The BGP Table Version is the most unknown and unexplained BGP concept/value that I rarely ever troubleshoot without.

Seriously, I cannot imagine troubleshooting BGP without understanding the BGP table version.  I always “eyeball” it at the very least when I’m trying to troubleshoot anything at all related to BGP. It is a key part of my BGP goto tool kit! ….. And I’d like to take this chance to explain it to you so that you also can benefit from it!

Troubleshooting BGP

When people are troubleshooting BGP I see people “eyeballing” the up/down time for a BGP peer when they are troubleshooting.  And sometimes I see them quickly eyeball the InQ/OutQ columns.

But I rarely ever see anyone using the BGP table version.  And, honestly, I just can’t imagine not eyeballing all 4 of those –

• up/down & prefixes learned
• InQ
• OutQ
• BGP table version

It is these 4 that I use to give me the “whole picture” when I’m troubleshooting.

I’m going to break “Understanding the BGP Table Version” into 3 blogs – the first for introduction to it and then the 2nd to run debugs and see it “in action” more.  These blog posts will assume you have basic knowledge of BGP.

• Understanding the BGP Table Version – Part 1: Introduction
• Understanding the BGP Table Version – Part 2: BGP Table Version in Action
• Understanding the BGP Table Version – Part 3: BGP Table Version & Troubleshooting

Categories: BGP