Hello,

I am running BIRD 1.4.2 on two Ubuntu Linux 12.04 systems acting as border routers. Two eBGP peers on each with iBGP between them. OSPF also between them and internally.

I notice that on reboot 10-15 packets both in and out are lost. This seems to happen just as/after the bird process starts. It appears as if perhaps BGP is establishing prior to the OSPF neighbors coming up and as a result black-holing traffic. I am nailing down my public IP prefixes with null routes.

I have attempted to use the 'start delay time x' command under the BGP sessions however they still establish immediately. I believe this is because this command delays the outbound attempt to connect yet the remote side is initiating it.

# eBGP session to X

protocol bgp eBGP_X {

description "eBGP - X";

local as X;

neighbor x.x.x.x as x;

start delay time 60;

import filter import_eBGP_X;

export filter export_eBGP_X;

}

Has anyone else ran into this problem with a similar design? Is there a different command to prevent BGP peering from establishing or to wait for the IGP?

I have implemented a workaround/hack by filtering incoming TCP connections with destination port 179. This prevents the peers from being established until the start delay time is reached. I will review my routing configuration/design however is there another way to accomplish this?

Thanks!

Tom.