion of routing protocols is outside the scope of this documentation.

All of the supported dynamic routing protocols are handled by the FRR package. To install FRR:

  • Navigate to System > Package Manager

  • Click Available Packages

  • Locate FRR in the list, or search for it

  • Click the fa-plus Install to the right of the FRR package entry.

  • Click fa-check Confirm

  • Wait for the installation to complete

  • Navigate to Services > FRR Global/Zebra

BGP

The FRR package documentation contains a basic BGP example which can be used as the basis for most common configurations.

The general form of configuration for FRR BGP is:

  • Add a route map to allow routes to be filtered

  • Configure the BGP options for the local AS

  • Add neighbors

OSPF

The FRR package documentation contains a basic OSPF example which can be used as the basis for most common configurations.

The general form of configuration for OSPF in FRR is:

  • Add interfaces as needed, with local interfaces being marked passive, and those facing other OSPF routers as active.

  • Configure the general settings as needed with the router ID, area ID, and so on.

See also

OpenVPN Site-to-Site with Multi-WAN and OSPF contains an example configuration of OSPF.

OSPF6

The FRR package documentation contains a basic OSPF6 example which can be used as the basis for most common configurations.

The general form of configuration for OSPF6 in FRR is:

  • Add interfaces as needed, with local interfaces being marked passive, and those facing other OSPF6 routers as active.

  • Configure the general settings as needed with the router ID, area ID, and so on.