Error "Received OSPF packet with bad area ID"

(Last modified: 15Mar1999)

This document (2929699) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Symptom

The customer was implementing OSPF on his NW 4.10 server. Getting the error message, "Received OSPF packet with bad area ID from <Router IP Address>."

The Area ID Number (In INETCFG utility under Protocol --> TCP/IP --> OSPF Configuration) on the Novell 4.10 server was set to 10.51.0.0.

The router causing the error message was a Cisco 2500.
Cisco routers contain a IP routing statement for the Area ID number in which it resides, the following is an example:

                             router ospf 1111
                             network 10.51.0.0 0.0.255.255 area 51

An OSPF Area is a logical division of a large enterprise internetwork divided into smaller contiguous networks, called areas. Areas usually correspond to an administrative domain such as a department, a building, or a geographic site.

Cause

Key Words: tcpip, ospf

Solutions

When implementing OSPF it is essential to set the Area ID Number in the "Protocols" & "Bindings" section in the INETCFG utility. The number scheme used to set this number is a four octet number, such as, 0.0.0.0. The catch is syntactically matching this Area ID Number with the Area ID Number being reported on the router. In the above example the Area ID, on the router, was 51. The equivalent of this on the Novell 4.10 server is 0.0.0.51.

Solution:

1. Load INETCFG --> Protocol --> TCP/IP --> OSPF Configuration --> Area Configuration: change the Area ID Number to syntactically match the Area ID Number on the router.

2. Load INETCFG --> Bindings --> Select TCP/IP (under Protocol Column) --> OSPF Bind Options --> Area ID: Choose the appropriate OSPF Area ID Number (note: this number needs to be the same as the number designated in step one).

3. Save all changes and exit the INETCFG utility.

4. Manually unload the TCPIP.NLM and REINITIALIZE SYSTEM.

After the changes the customer was able to ping outside his router without any Area ID Numbers errors being reported.

document

Document Title:	Error "Received OSPF packet with bad area ID"
Document ID:	2929699
Creation Date:	09Sep1997
Modified Date:	15Mar1999
Revision:	2
Novell Product Class:	Connectivity Products

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