- Hello Packets
Hello packets are mainly used to maintain and discover neighbor relationships. At the same time, they can be used to elect the Backup Designated Router and Designated Router to determine the adjacencies which should be formed. Hello packet has a list of routers that sustains two-way communication especially between the adjacent routers. Some of the list of Hello packets include: Fast Hello Packets, IGP Hello Packets and RSVP Hello Packet.
It is important to note that EIGRP have the potential to support various secondary addresses. For instance it sources different data packets from its primary address by configuring the available routers. EIGRP requires hello packets which it sends to various areas at an interval of 5 seconds though through a stable network for the transmission to take place. The Fast Hello Packet Designated Router helps EIGRP to discard information through a timed interval of 90 seconds. The RSVP Hello Packet has the potential to hold on the time while the information is being discarded to various areas enabling EIGRP to switch its path. However, if the hold time is changed, the Backup Router will not be automatically adjusted to bring about change that is expected. Each of these hello packets needs to stay alive regardless of whether or not they match.
- EIGRP Commands
- Pros
When EIGRP is used with another protocol on the same router, it discovers it as its neighbor enabling exchange of full information on that routing. There is strong reliability because all the neighbors are in a position to receive the information that is passed down through that route. Through the help of hello packets, the neighbor will be able to continue working. EIGRP has the potential to avoid any kind of loops when it is using the same router enabling it to keep all the networks at full topology. It achieves this command by not only avoiding looping but by keeping only the basic topological information instead of the full information. It is important to note that EIGRP has the potential to call out the best route and avoid the alternative routes that may have crazy loops (Cisco, 2016).
Another advantage is that EIGRP has the potential to converge more quickly compared to other distance vector protocols. This is possible because it does not require any features to avoid the loops that may slow it down before it converges at the stipulated distance. At the same time, EIGRP has got less memory while it conducts its processing faster than the link-state protocols. EIGRP uses DUAL to calculate any free loop path to each of its network enabling it to reach various levels of multi-hierarchy due to the ability to conduct a summary on the router interface.
- Cons
EIGRP protocol being a Cisco propriety protocols has only the potential to work on the Cisco routers. It means that it will not be able to operate properly with another routing protocol which is on the same router. This leaves majority of people to prefer using OSPF instead of EIGRP because of the problems that EIGRP will encounter with multiple vendor routings. When another routing protocol is used on the same router, EIGRP will reduce the update traffic while at the same time also forms strong boundaries for any queries to occur (Cisco, 2016). In every router, bounding queries are crucial thus when they are lost along the path way, the network will not be backed-up. The limitations of not backing-up a path are that there will be no router that would be able to answer the query of the neighbors. However, the EIGRP is on this same route, it will continue to do damage by sending hello messages to slow down the links.
- Factors impacting estimates of man hours and costs
When conducting an estimation of the duration taken to work and the costs, it is important to conduct an evaluation on what may impact the entire project. For instance, some factors such as labor costs and the level of productivity hours that you need on a typical workday. The productivity factors will involve the amount of time that a person will work. This will also involve the time that they take for social interaction, travelling or even in meetings. However, the labor cost is a factor that will determine the failure or success of a project. This is because it has the power to either break or make the job. When labor is properly managed by having productive workforce, the project will be successful. Nevertheless, in a case where the project managers do not invest their money on labor supervision, then there is a possibility of having workforce that will be under-producing leading to failure or poor performance (Ewan, 2005). Supervision makes it easy or labor to be delegated giving each of the works responsibility that they have to fulfill to grow the company. When more money is spend on supervision and management, then it becomes easy to manage the labor costs because there will be no losses as a result of under-performance.
There are several factors can result in difficulty in determining the activity duration estimates. For instance, poor scheduling of time makes it difficult to estimate the time that the workers need to complete their job. This can result in poor productivity. At the same time, poor work breakdown especially in projects that are too complex or large can hinder the success of a project. It will be difficult for the manager to estimate the entire activity which can lead to failure or low production of work.
- Contracts
It is important or project managers to have a clear understanding of the contracts for them to be able to know the terms and conditions that are needed for a project to be complete. When a manager understand a contract, it is easy for them to hold the supplier or the contractor accountable for any form of negligence of poor performance level. At the same time, it is easy for them to negotiate to track down on the services based on the negotiations made on the contracts (Ewan, 2005). It makes it easy for the company to spend value for their resources and time when they have a clear understanding of the contract. It is also easy for the management to balance any opportunities availed in the contract or any form of risks. They can do this by simply complying with what is stated in the contract.
In many of IT projects, the kind of contracts that you are likely to see include: Fix-price contracts and Lump Sum contracts. There is a possibility that the kind of a contractual arrangement that a company chooses to use can affect the outcome of their project. First, it will affect the ways in which the procurement works plus the measures that are to be applied to determine the success of the project. It is important that all the procurement processes are structured in the right way to meet the objective strategies that is needed for the project to be successful. The type of contractual arrangement can also affect the ways in which the company engages with the service providers and the manner in which it conducts its transactions. There is a difference between a contract and a project charter. This means that a project charter is not always a contract in all cases. A contract legally binds the company to the contract while the charter just authorizes the project in regards to internal work and consulting work.
- Enabling and troubling EIGRP 1 and 2
The enabling EIGRP 1 and 2 mainly resolves the issues that are troubling a network while the troubling EIGRP 1 and 2 breakdowns the network which might result in a massive loss to the company. The troubling ensures that authentication is not accomplished as expected while holding time required for the Hello interval to be greater. However, the enabling EIGRP ensures that any mis-configuration that might have been experienced is filtered to allow communication to take place properly as expected. It identifies any errors that were preventing communication from one end to the other across the network and configures it. Troubleshooting then takes place to remove all the configuration errors allowing the network to use the accurate command to perform its duties. When all the wrong commands have been corrected, all the loopbacks on the network are also resolved.
References
Cisco. (2016, June 15). Enhanced interior gateway routing protocol. Retrieved from https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/enhanced-interior-gateway-routing-protocol-eigrp/16406-eigrp-toc.html
Ewan, M. (2005). Contract law-text, cases and materials. Oxford: Oxford University Press