On-Line Network Reachability Analysis Using Forward Information Base Emulation

This paper presents a new approach of routing protocol management as a first step towards the conception of on-line network reachability analysis. Each individual router has an FIB (forwarding information base), which is a table containing the information required to forward IP packets, which is used for packet delivery. At a minimum, FIB contains the interface identifier and the next hop information for each reachable destination. If it is possible to emulate the FIBs of on-line routers in service, network reachability could be simulated in real time. ´A destination is reachable´ indicates that the FIB lookup from its source to the destination is successful. This simulation will make it unnecessary to model FIBs and a lookup mechanism, or to analyze the routing information filtering. In this paper, a mean of FIB emulation and network reachability simulation through the analysis of routing information are shown. This method is valuable, both for network users and operators.