BGP

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the de facto standard path-vector protocol used to exchange routing information between autonomous systems, supporting multi-address-family deployments including IPv4 unicast, IPv6 unicast, and L2VPN EVPN on NX-OS. It provides extensive policy control through peer templates, route maps, prefix lists, and per-neighbor address-family configuration with granular route filtering, community manipulation, and next-hop processing for both eBGP and iBGP sessions. BGP supports advanced features including enhanced error handling, graceful restart, route reflector functionality, maximum prefix limits, policy batching control, and fabric SOO for VXLAN EVPN deployments.

Diagram

Classes

routing (nxos.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
bgp	Class	`[bgp]`	No

bgp (nxos.devices.configuration.routing)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
asn	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
shutdown	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
disable_policy_batching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
disable_policy_batching_nexthop	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
disable_policy_batching_ipv4_prefix_list	String		No
disable_policy_batching_ipv6_prefix_list	String		No
fabric_soo	String		No
flush_routes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
isolate	Choice	`enabled`, `disabled`, `include-local`, `custom`	No
isolate_route_map	String		No
med_dampening_interval	Integer	min: `60`, max: `4294967295`	No
nexthop_suppress_default_resolution	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
rd_dual	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
rd_dual_id	Integer	min: `1`, max: `65535`	No
peer_templates	List	`[peer_templates]`	No
router_id	IP		No
allocate_index	Integer	min: `1`, max: `8000`	No
bestpath_limit_always	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bestpath_limit	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
bandwidth_reference	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
bandwidth_reference_unit	Choice	`mbps`, `gbps`	No
cluster_id	Any	IP or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`] or String[Regex: `^.[$%]\{.$`]	No
hold_time	Integer	min: `3`, max: `3600`	No
keepalive_interval	Integer	min: `0`, max: `3600`	No
local_as	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
maxas_limit	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
mode	Choice	`fabric`, `external`, `proxy`	No
prefix_peer_timeout	Integer	min: `0`, max: `1200`	No
prefix_peer_wait	Integer	min: `0`, max: `1200`	No
reconnect_interval	Integer	min: `1`, max: `60`	No
router_id_auto	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
enforce_first_as	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
neighbor_down_fib_accelerate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
suppress_fib_pending	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
graceful_restart	Choice	`helper`, `complete`	No
graceful_restart_restart_time	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
graceful_restart_stalepath_time	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
neighbors	List	`[neighbors]`	No
address_families	List	`[address_families]`	No
vrfs	List	`[vrfs]`	No

peer_templates (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
name	String		Yes
remote_as	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
description	String		No
peer_type	Choice	`fabric-internal`, `fabric-external`, `fabric-border-leaf`	No
update_source_interface_type	Choice	`ethernet`, `loopback`, `mgmt`, `port-channel`, `vlan`, `vni`	No
update_source_interface_id	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`]	No
shutdown	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
affinity_group	Integer	min: `0`, max: `65535`	No
bfd_multihop	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bmp_activate_server_1	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bmp_activate_server_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
capability_suppress_4_byte_as	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
connection_mode	Choice	`passive`	No
bfd	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
disable_connected_check	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
dont_capability_negotiate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
dynamic_capability	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
hold_time	Integer	min: `3`, max: `3600`	No
keepalive_interval	Integer	min: `0`, max: `3600`	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
low_memory_exempt	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
maximum_peers	Integer	min: `1`, max: `1000`	No
password_type	Choice	`0`, `3`, `line`, `6`, `7`	No
password	String		No
remove_private_as	Choice	`none`, `enabled`, `all`, `replace-as`	No
inherit_peer_session	String		No
ebgp_multihop_ttl	Integer	min: `2`, max: `255`	No
ttl_security_hops	Integer	min: `1`, max: `254`	No
address_families	List	`[address_families]`	No

neighbors (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
ip	IP		No
interface_type	Choice	`ethernet`, `loopback`, `mgmt`, `port-channel`, `vlan`, `vni`	No
interface_id	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`]	No
remote_as	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
description	String		No
inherit_peer	String		No
peer_type	Choice	`fabric-internal`, `fabric-external`, `fabric-border-leaf`	No
update_source_interface_type	Choice	`ethernet`, `loopback`, `mgmt`, `port-channel`, `vlan`, `vni`	No
update_source_interface_id	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`]	No
hold_time	Integer	min: `3`, max: `3600`	No
keepalive_interval	Integer	min: `0`, max: `3600`	No
ebgp_multihop_ttl	Integer	min: `2`, max: `255`	No
bfd	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
disable_connected_check	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
dont_capability_negotiate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
dynamic_capability	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
password_type	Choice	`0`, `3`, `line`, `6`, `7`	No
password	String		No
shutdown	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
affinity_group	Integer	min: `0`, max: `65535`	No
bfd_multihop	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bmp_activate_server_1	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bmp_activate_server_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
capability_suppress_4_byte_as	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
transport_connection_mode	Choice	`passive`	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
low_memory_exempt	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
maximum_peers	Integer	min: `1`, max: `1000`	No
remove_private_as	Choice	`none`, `enabled`, `all`, `replace-as`	No
inherit_peer_session	String		No
ttl_security_hops	Integer	min: `1`, max: `254`	No
local_as	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
local_as_propagation	Choice	`none`, `no-prepend`, `replace-as`, `dual-as`	No
dscp	Integer	min: `0`, max: `63`	No
dynamic_route_map	String		No
egress_engineering	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
egress_engineering_peer_set	String		No
internal_vpn_client	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
address_families	List	`[address_families]`	No

address_families (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
address_family	Choice	`ipv4-unicast`, `ipv4-multicast`, `vpnv4-unicast`, `ipv6-unicast`, `ipv6-multicast`, `vpnv6-unicast`, `vpnv6-multicast`, `l2vpn-evpn`, `ipv4-lucast`, `ipv6-lucast`, `link-state`, `ipv4-mvpn`, `ipv6-mvpn`, `l2vpn-vpls`, `ipv4-mdt`	Yes
advertise_l2vpn_evpn	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
advertise_only_active_routes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
advertise_pip	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
advertise_system_mac	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
allocate_label_all	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
allocate_label_option_b	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
allocate_label_route_map	String		No
bestpath_origin_as_allow_invalid	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bestpath_origin_as_use_validity	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
client_to_client_reflection	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
nexthop_trigger_delay_critical	Integer	min: `1`, max: `4294967295`	No
default_information_originate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
default_information_originate_always_rd	String		No
default_information_originate_always_route_target	String		No
default_metric	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
export_gateway_ip	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
dampen_igp_metric	Integer	min: `0`, max: `3600`	No
label_allocation_mode	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
load_balance_egress_filter_policy_route_map	String		No
load_balance_egress_multipath_auto_policy_route_map	String		No
maximum_paths	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
maximum_paths_eibgp	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
maximum_paths_ibgp	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
maximum_paths_local	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
maximum_paths_mixed	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
maximum_paths_unequal_cost	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
nexthop_route_map	String		No
nexthop_load_balance_egress_multisite	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
nexthop_trigger_delay_non_critical	Integer	min: `1`, max: `4294967295`	No
originate_map	String		No
origin_as_validate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
origin_as_validate_signal_ibgp	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
prefix_priority	Choice	`none`, `high`	No
retain_route_target_all	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
retain_route_target_route_map	String		No
table_map	String		No
table_map_filter	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
timers_bestpath_defer	Integer	min: `100`, max: `3000`	No
timers_bestpath_defer_maximum	Integer	min: `300`, max: `300000`	No
allow_vni_in_ethertag	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
wait_igp_convergence	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
additional_paths_send	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
additional_paths_receive	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
additional_paths_install_backup	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
additional_paths_selection_route_map	String		No
networks	List	`[networks]`	No
redistributions	List	`[redistributions]`	No
aggregate_addresses	List	`[aggregate_addresses]`	No

vrfs (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
vrf	String		Yes
router_id	IP		No
allocate_index	Integer	min: `1`, max: `8000`	No
bestpath_limit_always	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
bestpath_limit	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
reference_bandwidth	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
reference_bandwidth_unit	Choice	`mbps`, `gbps`	No
cluster_id	Any	IP or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`] or String[Regex: `^.[$%]\{.$`]	No
hold_time	Integer	min: `3`, max: `3600`	No
keepalive_interval	Integer	min: `0`, max: `3600`	No
local_as	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No
maxas_limit	Integer	min: `1`, max: `512`	No
mode	Choice	`fabric`, `external`, `proxy`	No
prefix_peer_timeout	Integer	min: `0`, max: `1200`	No
prefix_peer_wait	Integer	min: `0`, max: `1200`	No
reconnect_interval	Integer	min: `1`, max: `60`	No
router_id_auto	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
enforce_first_as	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
neighbor_down_fib_accelerate	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
suppress_fib_pending	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
graceful_restart	Choice	`helper`, `complete`	No
graceful_restart_restart_time	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
graceful_restart_stalepath_time	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3600`	No
neighbors	List	`[neighbors]`	No
address_families	List	`[address_families]`	No

networks (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp.address_families)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
prefix	String		Yes
evpn	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
route_map	String		No

redistributions (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp.address_families)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
protocol	Choice	`srv6`, `unspecified`, `static`, `direct`, `bgp`, `isis`, `ospf`, `ospfv3`, `eigrp`, `host`, `rip`, `amt`, `lisp`, `hmm`, `am`, `dhcpv6`, `icmpv6`	Yes
protocol_instance	String		No
route_map	String		No
asn	Any	String or Integer[min: `0`, max: `4294967295`]	No

aggregate_addresses (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp.address_families)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
prefix	String		Yes
as_set	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
summary_only	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
advertise_map	String		No
attribute_map	String		No
suppress_map	String		No

maximum_prefix (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.bgp.peer_templates.address_families)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
number	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
action	Choice	`log`, `shut`, `restart`	No
restart_time	Integer	min: `1`, max: `65535`	No
threshold	Integer	min: `1`, max: `100`	No

Examples

Example 1: Basic iBGP spine-leaf peering with peer template for underlay

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: SPINE1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            peer_templates:
              - name: LEAF-PEERS
                remote_as: "65000"
                update_source_interface_type: loopback
                update_source_interface_id: "0"
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    send_community_standard: true
                    send_community_extended: true
                    route_reflector_client: true
            router_id: 10.1.100.1
            neighbors:
              - ip: 10.1.100.3
                inherit_peer: LEAF-PEERS
              - ip: 10.1.100.4
                inherit_peer: LEAF-PEERS

Example 2: EVPN address family on a leaf switch peering to spines

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            peer_templates:
              - name: SPINE-PEERS
                remote_as: "65000"
                update_source_interface_type: loopback
                update_source_interface_id: "0"
                address_families:
                  - address_family: l2vpn-evpn
                    send_community_standard: true
                    send_community_extended: true
            router_id: 10.1.100.3
            neighbors:
              - ip: 10.1.100.1
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
              - ip: 10.1.100.2
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS

Example 3: VRF-aware BGP with route targets for tenant routing

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                router_id: 10.1.100.3
                log_neighbor_changes: true
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    advertise_l2vpn_evpn: true
                    maximum_paths: 2
                    redistributions:
                      - protocol: direct
                        route_map: PERMIT-CONNECTED
                    networks:
                      - prefix: 192.168.1.0/24
              - vrf: GREEN
                router_id: 10.1.100.3
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    advertise_l2vpn_evpn: true
                    maximum_paths: 2
                    redistributions:
                      - protocol: direct
                        route_map: PERMIT-CONNECTED
                    networks:
                      - prefix: 192.168.2.0/24

Example 4: Advanced peer template with route maps, BFD, and prefix limits

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: BORDER-LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            peer_templates:
              - name: SPINE-PEERS
                remote_as: "65000"
                update_source_interface_type: loopback
                update_source_interface_id: "0"
                bfd: true
                hold_time: 30
                keepalive_interval: 10
                log_neighbor_changes: true
                address_families:
                  - address_family: l2vpn-evpn
                    send_community_standard: true
                    send_community_extended: true
              - name: EXTERNAL-PEERS
                remote_as: "65100"
                peer_type: fabric-external
                ebgp_multihop_ttl: 2
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    send_community_standard: true
                    maximum_prefix:
                      number: 10000
                      action: log
                      threshold: 80
            router_id: 10.1.100.3
            neighbors:
              - ip: 10.1.100.1
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
              - ip: 10.1.100.2
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
              - ip: 172.17.1.1
                inherit_peer: EXTERNAL-PEERS
                description: "DC-Interconnect-Router"
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    route_map_in: INBOUND-FILTER
                    route_map_out: OUTBOUND-FILTER

Example 5: Full multi-VRF leaf with EVPN overlay, redistribute, and graceful restart

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF2
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            flush_routes: true
            peer_templates:
              - name: SPINE-PEERS
                remote_as: "65000"
                update_source_interface_type: loopback
                update_source_interface_id: "0"
                address_families:
                  - address_family: l2vpn-evpn
                    send_community_standard: true
                    send_community_extended: true
            router_id: 10.1.100.4
            graceful_restart: complete
            graceful_restart_restart_time: 120
            graceful_restart_stalepath_time: 300
            log_neighbor_changes: true
            neighbors:
              - ip: 10.1.100.1
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
              - ip: 10.1.100.2
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
            address_families:
              - address_family: l2vpn-evpn
                retain_route_target_all: true
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                router_id: 10.1.100.4
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    advertise_l2vpn_evpn: true
                    maximum_paths: 2
                    networks:
                      - prefix: 192.168.1.0/24
                    redistributions:
                      - protocol: static
                        route_map: REDISTRIBUTE-STATIC
                      - protocol: direct
                        route_map: PERMIT-CONNECTED
              - vrf: GREEN
                router_id: 10.1.100.4
                address_families:
                  - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                    advertise_l2vpn_evpn: true
                    maximum_paths: 2
                    networks:
                      - prefix: 192.168.2.0/24
                    redistributions:
                      - protocol: direct
                        route_map: PERMIT-CONNECTED
                  - address_family: ipv6-unicast
                    advertise_l2vpn_evpn: true
                    networks:
                      - prefix: 2001:db8:2::/64

Example 6: BGP address family with load-balance egress policies and default-information originate RD/RT

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: BORDER-GW1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            router_id: 10.1.100.5
            address_families:
              - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                default_information_originate: true
                default_information_originate_always_rd: "rd:as2-nn2:1:1"
                default_information_originate_always_route_target: "route-target:as2-nn2:1:1"
                load_balance_egress_filter_policy_route_map: LB-EGRESS-FILTER
                load_balance_egress_multipath_auto_policy_route_map: LB-EGRESS-MPATH

Example 7: BGP additional paths and aggregate addresses

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            router_id: 10.1.100.3
            address_families:
              - address_family: ipv4-unicast
                additional_paths_send: true
                additional_paths_receive: true
                additional_paths_install_backup: true
                additional_paths_selection_route_map: ADD-PATH-SELECT
                aggregate_addresses:
                  - prefix: 10.0.0.0/8
                    summary_only: true
                  - prefix: 172.16.0.0/12
                    as_set: true
                    advertise_map: AGG-ADV-MAP
                    attribute_map: AGG-ATTR-MAP
                    suppress_map: AGG-SUPPR-MAP

Example 8: BGP interface peers for unnumbered peering

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          bgp:
            asn: "65000"
            router_id: 10.1.100.3
            neighbors:
              - interface_type: ethernet
                interface_id: "1/1"
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
                description: "Spine1-Uplink"
                bfd: true
              - interface_type: ethernet
                interface_id: "1/2"
                inherit_peer: SPINE-PEERS
                description: "Spine2-Uplink"
                bfd: true
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                neighbors:
                  - interface_type: ethernet
                    interface_id: "1/3"
                    remote_as: "65100"
                    description: "CE-Router"