The definitive guide to optimizing large-scale IP routing operation and managing network growth Build scalability into new designs and optimize existing, overly complex networks with design best practices presented in this book Learn from real-world case studies leveraging the authors' vast design and support experience Understand the latest routing protocol enhancements and design practices for cutting-edge technologies such as high availability, security, MPLS, and VPNsOptimal Routing Design provides the tools and techniques—learned through years of experience with network design and deployment—to build a large-scale, or scalable, IP routed network. The book uses an easy-to-read approach accessible to novice network designers while presenting invaluable, hard-to-find insight that will appeal to more advanced-level professionals. Beginning with an overview of design fundamentals, the authors discuss the tradeoffs between various competing points of network design, the concepts of hierarchical network design, redistribution, and addressing and summarization.This first section provides techniques to work around real-world problems. A checklist of questions and design goals provides a useful tool for network design evaluation. Part two details specifics on deploying interior gateway protocols, including EIGRP, OSPF, and IS-IS, in real-world networks. Updated sections include coverage of new features and deployment techniques and more. A chapter on BGP covers using BGP in large-scale networks and to connect to outside domains, such as the Internet. Part three starts with a discussion of designing highly available networks from a routing perspective, continues with coverage of routing security, and concludes with a chapter on MPLS. Appendices include updated information on the fundamentals of OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, and BGP.