OSPF Type5 Message / LSAck Packet (Link State Acknowledgment)

Finally, Acknowledgements are needed once the LSR/LSU (request/reply) process is complete. Type5 OSPF Packets are used for this purpose which are called LSAck (Link State Acknowledgment). Consider the simple below topology with two Routers: After LSU’s, LSAck’s are sent as a confirmation message. It is obvious from the below detail, spend some time with it to understand it fully:  

OSPF Type3 Message / LSR Packet (Link State Request)

LSR (Link State Request / Type3 OSPF Packets) is simply a request as obvious from its name. After DBD phase for first time, routers keep on sending LSR to keep the LSDB in sync.     Consider the simple below topology with two Routers: After the Hello & DBD, Requests are made from Routers to query the missing Database Parts. It is obvious from the below detail, spend some time with it to understand it fully:    

OSPF Type2 Message / DBD Packet (Database Descriptor)

DBD (Database Description or Type2 OSPF Packet) is a sort of summary of the OSPF Database in a router. DBD is used to check if the LSDB between 2 routers is the same. These packets are exchanged when an adjacency is being initialized. They describe the topology information a router has in its database. DBD uses poll-response procedure (master/slave). Master sends DBD packets/polls which are acknowledged by the slave.       Consider the simple below topology with two Routers: As soon as we enable OSPF on the router interfaces, it starts exchanging Hello and DBD Packets. It is obvious Read More …

OSPF Type1 Message / Hello Packet

Hello packet, also called Type1 OSPF Packet, is a special packet/message that is sent out periodically from a router to establish and confirm network adjacency relationships. These packets are sent periodically on all interfaces in order to establish and maintain neighbor relationships. Hello Packets contain different parameters including Network mask, Hello Interval and Router Dead Interval,…. These parameters are needed to form neighbor relationships. All routers connected to a common network (NBMA,…) must agree on certain parameters. Below is the detailed description of Hello Packet & its fields:   Below is description of fields in the OSPF Hello Packet:   Read More …

OSPF Packet Formats

There are different OSPF Packet Types which are used for different purposes. OSPF has five types of Packets. OSPF uses its own protocol and doesn’t use a transport protocol like TCP or UDP. It uses IP Protocol 89. Let us have a detailed look into each type of Packet now. Below is a general view of OSPF Packet. When changing from one type to another in above five categories, just the TYPE & DATA fields are changed. This is how it will look when we deep dive into the packet itself.   Below are the five types of Packets in detail Read More …