When a BGP routing policy changes, neighbors are notified through Notification messages. Only BGP devices that support route refresh capabilities will send and respond to this message.

Question

Options

• ATRUE
• BFALSE

• A
  17% (12)
• B
  83% (59)

Explanation

B is correct because the statement contains two errors. First, BGP Notification messages are error-reporting messages used to terminate a BGP session - they are not used to signal routing policy changes to neighbors. Second, the mechanism for handling policy changes is entirely different: devices with the Route Refresh capability (RFC 2918) exchange ROUTE-REFRESH messages to prompt neighbors to re-advertise their routes without tearing down the session.

Why A (TRUE) is wrong: Accepting the statement as true would confuse two distinct BGP message types. Notification messages carry error codes and cause session teardown, while Route Refresh messages are a separate message type negotiated during the OPEN handshake - conflating them is a classic exam trap.

The full picture: Without Route Refresh support, a policy change requires a hard reset - the session is torn down (which does involve a Notification message to close it gracefully) and rebuilt. With Route Refresh support, a soft reset uses ROUTE-REFRESH messages, leaving the session intact. Either way, Notification messages are never the mechanism for notifying a peer about a policy change.

Memory tip: Think of it this way - Notification = 911 call (something went wrong, session is ending); Route Refresh = a polite "please resend your routes" request. Policy changes call for a refresh, not an emergency.

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