Some questions regarding BGP-type tunnels

[marioxcc]

Hello.

If I understood correctly, connecting through a BGP-type tunnel as kindly offered by H.E. means (As seen from the rest of the world with whois) than I would be using my own (Not literately, since IP address are ostensibly not property) IP address space, with H.E. being the next-hop in the AS path. The IPv4 tunnel would then stand in the place of a dedicated physical connection to H.E. Is this right?. How is this service called for the general case were no IP version transitioning is used (IPv4 inside and outside tunnel, or IPv6 inside and outside tunnel as well)? Are there providers offering this service?.

Thanks.

[broquea]

The IPv4 tunnel would then stand in the place of a dedicated physical connection to H.E. Is this right?

Pretty much!

How is this service called for the general case were no IP version transitioning is used?

If you wanted to announce IPv4 via a BGP tunnel you'd probably use an IPv4 GRE or IPSec tunnel; same for a remote native IPv6.

Are there providers offering this service?

I've yet to see another reputable network offer these kinds of services, let alone the 6in4 BGP tunnels for free.

[kasperd]

I've yet to see another reputable network offer these kinds of services, let alone the 6in4 BGP tunnels for free.

The only other provider I have seen advertise BGP tunnels is NetAssist, sounds like they are free as well. But NetAssist is not as well-connected as HE.

A BGP tunnel could either provide transit or be a peering only connection. The descriptions of the tunnels from HE and from NetAssist do not state directly if it is one or the other, but I guess they do include transit.

[broquea]

The BGP tunnel provides a full view from HE, not just their customer routes, so it is transit. So as long as NetAssist provides as close as possible to a full view, it is probably transit.

[marioxcc]

Thanks all of you.

How is this service called for the general case were no IP version transitioning is used?

If you wanted to announce IPv4 via a BGP tunnel you'd probably use an IPv4 GRE or IPSec tunnel; same for a remote native IPv6.

But what's the name of the practice consisting in tunneling traffic like this (Either as a transitioning mechanism, like the Hurricane Electric "BGP tunnel" or same IP version as you described, with a BGP session running inside and the client using his own address space)?. What would be the uses of this, and the BGP 6in4 tunnel provided by Hurricane Electric?.

[broquea]

The name of the practice of tunneling BGP router advertisements? tunneling. Are you looking for something like "peering" or some sort of RFC definition?

The BGP nature of the tunnel isn't really a "transition mechanism" so much as a way to get routing advertisements out there when native isn't an option. The tunnel itself is 6in4.

[marioxcc]

The name of the practice of tunneling BGP router advertisements? tunneling. Are you looking for something like "peering" or some sort of RFC definition?

No really. This is enough. I just wanted to make sure that my understanding of terminology was right.

The BGP nature of the tunnel isn't really a "transition mechanism" so much as a way to get routing advertisements out there when native isn't an option. The tunnel itself is 6in4.

Ok thanks.