The CS Primer Show E4: Packet losers
Apr 5, 2023
A podcast discussing packet loss, BGP routing, and troubleshooting network issues with references to historical developments in networking. The episode also explores the significance of nature sounds, live demonstrations in network engineering, and the complexities of autonomous systems in computer networking.
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What An Autonomous System Is
- Autonomous Systems (AS) group networks under one administrative domain and advertise routes to peers using BGP.
- BGP lets ASes exchange route ranges so the internet routes traffic between independently administered networks.
BGP Is Critical And Trust-Based
- BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is the protocol ASes use to share route advertisements and glue the global internet together.
- It is surprisingly brittle and based on trust between peers, which can cause widespread outages if incorrect routes propagate.
Facebook BGP Outage Example
- Charlie recounted Facebook's outage where Facebook accidentally advertised that its IP ranges didn't exist, causing global inaccessibility.
- Staff couldn't SSH in and had to physically access data centers to restore proper route adverts.