DN42&OneManISP - Using VRF to Run Clearnet BGP and DN42 on the Same Machine Background Currently, clearnet BGP and DN42 each use a separate VPS in the same region, meaning two machines are required per region. After learning about VRF from a group member, I explored using VRF to enable a single machine to handle both clearnet BGP and DN42 simultaneously. Note: Due to its isolation nature, the VRF solution will prevent DN42 from accessing services on the host. If you need to run services (like DNS) on the server for DN42, you might need additional port forwarding or veth configuration, which is beyond the scope of this article. (This is also the reason why I ultimately did not adopt VRF in my production environment). Advantages of VRF Although DN42 uses private IP ranges and internal ASNs, which theoretically shouldn't interfere with clearnet BGP, sharing the same routing table can lead to issues like route pollution and management complexity. VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) allows creating multiple routing tables on a single machine. This means we can isolate DN42 routes into a separate routing table, keeping them apart from the clearnet routing table. The advantages include: Absolute Security and Policy Isolation: The DN42 routing table is isolated from the clearnet routing table, fundamentally preventing route leaks. Clear Operation and Management: Use commands like birdc show route table t_dn42 and birdc show route table t_inet to view and debug two completely independent routing tables, making things clear at a glance. Fault Domain Isolation: If a DN42 peer flaps, the impact is confined to the dn42 routing table. It won't consume routing computation resources for the clearnet instance nor affect clearnet forwarding performance. Alignment with Modern Network Design Principles: Using VRF for different routing domains (production, testing, customer, partner) is standard practice in modern network engineering. It logically divides your device into multiple virtual routers. Configuration System Part Creating the VRF Interface Use the following commands to create a VRF device named dn42-vrf and associate it with the system's routing table number 1042: ip link add dn42-vrf type vrf table 1042 ip link set dev dn42-vrf up # Enable it You can change the routing table number according to your preference, but avoid the following reserved routing table IDs: Name ID Description unspec 0 Unspecified, rarely used main 254 Main routing table, where most ordinary routes reside default 253 Generally unused, reserved local 255 Local routing table, contains 127.0.0.1/8, local IPs, broadcast addresses, etc. Cannot be modified Associating Existing Network Interfaces with VRF In my current DN42 setup, several WireGuard interfaces and a dummy interface are used for DN42. Therefore, associate these interfaces with the VRF: ip link set dev <interface_name> master dn42-vrf Note: After associating an interface with a VRF, it might lose its IP addresses. Therefore, you need to readd the addresses, for example: ip addr add 172.20.234.225 dev dn42 After completion, ip a should show the corresponding interface's master as dn42-vrf: 156: dn42: <BROADCAST,NOARP,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master dn42-vrf state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000 link/ether b6:f5:28:ed:23:04 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 172.20.234.225/32 scope global dn42 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 fd18:3e15:61d0::1/128 scope global valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 fe80::b4f5:28ff:feed:2304/64 scope link valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever Persistence I use ifupdown2 to automatically load the dummy interface and VRF device on boot. auto dn42-vrf iface dn42-vrf inet manual vrf-table 1042 auto dn42 iface dn42 inet static pre-up ip link add $IFACE type dummy || true vrf dn42-vrf address <IPv4 Address>/32 address <IPv6 Address>/128 post-down ip link del $IFACE My dummy interface is named dn42; modify accordingly if yours is different. After creation, use ifup dn42-vrf && ifup dn42 to start the dummy interface. Note: The number prefix for the VRF device file should be smaller than that of the dummy interface file, ensuring the VRF device starts first. WireGuard Tunnels Add PostUp commands to associate them with the VRF and readd their addresses. Example: [Interface] PrivateKey = [Data Redacted] ListenPort = [Data Redacted] Table = off Address = fe80::2024/64 + PostUp = ip link set dev %i master dn42-vrf + PostUp = ip addr add fe80::2024/64 dev %i PostUp = sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.%i.autoconf=0 [Peer] PublicKey = [Data Redacted] Endpoint = [Data Redacted] AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.0/8, 172.20.0.0/14, 172.31.0.0/16, fd00::/8, fe00::/8 Then restart the tunnel. Bird2 Part First, define two routing tables for DN42's IPv4 and IPv6: ipv4 table dn42_table_v4; ipv6 table dn42_table_v6 Then, specify the VRF and system routing table number in the kernel protocol, and specify the previously created v4/v6 routing tables in the IPv4/IPv6 sections: protocol kernel dn42_kernel_v6{ + vrf "dn42-vrf"; + kernel table 1042; scan time 20; ipv6 { + table dn42_table_v6; import none; export filter { if source = RTS_STATIC then reject; krt_prefsrc = DN42_OWNIPv6; accept; }; }; }; protocol kernel dn42_kernel_v4{ + vrf "dn42-vrf"; + kernel table 1042; scan time 20; ipv4 { + table dn42_table_v4; import none; export filter { if source = RTS_STATIC then reject; krt_prefsrc = DN42_OWNIP; accept; }; }; } For protocols other than kernel, add the VRF and the independent IPv4/IPv6 tables, but do not specify the system routing table number: protocol static dn42_static_v4{ + vrf "dn42-vrf"; route DN42_OWNNET reject; ipv4 { + table dn42_table_v4; import all; export none; }; } protocol static dn42_static_v6{ + vrf "dn42-vrf"; route DN42_OWNNETv6 reject; ipv6 { + table dn42_table_v6; import all; export none; }; } In summary: Configure a VRF and the previously defined routing tables for everything related to DN42. Only the kernel protocol needs the system routing table number specified; others do not. Apply the same method to BGP, OSPF, etc. However, I chose to use separate Router IDs for the clearnet and DN42, so a separate Router ID needs to be configured: # /etc/bird/dn42/ospf.conf protocol ospf v3 dn42_ospf_iyoroynet_v4 { + vrf "dn42-vrf"; + router id DN42_OWNIP; ipv4 { + table dn42_table_v4; import where is_self_dn42_net() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_dn42_net() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "ospf/*"; }; protocol ospf v3 dn42_ospf_iyoroynet_v6 { + vrf "dn42-vrf"; + router id DN42_OWNIP; ipv6 { + table dn42_table_v6; import where is_self_dn42_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_dn42_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "ospf/*"; }; # /etc/bird/dn42/ebgp.conf ... template bgp dnpeers { + vrf "dn42-vrf"; + router id DN42_OWNIP; local as DN42_OWNAS; path metric 1; ipv4 { + table dn42_table_v4; ... }; ipv6 { + table dn42_table_v6; ... }; } include "peers/*"; After completion, reload the configuration with birdc c. Now, we can view the DN42 routing table separately using ip route show vrf dn42-vrf: root@iYoRoyNetworkHKGBGP:~# ip route show vrf dn42-vrf 10.26.0.0/16 via inet6 fe80::ade0 dev dn42_4242423914 proto bird src 172.20.234.225 metric 32 10.29.0.0/16 via inet6 fe80::ade0 dev dn42_4242423914 proto bird src 172.20.234.225 metric 32 10.37.0.0/16 via inet6 fe80::ade0 dev dn42_4242423914 proto bird src 172.20.234.225 metric 32 ... You can also ping through the VRF using the -I dn42-vrf parameter: root@iYoRoyNetworkHKGBGP:~# ping 172.20.0.53 -I dn42-vrf ping: Warning: source address might be selected on device other than: dn42-vrf PING 172.20.0.53 (172.20.0.53) from 172.20.234.225 dn42-vrf: 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 172.20.0.53: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=3.18 ms 64 bytes from 172.20.0.53: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=3.57 ms 64 bytes from 172.20.0.53: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=3.74 ms 64 bytes from 172.20.0.53: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=2.86 ms ^C --- 172.20.0.53 ping statistics --- 4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3006ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 2.863/3.337/3.740/0.341 ms Important Notes If the VRF device is reloaded, all devices originally associated with the VRF need to be reloaded as well, otherwise they won't function correctly. Currently, DN42 cannot access services inside the host configured with VRF. A future article might explain how to allow traffic within the VRF to access host services (Adding to the TODO list). Reference Articles:： Run your MPLS network with BIRD

DN42 - Ep.2 Building Internal Network with OSPF and Enabling iBGP Foreword I am a novice in BGP. This article may contain imprecise content/naive understandings/elementary mistakes. I kindly ask the experts to be lenient. If you find any issues, you are welcome to contact me via email, and I will correct them as soon as possible. If you find this unacceptable, it is recommended to close this article now. Article Update Log {timeline} {timeline-item color="#50BFFF"} July 22, 2025: First edition published, using VXLAN over WireGuard tunnel. {/timeline-item} {timeline-item color="#50BFFF"} July 25, 2025: Updated tunneling solution, using type ptp; to support OSPF traffic via WireGuard (Special thanks to Nuro Trance for the guidance!). {/timeline-item} {timeline-item color="#50BFFF"} August 8, 2025: Added explanation and configuration for iBGP. {/timeline-item} {timeline-item color="#4F9E28"} August 27, 2025: Updated node topology diagram. {/timeline-item} {/timeline} Why Do We Need Internal Routing? As the number of nodes increases, we need a proper way to handle internal routing within our AS (Autonomous System). BGP only handles routing to different ASes, which causes a problem: if nodes A and B are both peering with external networks, a request from node A may have its response routed to node B, even though they are part of the same AS. Without internal routing, node A will not receive the reply. To solve this, we need to ensure that all devices within our AS can communicate with each other. The common solutions are: Using network tools like ZeroTier: Simple to set up, just install the client on each node for P2P connectivity. Using P2P tools like WireGuard to manually create $\frac{n(n+1)}{2}$ tunnels, which works like the first solution but becomes cumbersome as nodes grow. Using WireGuard to establish $\frac{n(n+1)}{2}$ tunnels, then using an internal routing protocol like OSPF or Babel to manage the routing. This is more flexible and easier to scale, but it can be risky and could break the DN42 network due to misconfigurations. Thus, I decided to take the risk. Node Topology graph LR A[HKG<br>172.20.234.225<br>fd18:3e15:61d0::1] B[NKG<br>172.20.234.226<br>fd18:3e15:61d0::2] C[TYO<br>172.20.234.227<br>fd18:3e15:61d0::3] D[FRA<br>172.20.234.228<br>fd18:3e15:61d0::4] E[LAX<br>172.20.234.229<br>fd18:3e15:61d0::5] B <--> A C <--> A A <--> E A <--> D C <--> D C <--> E D <--> E Update Bird2 to v2.16 or Above To use IPv6 Link-Local addresses to transmit IPv4 OSPF data, Bird v2.16 or later is required. Here are the steps to update: sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install apt-transport-https ca-certificates wget lsb-release sudo wget -O /usr/share/keyrings/cznic-labs-pkg.gpg https://pkg.labs.nic.cz/gpg echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cznic-labs-pkg.gpg] https://pkg.labs.nic.cz/bird2 $(lsb_release -sc) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cznic-labs-bird2.list sudo apt update && sudo apt install bird2 -y Tunnel Configuration [Interface] PrivateKey = <Local WireGuard Private Key> ListenPort = <Listen Port> Table = off Address = <IPv6 LLA>/64 PostUp = sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.%i.autoconf=0 [Peer] PublicKey = <Peer Public Key> Endpoint = <Peer Public Endpoint> AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.0/8, 172.20.0.0/14, 172.31.0.0/16, fd00::/8, fe00::/8, ff02::5 ff02::5is the OSPFv3 router-specific link-local multicast address and should be included in AllowedIPs. If you're using Bird versions earlier than v2.16, you'll need to add an IPv4 address for the tunnel as well. See the example below: {collapse} {collapse-item label="WireGuard Configuration Example with IPv4"} [Interface] PrivateKey = <Local WireGuard Private Key> ListenPort = <Listen Port> Table = off Address = <IPv6 LLA>/64 PostUp = ip addr add 100.64.0.225/32 peer 100.64.0.226/32 dev %i PostUp = sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.%i.autoconf=0 [Peer] PublicKey = <Peer Public Key> Endpoint = <Peer Public Endpoint> AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.0/8, 172.20.0.0/14, 100.64.0.0/16, 172.31.0.0/16, fd00::/8, fe00::/8, ff02::5 Please replace 100.64.0.225 and 100.64.0.226 with your local and peer IPv4 addresses, and remember to add AllowedIPs. {/collapse-item} {/collapse} Enable OSPF You should have already configured basic Bird settings as described in the previous article. Create a new file called ospf.conf under /etc/bird and add the following: protocol ospf v3 <name> { ipv4 { import where is_self_net() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_net() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "/etc/bird/ospf/*"; }; protocol ospf v3 <name> { ipv6 { import where is_self_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "/etc/bird/ospf/*"; }; Theoretically, OSPF v2 should be used for handling IPv4, but since we need to communicate IPv4 using IPv6 Link-Local addresses, we are using OSPF v3 for IPv4 in this case as well. The filter rules ensure that only routes within the local network segment are allowed to propagate through OSPF, and routes from external BGP protocols are filtered out. Never use import all; export all; indiscriminately, as this could lead to route hijacking and affect the entire DN42 network. OSPF should only handle internal network routes. {collapse} {collapse-item label="Example"} /etc/bird/ospf.conf protocol ospf v3 dn42_iyoroynet_ospf { ipv4 { import where is_self_net() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_net() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "/etc/bird/ospf/*"; }; protocol ospf v3 dn42_iyoroynet_ospf6 { ipv6 { import where is_self_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; export where is_self_net_v6() && source != RTS_BGP; }; include "/etc/bird/ospf/*"; }; {/collapse-item} {/collapse} Next, create the /etc/bird/ospf folder and then create an area configuration file (e.g., /etc/bird/ospf/backbone.conf) with the following content: area 0.0.0.0 { interface "<DN42 dummy interface>" { stub; }; interface "<wg0 interface>" { cost 80; # Modify according to your network situation type ptp; }; interface "<wg1 interface>" { cost 100; # Modify according to your network situation type ptp; }; # Continue for other interfaces }; The 0.0.0.0 area represents the backbone network. he dummy interface here refers to the DN42 virtual interface mentioned in the previous article The cost value is typically used for cost calculation but in DN42's case, where bandwidth is less critical but latency is more important, you can directly assign the latency value. OSPF will automatically choose the route with the lowest cost (sum of the cost values). {collapse} {collapse-item label="Example"} /etc/bird/ospf/backbone.conf area 0.0.0.0 { interface "dn42" { stub; }; interface "dn42_hkg" { cost 80; type ptp; }; interface "dn42_hfe" { cost 150; type ptp; }; interface "dn42_lax"{ cost 100; type ptp; }; }; {/collapse-item} {/collapse} Finally, open /etc/bird/bird.conf and add the following to include the OSPF configuration file at the end: include "ospf.conf"; Run birdc configure, and then birdc show protocols should show the OSPF status as Running. If not, check the configuration steps for errors. At this point, you should be able to ping between two non-directly connected machines: Enable iBGP Before establishing multiple peer connections, each of your nodes must first have complete knowledge of the internal AS topology. This involves configuring another key component: internal BGP (iBGP). Necessity of iBGP iBGP ensures that all routers within the AS have complete knowledge of external destination routes. It ensures that: Internal routers can select the best exit path. Traffic is correctly routed to the boundary routers responsible for specific external networks. Even if there are multiple boundary routers connected to the same external network, internal routers can choose the best exit based on policies. Compared to using a default route pointing to the border router within the AS, iBGP provides precise external route information, allowing internal routers to make more intelligent forwarding decisions. Disadvantages and Solutions To prevent uncontrolled propagation of routing information within the AS, which could cause loops, an iBGP router will not readvertise routes learned from one iBGP neighbor to other iBGP neighbors. This necessitates that traditional iBGP requires a full mesh of iBGP neighbor relationships between all iBGP-running routers within the same AS. (You still need to establish $\frac{n(n+1)}{2}$ connections , there's no way around it. But configuring iBGP is still easier than configuring tunnels after OSPF is set up ). Solutions include: Using a Route Reflector (RR): An RR router manages all routing information within the entire AS. The disadvantage is that if the RR router fails, the entire network can be paralyzed (which is not very Decentralized). Using BGP Confederation: This involves virtually dividing the routers within the AS into sub-ASes, treating the connections between routers as eBGP, and finally stripping the internal AS path information when advertising routes externally. I haven't tried the latter two solutions. Here are some potentially useful reference articles. This article focuses on the configuration of iBGP. DN42 Experimental Network: Intro and Registration (Updated 2022-12) - Lan Tian @ Blog Configure BGP Confederation & Fake Confederation in Bird (Updated 2020-06-07) - Lan Tian @ Blog Writing the iBGP Configuration File Create a new file ibgp.conf in /etc/bird and fill it with the following content: template bgp ibgpeers { local as OWNAS; ipv4 { import where source = RTS_BGP && is_valid_network() && !is_self_net(); export where source = RTS_BGP && is_valid_network() && !is_self_net(); next hop self; extended next hop; }; ipv6 { import where source = RTS_BGP && is_valid_network_v6() && !is_self_net_v6(); export where source = RTS_BGP && is_valid_network_v6() && !is_self_net_v6(); next hop self; }; }; include "ibgp/*"; The import and export filters ensure that iBGP only processes routes learned via the BGP protocol and filters out IGP routes to prevent loops. next hop self is required. It instructs BIRD to rewrite the next hop to the border router's own IP address (instead of the original external next hop) when exporting routes to iBGP neighbors. This is because internal routers cannot directly access the external neighbor's address; without rewriting, the address would be considered unreachable. After rewriting, internal routers only need to send traffic to the border router via IGP routing, and the border router handles the final external forwarding. Because I want to use IPv6 addresses to establish MP-BGP and route IPv4 over IPv6, extended next hop is enabled for IPv4. Next, create the /etc/bird/ibgp directory. Inside, create an iBGP Peer configuration file for each node: protocol bgp 'dn42_ibgp_<Node Name>' from ibgpeers{ neighbor <Corresponding Node's IPv6 ULA Address> as OWNAS; }; {collapse} {collapse-item label="Example"} /etc/bird/ibgp/hkg.conf: protocol bgp 'dn42_ibgp_HKG' from ibgpeers{ neighbor fd18:3e15:61d0::1 as OWNAS; }; {/collapse-item} {/collapse} Note: Each node needs to establish (n-1) iBGP connections, ensuring connectivity with all other machines within the AS. This is why ULA addresses are used. Using ULA addresses ensures that even if the WireGuard connection between two nodes goes down, iBGP can still establish connections via the internal routing established by OSPF. Otherwise, it could lead to the collapse of the entire internal network. Finally, add the inclusion of ibgp.conf in /etc/bird/bird.conf: include "ibgp.conf"; And run birdc configure to apply the configuration. References: BIRD 与 BGP 的新手开场 - 海上的宫殿 萌新入坑 DN42 之 —— 基于 tailscale + vxlan + OSPF 的组网 – 米露小窝 使用 Bird2 配置 WireGuard + OSPF 实现网络的高可用 | bs' realm DN42 实验网络介绍及注册教程（2022-12 更新） - Lan Tian @ Blog 如何引爆 DN42 网络（2023-05-12 更新） - Lan Tian @ Blog Bird 配置 BGP Confederation，及模拟 Confederation（2020-06-07 更新） - Lan Tian @ Blog 深入解析OSPF路径开销、优先级和计时器 - 51CTO New release 2.16 | BIRD Internet Routing Daemon 第一章·第二节 如何在 Linux 上安装最新版本的 BIRD？ | BIRD 中文文档 [DN42] 使用 OSPF ptp 搭建内网与IBGP配置 – Xe_iu's Blog | Xe_iu的杂物间 [译] dn42 多服务器环境中的 iBGP 与 IGP 配置 | liuzhen932 的小窝