Bay Networks 5390, Administering, Page: 262 / 888

A12-4 893-741-B
Internet Protocol (IP) Routing
Choosing Passive or Active RIP
The Model 5390 server can run passive RIP alone, or both passive and active RIP. When running
only passive RIP, the Model 5390 server revises its routing table based on the routing updates it
receives, but does not broadcast updates itself. When configured for active RIP, the Model 5390
server acts as a full router: it not only listens for updates but also broadcasts them every 30 seconds.
Using only passive RIP is appropriate when:
• Your network is small and does not connect to other networks. In this case, you can configure
any necessary routing information by defining static routes. Static routes are routes you enter
yourself, as opposed to those RIP learns over the network.
• Your network is large but has only one gateway to the other networks you need to access. In
this case, you can save the overhead of broadcasting updates over all nodes. Instead, you can
use passive RIP, configure static routes where needed, and define the gateway to other networks
as the default route. The Model 5390 server will use the default route if it knows no other route
to a given destination.
In most other situations, active RIP is more useful than passive RIP.
Initially, only passive RIP is running on the Model 5390 server, while active RIP is an added option.
Two Model 5390 configuration parameters,
routed and option_key , control whether or not RIP is
enabled on the Model 5390 server and, if so, whether it is active or passive. The routed parameter
controls whether any kind of RIP is enabled, and the option_key controls whether or not active RIP
is enabled. Initially, routed is set to Y and the option_key value for active RIP is not set. This
combination enables passive RIP only. See Enabling and Disabling Passive RIP on page A12-21
for information on setting routed ; see Enabling and Disabling Active RIP on page A12-47 for
information about setting option_key .
NOTE:
If you issue the CLI command stats –o , active RIP is not enabled
if the display shows dialout/RIP/filtering as keyed off and/or dialout is
not listed under MODULES DISABLED.