EIGRP i.e. Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) and OSPF i.e. Open Shortest Path First are routing protocols that specify how routers or data switches communicate with each other.
To understand which protocol is to be used in a particular situation we must know the differences between the two.
EIGRP vs OSPF: Comparison Table
Below table describes the differences between the two types of routing protocols:
EIGRP | OSPF |
---|---|
Advanced Distance Vector Routing protocol | Link State Routing protocol |
Open standard(informational). EIGRP was converted to open standard in 2013 | Open standard of IETF,supported by most vendors. |
Fast sub-second convergence | Slower convergence than EIGRP |
Ease of configuration | Complicated |
Less scalable | More scalable |
Does not support TE (Traffic Engineering) | Support OSPF-TE |
Can not build a hierarchical network | Can build a hierarchical and scalable network. |
Uses DUAL (Diffused Update Algorithm) for best path calculation | Uses Dijkstra's algorithm |
Summarization can be performed on any Router in EIGRP domain (infact per interface) | Summarization only possible on ABR and ASBR |
Improved Memory and CPU utilization | High memory and CPU utilization compared to EIGRP |
Intelligent bandwidth control like available Bandwidth is considered while determining rate of transmitting updates. | Not available |
EIGRP considers multiple parameters like Bandwidth,delay reliability and load while calculation optimal route.This complex calculation criteria is helpful in scenarios like wireless and multiple WAN path. | Only bandwidth considered while calculating optimal path. |
Supports IPX and Appletalk | Does not support IPX and Appletalk |
Download the difference table: eigrp and ospf
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