If you’ve spent any time in the LowEnd world or are a regular LowEndTalk reader, you’ve undoubtedly come across the term BGP. Maybe you’ve seen hosting providers offering “BGP sessions,” or discussions of ASNs, IP announcements, and global routing.

But what exactly is BGP?  Maybe you googled it and found it stands for Border Gateway Patrol and wondered if it was some kind of North Korean security operation.

So what is BGP?  Do you need it? And what value does it bring to the average VPS user?

Spoiler: You probably don’t need it, but it’s worth understanding because it undergirds the Internet.

What Is BGP?

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the backbone of the modern internet. It’s the system that allows autonomous systems (ASes).- think ISPs, data centers, and large enterprise networks- to exchange routing information and connect to one another.  Your hosting provider is likely (but not always) an Autonomous System.  Each AS is identified by an Autonomous System Number (ASN), and BGP allows these systems to advertise what IP addresses they own and the best way to reach them.

In a sense, BGP is the postal service of the internet. It tells routers how to reach different IP address blocks across the globe.

For example, Joe Schmoe Hosting is AS12345.  JSH leases some IPs but how does it tell the rest of the world “hey, for these blocks, send the traffic to me because I own them”?  That’s BGP’s job.

What Can BGP Do for You?

For most end users, the internet “just works.” Your packets leave your VPS and reach your destination, and vice versa. But BGP gives certain advanced benefits that may be useful in specific scenarios:

• IP Portability: If you own a block of IP addresses (typically a /24 or larger), BGP allows you to announce it from multiple providers. This means you’re not tied to a single VPS or dedicated server host. If one goes offline, another can pick up the slack without DNS changes.
• Redundancy & Failover: Large hosting providers use BGP to announce the same IP space from multiple data centers or transit providers. If one provider goes down, traffic can be routed via another, minimizing downtime.
• Anycast: This technique uses BGP to announce the same IP address from multiple locations, routing users to the nearest available server. Anycast is used by major CDN and DNS providers for global load balancing.

So, Do You Need It?

Probably not, unless you own your own IP space (i.e., you’re leasing an IP block) or have an ASN (and you don’t unless you applied for one).

For most VPS users, BGP is overkill. You’ll get a single IP from your provider, and traffic to that IP is handled by their BGP setup, not yours. Even if you’re running high-availability apps, using DNS-level failover, cloud load balancers, or reverse proxies is usually a better fit.

When BGP Does Matter to You (Indirectly)

Even if you’re not using BGP yourself, your hosting provider certainly is. Here’s why you should still care:

• BGP decisions affect how fast and reliable your server’s connectivity is. Cheap hosts may have fewer peers or worse routes.

• If a provider is constantly churning IP space or moving ranges around via BGP, your IP could suffer from blacklisting or routing issues.  (This isn’t common).

• Advanced BGP setups allow providers to reroute traffic for scrubbing during DDoS attacks.

Getting Started with BGP (If You Really Want To)

If you’re determined to get your hands dirty, here’s what the process looks like:

1. Get your own ASN and IP block from your regional internet registry.

2. Find a hosting provider that supports BGP sessions. Many providers advertise this as part of their bare metal or colo offerings.

3. Set up your router (e.g., Bird, FRR) to establish BGP sessions and advertise your prefixes.

4. Understand route filtering and security, lest you accidentally hijack a route or get blackholed.

Got your own BGP setup? Brag about it in the comments below!

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.