3/20/2021 IS-IS Route Leaking

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IS-IS Route Leaking Course Contents

IS-IS

IS-IS routers in a level 1 area only know the pre xes in their own area. If they want to
reach something in another area, they have to use a default route to a level 1-2 router. If Introduction to IS-IS

there are multiple level 1-2 routers, then IS-IS picks the closest level 1-2 router to exit Integrated IS-IS Con guration

the area. This sometimes causes sub-optimal routing. IS-IS Authentication

IS-IS DIS and Pseudonode

We can deal with this by leaking pre xes from level 2 into level 1. IS-IS Metric on Cisco IOS

IS-IS Redistribution
A level 1-2 router has access to the local area and also knows all pre xes because of its IS-IS Summarization
level 2 database. We can redistribute one or more pre xes from level 2 into the local IS-IS Filtering
area so that level 1 routers can select the most optimal path in the network. IS-IS Route Leaking

This is best explained with an example, so in this lesson, I’ll show you what route leaking
is and how it solves sub-optimal routing. This is the topology we will use:

We have a bunch of IS-IS routers. R8 has a loopback interface that we will try to reach
from R1. All interfaces are Gigabit Ethernet with the default metric of 10.

Configurations

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Want to take a look for yourself? Here you will nd the startup con guration of each
device.

R1
hostname R1
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.12.1 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.13.1 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0001.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R2
hostname R2
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.12.2 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.24.2 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0002.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R3

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hostname R3
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.13.3 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.35.3 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0003.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R4
hostname R4
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.24.4 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.47.4 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0004.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R5

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hostname R5
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.35.5 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.56.5 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0005.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R6
hostname R6
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.56.6 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.67.6 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0006.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R7

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hostname R7
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.47.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.67.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/3
ip address 192.168.78.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0007.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R8
hostname R8
!
ip cef
!
interface Loopback0
ip address 8.8.8.8 255.255.255.255
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.78.8 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0008.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

Let’s take a look at the routing table of R1:

R1#show ip route isis

i*L1 0.0.0.0/0 [115/10] via 192.168.13.3, 00:04:01,

GigabitEthernet0/2
i L1 192.168.24.0/24 [115/20] via 192.168.12.2, 00:04:21,
GigabitEthernet0/1
i L1 192.168.35.0/24 [115/20] via 192.168.13.3, 00:04:11,
GigabitEthernet0/2
i L1 192.168.47.0/24 [115/30] via 192.168.12.2, 00:04:11,
GigabitEthernet0/1

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R3 is the closest level 1-2 router for R1 so R1 generates a default route to R3. When we
try to reach 8.8.8.8, this is the path we use:

R1#traceroute 8.8.8.8
Type escape sequence to abort.
Tracing the route to 8.8.8.8
VRF info: (vrf in name/id, vrf out name/id)
1 192.168.13.3 5 msec 10 msec 5 msec
2 192.168.35.5 7 msec 11 msec 7 msec
3 192.168.56.6 11 msec 13 msec 16 msec
4 192.168.67.7 11 msec 16 msec 11 msec
5 192.168.78.8 12 msec 10 msec *

R1 uses R3 to get to 8.8.8.8. This makes sense since R3 is the closest level 1-2 router.To
reach any networks outside of area 1234, R1 will use the default route from R3. It’s not
the shortest path however since R6 is in between R5 and R7:

We can solve this by leaking information about 8.8.8.8/32 into area 1234. When R1 learns
about 8.8.8.8/32, it will no longer use the default route to reach this network.

On R4, we’ll con gure route leaking. You can use a distribute-list or a route-map to select
the networks you want to leak. I’ll use a route-map since it allows you to use named
access-lists. First, we create an access-list that matches 8.8.8.8/32:

R4(config)#ip access-list extended R8_L0

R4(config-ext-nacl)#permit ip host 8.8.8.8 any

And then we create a route-map that matches the access-list we just created:

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R4(config)#route-map ROUTE_LEAKING permit 10

R4(config-route-map)#match ip address R8_L0

Now we can con gure route leaking with the redistribute command:

R4(config)#router isis
R4(config-router)#redistribute isis ip level-2 into level-1 route-
map ROUTE_LEAKING

The command above tells R4 to leak level 2 pre xes into level 1 but only those that are
con gured in the route-map. Let’s take a look at R1:

R1#show ip route isis

i*L1 0.0.0.0/0 [115/10] via 192.168.13.3, 00:16:05,

GigabitEthernet0/2
8.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
i ia 8.8.8.8 [115/50] via 192.168.12.2, 00:00:41,
GigabitEthernet0/1
i L1 192.168.24.0/24 [115/20] via 192.168.12.2, 00:16:28,
GigabitEthernet0/1
i L1 192.168.35.0/24 [115/20] via 192.168.13.3, 00:16:28,
GigabitEthernet0/2
i L1 192.168.47.0/24 [115/30] via 192.168.12.2, 00:16:28,
GigabitEthernet0/1

Above we see an IS-IS “ia” (interarea) route for 8.8.8.8/32 via R2. This is the leaked route.
We can also see it in the level 1 link-state database:

R1#show isis database level-1 verbose R4.00-00

IS-IS Level-1 LSP R4.00-00

LSPID LSP Seq Num LSP Checksum LSP Holdtime
ATT/P/OL
R4.00-00 0x00000005 0xC9D0 1099
1/0/0
Area Address: 49.1234
NLPID: 0xCC
Hostname: R4
Metric: 10 IS R4.01
IP Address: 192.168.47.4
Metric: 10 IP 192.168.24.0 255.255.255.0
Metric: 10 IP 192.168.47.0 255.255.255.0
Metric: 30 IP-Interarea 8.8.8.8 255.255.255.255

Above we see the interarea route that was leaked into level 1. With this speci c entry, R1
will use the most optimal path to reach 8.8.8.8:

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R1#traceroute 8.8.8.8
Type escape sequence to abort.
Tracing the route to 8.8.8.8
VRF info: (vrf in name/id, vrf out name/id)
1 192.168.12.2 10 msec 4 msec 6 msec
2 192.168.24.4 5 msec 7 msec 7 msec
3 192.168.47.7 9 msec 10 msec 10 msec
4 192.168.78.8 7 msec 19 msec *

This is looking good. We now use R2 to get to our destination:

The last thing we need to discuss are routing loops. R4 redistributes 8.8.8.8/32 into area
1234 so R3 will also learn this pre x from R1.

What prevents R3 from redistributing 8.8.8.8/32 back into the level 2 database? When a
pre x is redistributed like this, the router that does the redistribution will set the
distribution up/down bit. For example, here’s the level 1 LSP from R4:

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IS-IS Route Leaking Redistribution up/down bit

Above we see that R4 is advertising 192.168.24.0/24, 192.168.47.0/24 and 8.8.8.8/32 in its

level 1 LSP. For 8.8.8.8/32 it has set the distribution bit to 1 (up). Another level 1-2 router
like R3 will never redistribute this back into the level 2 database.

Configurations
Want to take a look for yourself? Here you will nd the nal con guration of each device.

R1

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hostname R1
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.12.1 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.13.1 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0001.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R2
hostname R2
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.12.2 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.24.2 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0002.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R3

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hostname R3
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.13.3 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.35.3 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0003.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R4
hostname R4
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.24.4 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.47.4 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.1234.0000.0000.0004.00
log-adjacency-changes
redistribute isis ip level-2 into level-1 route-map ROUTE_LEAKING
!
ip access-list extended R8_L0
permit ip host 8.8.8.8 any
!
route-map ROUTE_LEAKING permit 10
match ip address R8_L0
!
end

R5

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hostname R5
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.35.5 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.56.5 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0005.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R6
hostname R6
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.56.6 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.67.6 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0006.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R7

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hostname R7
!
ip cef
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.47.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
ip address 192.168.67.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/3
ip address 192.168.78.7 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0007.00
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

R8
hostname R8
!
ip cef
!
interface Loopback0
ip address 8.8.8.8 255.255.255.255
ip router isis
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 192.168.78.8 255.255.255.0
ip router isis
!
router isis
net 49.5678.0000.0000.0008.00
is-type level-1
log-adjacency-changes
!
end

1. Conclusion
In this lesson, you have learned how to use route leaking to ensure level 1 routers pick
the most optimal path in the network:

level 1 routers generate a default route to the closest level 1-2 router to reach
pre xes outside of their own area.
level 1-2 routers can redistribute pre xes from level 2 to level 1 so that level 1
routes can choose the most optimal path.
pre xes that were redistributed from level 2 to level 1 have their distribution
up/down bit set to up so that they are not redistributed back into level 2 by
another level 1-2 router.

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« Previous Lesson
IS-IS Filtering

 Tags: IP Routing, Redistribution

Forum Replies

walidabdullah83

Hi Rene,

thanks a lot for your helpful explanation, I simulated your lab and found something that I need your explanation for it.

when I leaked 8.8.8.8 at R4, R2 calculated the metric of 8.8.8.8 with 168 as below:

R2#sh ip route isis 1

8.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
i ia 8.8.8.8 [115/168] via 192.168.24.4, 00:14:47, Ethernet0/2

although R4 calculated it with 30 :

R4#sh ip route isis

8.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
i L2 8.8.8.8 [115/30] via 192.168.47.7, 00:50:55, Ethernet0/1

the metric calculated with 40 at R2 when I con gured the

... Continue reading in our forum

ReneMolenaar

Hi Walid,

That’s a good question. I just booted this topology again and I see a metric of 40 on R2:

R2#show ip route isis

Gateway of last resort is 192.168.24.4 to network 0.0.0.0

i*L1 0.0.0.0/0 [115/10] via 192.168.24.4, 00:14:23, GigabitEthernet0/2

8.0.0.0/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
i ia 8.8.8.8 [115/40] via 192.168.24.4, 00:14:23, GigabitEthernet0/2
i L1 192.168.13.0/24 [115/20] via 192.168.12.1, 00:15:16, GigabitEthernet0/1
i L1 192.168.35.0/24 [115/30] via 192.168.12.1, 00:15:10, GigabitEthernet0/1
i L1 192.168.47.0

... Continue reading in our forum

lagapides

Hello Stuat

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Thanks for picking this up. You’re not being picky at all, we appreciate you bringing these things to our attention!

Laz

ReneMolenaar

Hi Stefanita,

I always appreciate it when people report errors Just xed this.

Rene

luis.fel.ortiz

Perfect thanks a lot

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