Lab 9: Path Selection with Weight (First Tiebreaker)
In this advanced CCNP BGP lab, you will steer a single router's outbound path choice using Cisco's Weight attribute, the very first BGP best-path tiebreaker. R1 (AS 65001) peers eBGP with two ISPs (R2 in AS 65002 and R3 in AS 65003). Both ISPs advertise the same prefix 172.16.50.0/24. Your job is to make R1 prefer the R3 path using the neighbor weight command and verify the outcome using IOS and Linux tools.
eBGP Fundamentals: The First Peering
Build your first external BGP (eBGP) peering between two routers in different autonomous systems over a /30 point-to-point link and exchange one /24 prefix from each side using Loopback0. The topology is intentionally small yet realistic, with two edge routers (AS 65001 and AS 65002) and three Alpine hosts for basic reachability checks and operator context. You will configure deterministic BGP neighbors, originate prefixes with exact-match network statements, and validate reachability and route installation using standard IOS and Linux tools. This is Lab 1 of 10 in the CCNP-aligned BGP Fundamentals series and sets the foundation for later labs on iBGP, route filtering, and path selection.
EIGRP Manual Route Summarization (AS 100)
Implement classic EIGRP manual summarization on R1 to collapse four contiguous /24 loopback routes into a single /22 summary toward R2, reducing R2’s routing table entries while preserving reachability.
EIGRP Fundamentals: First Adjacency & Route Exchange
Bring up EIGRP in AS 100 between two routers over a /30 transit and advertise a single LAN. Verify the first adjacency forms and that R2 learns R1's LAN via EIGRP. Includes realistic end hosts on a shared LAN for path testing.
EIGRP Stub Routing on a Spoke (Hub-and-Spoke, AS 100)
Configure a classic hub-and-spoke EIGRP domain where the single-homed branch (R2) is made an EIGRP stub, limiting query scope while still advertising its LAN. Validate that R1 flags R2 as a stub neighbor, routes still exchange, and query behavior is scoped appropriately.
Root Guard on Designated Ports
Advanced Rapid-PVST+ and Root Guard implementation on a three-switch triangle with a real loop. SW1 is the intentional root for VLAN 90 and protects its designated ports with Root Guard to prevent root re-parenting. Two Alpine hosts on VLAN 90 verify end-to-end forwarding remains stable even if a superior BPDU appears downstream.