Stability Analysis of Path-vector Routing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a systematic analytical framework with stability metrics to evaluate the local stability of path-vector routing protocols like BGP, moving beyond ad-hoc empirical analyses.

Contribution

It defines new stability metrics and proposes a method for analyzing BGP stability effects on local routers systematically.

Findings

New stability metrics for path-vector routing

Method for analyzing BGP policy-induced instability

Framework for systematic BGP stability analysis

Abstract

Most studies on path-vector routing stability have been conducted empirically by means of ad-hoc analysis of BGP data traces. None of them consider prior specification of an analytic method including the use of stability measurement metrics for the systematic analysis of BGP traces and associated meta-processing for determining the local state of the routing system. In this paper, we define a set of metrics that characterize the local stability properties of path-vector routing such as BGP (Border Gateway Protocol). By means of these stability metrics, we propose a method to analyze the effects of BGP policy- and protocol-induced instability on local routers.