A management system for Internet routing using the OSPF LSA

Improved network reliability is a key concern for the Internet and corporate networks built on Internet technology. VPN operators, including Internet service providers and corporate networks, must be able to monitor the network services they provide to their users in order to quickly detect link or equipment problems and improve the reliability of their networks. The conventional approach to network monitoring, using SNMP and ICMP, tests whether another location can be reached from the monitoring terminal. But the delivery of user packets within the network is hindered not only by link or equipment failures, but also by mistaken routing information, which can effectively make the destination unreachable. For this reason, network monitoring also requires routing‐information monitoring, in addition to link and equipment monitoring. In this paper, we consider OSPF routing information within an autonomous system operated by a single organization, and propose and implement a routing information monitoring system. Our implementation connects to multiple networks and measures the stability of routing information on each network, considered an important indicator in monitoring routing information. It also detects routing‐information problems that cannot be measured using conventional network‐monitoring techniques, and by addressing those problems, contributes to improved network reliability. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 89(10): 46–53, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20278