Multiprotocol BGP enables the use of other protocols besides IPv4. It includes IPv6, as well as extensions thereof, including the following:
- NLRI (network-layer reachability information) in IPv6 format
- Next-hop attribute in IPv6 format
Note the caveat that the next-hop must be of the same address type/family as the NLRI exchanged, for instance, an IPv6 route cannot have an IPv4 next-hop address.
The routing process defines multiple address families to support MP-BGP:
There are also various peering/transport options available due to the multiprotocol capability:
- IPv4 TCP session transporting IPv6 information
- IPv6 TCP session transporting IPv6 information
Multiprotocol BGP can also carry routing information for other routing protocols. For this, it uses new attributes. The attributes define where NLRI and IPv6 addresses can be used.
Stuck-in-Active: Journal of an IT-Network Administrator 