Hands-on BGP

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. In this comprehensive course, learners will gain in-depth knowledge of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the protocol that powers the internet. By the end of this course, you'll have the skills to configure, troubleshoot, and optimize BGP to suit different networking scenarios. From understanding the basics to mastering advanced features, this course takes you on a structured learning journey to make you proficient in BGP operations. The course begins with a solid foundation in BGP basics, covering everything from the protocol's functionality to setting up and verifying BGP in your network. You’ll explore key topics like Autonomous Systems (ASNs), iBGP, and BGP’s internal workings. As you progress, you'll be introduced to more intricate concepts, such as how BGP attributes influence path selection and the tools available to manage routing effectively, including AS Path Prepending and Multi-Exit Discriminator. Moving into intermediate topics, you'll dive into BGP's more complex routing attributes, learning to influence the path selection process with attributes like Weight and Local Preference. You'll also explore BGP’s handling of route summarization and its integration with advanced metrics like AIGP. This section is designed to give you practical experience in optimizing your BGP configurations for real-world networking challenges. The course wraps up with advanced BGP topics, such as Route Reflectors, BGP Communities, and methods to optimize routing through techniques like route aggregation and preventing transit AS. Whether you're configuring MPLS Layer 3 VPNs or solving issues like BGP Backdoor Routes, this course equips you with the tools needed to handle the most complex BGP scenarios.