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RFC 4271: A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4)

Still current, but amended. Parts of this document are changed or extended by RFC 4724, RFC 6286, RFC 6608, RFC 6793, RFC 7606, RFC 7607, RFC 7705, RFC 8212, RFC 8654, RFC 9072, RFC 9687, RFC 9774. Read both.

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

This document discusses the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which is an inter-Autonomous System routing protocol. The primary function of a BGP speaking system is to exchange network reachability information with other BGP systems. This network reachability information includes information on the list of Autonomous Systems (ASes) that reachability information traverses. This information is sufficient for constructing a graph of AS connectivity for this reachability from which routing loops may be pruned, and, at the AS level, some policy decisions may be enforced. BGP-4 provides a set of mechanisms for supporting Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR). These mechanisms include support for advertising a set of destinations as an IP prefix, and eliminating the concept of network "class" within BGP. BGP-4 also introduces mechanisms that allow aggregation of routes, including aggregation of AS paths. This document obsoletes RFC 1771. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Document record

Document ID
RFC4271
Published
January 2006
Authors
Y. Rekhter; T. Li; S. Hares
Status
DRAFT STANDARD
Stream
IETF
Area
rtg
Pages
104
Also known as
—
Obsoletes:
RFC 1771
Updated by:
RFC 4724, RFC 6286, RFC 6608, RFC 6793, RFC 7606, RFC 7607, RFC 7705, RFC 8212, RFC 8654, RFC 9072, RFC 9687, RFC 9774

Topics

Standards lineage

This document is one revision in a chain of 3 RFCs, each formally replacing the one before it.

  1. RFC 1654 (1994)
  2. RFC 1771 (1995)
  3. RFC 4271 (2006)

Read the full history of A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4) →

Referenced by

12 later RFCs formally update or obsolete part of this document.

Related documents

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About this page

The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

Last checked against the RFC Editor index on . RFCs are never revised after publication; changes are issued as new documents.

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canonical URL: /rfc/4271-a-border-gateway-protocol-4-bgp-4