Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!rice!sabine.rice.EDU!evan
From: evan@sabine.rice.EDU (Evan Wetstone)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.proteon
Subject: Routing question
Message-ID: <1868@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 3 Oct 89 21:53:32 GMT
References: <8909211544.AA05535@seka.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: root@rice.edu
Reply-To: evan@rice.edu
Organization: Rice University, Houston TX
Lines: 44

We've got a ProNet-10 ring with a number of p4200's attached.
The p4200's have one or two Ethernet interfaces as well.
I am considering some network redesign, and have come across a
routing question.

Given a p4200 router (using RIP as its routing protocol) that has
two paths to a given network address, with identical hop counts,
how does the p4200 route traffic to that network?

Does it do load balancing?  Will it fixate on one path and keep
using it until it gets a better path?  Will it use the last path
it hears about and flip back and forth?

Now, let's assume that one path is the politically preferred path,
but I want to use the other when the first path is unavailable.
How do I go about it?



                          |
                          | B
                          |
   |   +---+            +---+        /
   |---| 1 |------------| 2 |-------/
   |   +---+            +---+      /
  A|                              |
   |                              |  ProNet-10 Ring
   |                    +---+      \
   |--------------------| 3 |-------\
   |                    +---+        \
   |

Assuming network B is the source and network A is the destination,
gateway 2 has two paths to A, with identical hop counts.  Which 
path does it take? Let's say I want to use gateway 3 as the 
preferred path.  How do I do it?  Likewise, assume A as the source
and B the destination.  The same questions apply.

Thanks in advance for any info.

----
Evan R. Wetstone			Internet:  evan@rice.edu 
Network and Systems Support		  BITNET:  evan@ricevm1
Rice University, Houston TX