docs/docs/routing/bird/bird2_old.md

Configuring Bird 2

This document aims to provide the configuration file template required for CRXN and along with a description of what parameters need to be set for your node specifically.

Configuration

The configuration template is constructed out of the following files:

1. filters.conf
   • Filter functions and the filter itself
2. networks.conf
   • Advertisement of ULA
3. tables.conf
   • The table definitions
4. router.conf
   • This contains the needed protocol definition for discovering your interface's prefixes and generating routes form them
   • It also contains the needed protocol definitions to sync bird routes into the Linux kernel's routing table (so you cna forward packets based on the routes from Bird)
5. protocols.conf
   • Depending on what protocol you want to use this will contains configurations for each

All of these will be included in a file saved at /etc/bird/bird.conf like so:

router id <ipv4>;

include "/etc/bird/crxn/tables.conf";
include "/etc/bird/crxn/filters.conf";
include "/etc/bird/crxn/router.conf";
include "/etc/bird/crxn/networks.conf";

Additionally, add the files for the route distribution protocol which we configure in the next steps.

include "/etc/bird/crxn/babel.conf"; # For babel routing
include "/etc/bird/crxn/ospfv3.conf"; # For OSPFv3 routing

Remember to set a unique router ID in <ipv4>, make it anything - it doesn't have to even be an address you own.

filters.conf

This file holds all the required functions for subnet matching and also filters that match to the specific prefix aggregates (regional subnets) that CRXN uses.

filter crxnFilter
{
    if (net ~ fd00::/8) then accept;
    reject;
}

tables.conf

This file holds all table definitions. There are only two actually. The table crxn is the one we actually use, master is optional and is only present because if one uses bird-lg-go (the looking glass we use) then it, by default, only shows routes in the master table. It is meant to have the same routes as the crxn table.

# CRXN table
ipv6 table crxn;

router.conf

This contains an instance of the direct protocol which reads the address and prefix assigned to your AF_INET6 interfaces and generates routes from those that represent routes to directly atrtached networks those interfaces are on. The reason for this is that the kernel protocol never learns routes in the Linux kernel's routing table that have the kernel protocol which is what you get when you assign interfaces addresses and prefixes. This doesn't even need those, it gets them from the interface.

# The kernel protocol doesn't grab kernel routes that are added by you when you assign an
# address and prefix. So instead of reading this from all routes with `proto kernel` this just
# yeets the routes off of the interface structure itself (even if you didn't have a route for your
# directly attached networks - i.e. nexthop = 0.0.0.0)
protocol direct crxnDirect
{
    ipv6
    {
        table crxn;
        import filter crxnFilter;
    };
    # Interfaces to find neighbours on
    interface "eth*";
}

protocol device {
}

The second part is for syncing routes from Bird to the Linux kernel's routing table such that you can forward traffic based on the routes in Bird.

TODO: Check, defualt learn should learn non kernel and non-bird routes

# CRXN Kernel protocol
# We import any routes from the kernel table other than `proto bird` and `proto kernel`,
# could be `proto static` for example. By default it will learn these.
# Of course we also then export all routes from our Bird tables into the kernel so you can actually forward packets
protocol kernel crxnKernel
{
    ipv6 {
        # bird's crxn table -> kernel
        table crxn;
        export filter crxnFilter;
    };
}

networks.conf

This is just something we normally add. Usually you would assign a /64 within your ULA /48 but you also want to claim the whole /48 by advertising a blackhole for it. Here our /48/ULA is fd40:ec65:5b4c::/48.

protocol static crxnStatic
{
        # Advertise your /48 with a blackhole
        route fd40:ec65:5b4c::/48 blackhole;

        ipv6 {
                import filter crxn6;
                table crxn;
        }
}