Open source routing software projects have been receiving attention lately as viable, inexpensive platforms for midlevel routing deployments. But are they practical for enterprise network managers used to the performance levels and feature bells and whistles served up by commercial router vendors?

That is the question we explore in this initial test of open source router software. Most open source router software spawns from one of two projects - Zebra and eXtensible Open Router Platform (XORP). Because the Zebra project has been dormant since mid-2004, we tested its descendant, Quagga, which is updated about every quarter. (We plan to test a XORP-based product later this year.)

Overall, we found running Quagga on modest Dell servers yields performance numbers that would make the combination a formidable platform for a purpose-built routing application. If you're looking to run Quagga as a router in your production network, however, you may require a higher port density. This requires a server with more horsepower, which is more expensive. This additional cost may offset somewhat Quagga's low-cost appeal.

Quagga runs on GNU/Linux 2.4.x and higher, FreeBSD 4.x and higher, NetBSD 1.6 and higher, OpenBSD 2.5 and higher, and Solaris 8 and higher. It supports Routing Information Protocol and RIPv2, RIPng, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), OSPFv2, OSPFv3, IPv6, Internet Group Management Protocol and IGMPv2, and Border Gateway Protocol 4.

Quagga's basic architecture consists of a Zebra daemon that handles updates to the Unix-based routing tables, and additional daemons for OSPF, RIP and BGP. Quagga has a unified configuration file for all daemons, which is easier to maintain than the original Zebra implementation that has separate configuration files for each daemon. The syntax of the Quagga configuration files is very much Cisco-esque. Quagga lets the user change IP addresses from the configuration file and command line; there is no need to configure IP addresses outside the router. The command-line interface is easy to use and intuitive (assuming some Cisco experience).

OPEN SOURCE ROUTING SOFTWARE QUAGGA ROUTING SOFTWARE Quagga

Pros: It's inexpensive; has good performance; is easy to use if you are familiar with Cisco user interface. Cons: Open source community is only source of support; requires a hefty machine to handle an enterprise level of ports; weak on features when compared with Cisco IOS. Access Router Buyer's Guide Shop around for commercial competitors to the Quagga open source router project.

Click to see: NetResults graphic for Quagga