--- title: BGP Route Reflector Myths « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev description: A common BGP myth claims you don't need IBGP sessions between route reflectors. This post debunks that claim with a concrete topology example showing that... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/bgp-route-reflector-myths-ipspace-net-blog-9xizwbluv twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: BGP Route Reflector Myths « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: A common BGP myth claims you don't need IBGP sessions between route reflectors. This post debunks that claim with a concrete topology example showing that... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/bgp-route-reflector-myths-ipspace-net-blog-9xizwbluv og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/9XIZwbLuv.png og:image:alt: BGP Route Reflector Myths « ipSpace.net blog og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # BGP Route Reflector Myths « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A common BGP myth claims you don't need IBGP sessions between route reflectors. This post debunks that claim with a concrete topology example showing that without IBGP between route reflectors, some routers lose reachability entirely. The author acknowledges a narrow exception in data center leaf-and-spine fabrics running EVPN where spine switches act as route reflectors and have identical connectivity, but argues that removing IBGP sessions sacrifices redundancy. The core lesson: every BGP router in an AS must either join the IBGP full mesh or be a client of at least two route reflectors. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Do BGP route reflectors need IBGP sessions between each other? Yes, in most topologies BGP route reflectors need IBGP sessions between them. Without those sessions, routers that receive routes exclusively through one route reflector lose reachability if that session fails, and some destinations may be unreachable entirely. The exception is a data center leaf-and-spine fabric where all spine route reflectors have identical connectivity to every leaf — but even then, removing the sessions sacrifices redundancy. _Network engineers designing BGP topologies track edge cases like this on daily.dev._ ### What is the rule for BGP routers in an autonomous system regarding IBGP full mesh and route reflectors? Every BGP router in an autonomous system must either participate in the IBGP full mesh or be a client of at least two route reflectors. This ensures that if any single BGP session fails, an alternative update propagation path still exists and partial connectivity is avoided. _Engineers hardening BGP designs against session failures find relevant discussions on daily.dev._ --- Tags: [#bgp](https://daily.dev/tags/bgp) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/bgp-route-reflector-myths-ipspace-net-blog-9xizwbluv) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"BGP Route Reflector Myths « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/bgp-route-reflector-myths-ipspace-net-blog-9xizwbluv","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/bgp-route-reflector-myths-ipspace-net-blog-9xizwbluv"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:54:00.583Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:20:53.033Z","description":"A common BGP myth claims you don't need IBGP sessions between route reflectors. 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Without those sessions, routers that receive routes exclusively through one route reflector lose reachability if that session fails, and some destinations may be unreachable entirely. The exception is a data center leaf-and-spine fabric where all spine route reflectors have identical connectivity to every leaf — but even then, removing the sessions sacrifices redundancy. Network engineers designing BGP topologies track edge cases like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the rule for BGP routers in an autonomous system regarding IBGP full mesh and route reflectors?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Every BGP router in an autonomous system must either participate in the IBGP full mesh or be a client of at least two route reflectors. This ensures that if any single BGP session fails, an alternative update propagation path still exists and partial connectivity is avoided. Engineers hardening BGP designs against session failures find relevant discussions on daily.dev."}}]} ```