Smarter by Design.Simpler for Business
TR7Enterprise Application Delivery & Security Platform
What is the difference between static routing and dynamic routing?
Short answer
In static routing, routes are written manually and do not change on their own even if the network changes; in dynamic routing, on the other hand, routers learn routes from their neighbors with a routing protocol and update the path on their own when a link goes down. Static routing is simple and predictable in small and fixed topologies; dynamic routing is needed in networks with many links or that change frequently. TR7 offers both: a static route is added with the Add Route form on the Network → Interfaces screen; for dynamic routing, Dynamic Route Table is checked (unchecked by default) while a route table is being added or edited on the Network → Route Tables screen, FRR Mode is selected and the routing daemons that will run are turned on. Each dynamic route table runs its own independent routing instance; the protocol configuration is done from the VTYSH Console in the route table preview.
Where It Is Used in TR7
| Where | Field / label | What for |
|---|---|---|
| Network → Interfaces → Actions → Add Route | Destination Network, Gateway, Route Interface | Defining a static route |
| Network → Route Tables → Add (or Edit) | Route Table Name, Dynamic Route Table, FRR Mode (traditional default, datacenter), daemon switches (BGPD, OSPFD, OSPF6D, RIPD… default Disabled) | Turning on dynamic routing in the route table and selecting the protocol daemons |
| Network → Route Tables → route table preview | VTYSH Console, Restart (per device in a cluster) | Protocol configuration and restarting the routing instance |
| WEB-CLI | sys-cmd frr-console (frr-console), network route add (network route) | Connecting to the dynamic routing console (the command can be used only if Dynamic Route Table is on in the route table selected in WEB-CLI); adding a static route |
Comparison
| Static routing | Dynamic routing | |
|---|---|---|
| Routes | Written manually | Learned from neighbors with a protocol |
| Adapting to topology changes | None; the route is updated manually | On its own |
| Resource consumption | Next to none | Protocol processes and neighbor traffic |
| Typical use | Small, fixed networks; a dedicated path to specific destinations | More than one uplink, ISP connections, large internal networks |
| In TR7 | Add Route form (valid for the whole route table, bound to an interface) | Route table with Dynamic Route Table checked + VTYSH Console |
Common Misconceptions
- "Dynamic routing is turned on for the whole device." It is turned on per route table; each dynamic route table runs its own routing instance, and the neighbor relationships in one table do not affect the others.
- "Protocol settings are made with the fields in the form." Only FRR Mode and the daemons are selected in the form; neighbor and protocol configuration is done from the table's VTYSH Console.
- "When a dynamic route table is turned on, static routes are not used." Routes added with Add Route and the default gateway can also be defined in a dynamic route table.
How it is done in the documentation
