Overview

DartNode offers customer BGP peering for advanced routing control, multi-homing, and DDoS-resilient traffic engineering. This guide explains how to establish a BGP session with DartNode using BIRD on Linux.

DartNode operates AS 399646 and supports both IPv4 and IPv6 customer peering.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Your own ASN

• At least one public IPv4 and/or IPv6 address assigned by DartNode

• A Linux server or router with:

  • Root access

  • Static IP configuration

• BIRD 2.x installed

• (Optional) BGP MD5 password if provided by DartNode

DartNode BGP Peering Details

DartNode automatically applies bogon filtering and sanity checks on all customer sessions.

Step 1: Install BIRD

Debian / Ubuntu

apt update
apt install bird2

RHEL / Rocky / Alma

dnf install bird

Verify:

bird --version

Step 2: Enable IP Forwarding

sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding=1

Persist:

echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo "net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding=1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf

Step 3: Base BIRD Configuration

Edit:

nano /etc/bird/bird.conf

Global Settings

router id 203.0.113.10;   # Your IPv4 address

log syslog all;

protocol device {
}

protocol direct {
    ipv4;
    ipv6;
}

Step 4: Define Prefix Filters

Only advertise prefixes you are authorized to announce.

filter EXPORT_V4 {
    if net ~ [203.0.113.0/24] then accept;
    reject;
}

filter EXPORT_V6 {
    if net ~ [2001:db8:1234::/48] then accept;
    reject;
}

Step 5: Configure IPv4 BGP Session

protocol bgp dartnode_v4 {
    local as 64500;               # Your ASN
    neighbor 38.134.40.1 as 399646;  # DartNode IPv4 peer
    source address 203.0.113.10;

    ipv4 {
        import all;
        export filter EXPORT_V4;
    };

    graceful restart on;

    # Optional MD5
    # password "your-md5-password";
}

Step 6: Configure IPv6 BGP Session (Optional)

protocol bgp dartnode_v6 {
    local as 64500;
    neighbor 2602:f9f3:0:2::1 as 399646;
    source address 2001:db8:1234::1;

    ipv6 {
        import all;
        export filter EXPORT_V6;
    };

    graceful restart on;

    # Optional MD5
    # password "your-md5-password";
}

Step 7: Start and Verify BIRD

systemctl enable bird
systemctl restart bird

Check session status:

birdc show protocols

Expected:

dartnode_v4   BGP  Established
dartnode_v6   BGP  Established

View received routes:

birdc show route protocol dartnode_v4

Common Issues

Security & Policy Notes

• DartNode enforces bogon filtering

• Only prefixes registered to your ASN may be advertised

• Excessive route flapping may trigger dampening

• Max-prefix limits may apply

Need Help?

Open a support ticket with:

• Your ASN

• Peering IPs (IPv4/IPv6)

• Prefixes you plan to announce

• Desired route type (default/full)

📧 [email protected]