The Democratization of BGP: How Individuals Are Claiming Their Place in Internet Routing

For decades, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing has been perceived as the exclusive domain of telecom giants and internet backbone providers. Yet a quiet revolution is underway, as demonstrated by a recent technical deep dive into operating a personal Autonomous System (AS) using FreeBSD. This approach leverages several critical developments:

The New Accessibility of Internet Resources

Three factors have converged to make personal AS operation feasible:

1. Sponsoring LIR Programs: Organizations like RIPE NCC now offer sponsored membership models
2. IPv6 Adoption: The expansive IPv6 address space enables meaningful prefix allocation
3. Open Source Maturation: FRRouting (FRR) provides enterprise-grade BGP capabilities

Architectural Breakthrough: Dual-FIB Routing

The most significant technical innovation lies in FreeBSD's implementation of multiple Forwarding Information Bases (FIBs). This solves the critical challenge of maintaining multiple address spaces on a single host:

• FIB 0: Handles provider-assigned addresses through conventional routing
• FIB 1: Manages BGP-allocated addresses via GRE/GIF tunnels

As detailed in the implementation, policy routing rules using rtable directives in PF firewall configurations enable automatic path selection based on source addresses. This eliminates the need for complex NAT arrangements or manual route selection.

Security Through Constrained Design

Contrary to assumptions about increased attack surfaces, the implementation demonstrates multiple security advantages:

• Bogon Filtering: Comprehensive prefix lists reject invalid routes
• TTL Security: BGP sessions use hop-limited TTLs to prevent remote attacks
• Route Validation: Maximum prefix limits and RPKI ROAs prevent route leaks

The firewall configuration strictly separates control plane (BGP/SSH) and data plane traffic, with explicit whitelisting of peer addresses.

Implications for Network Resilience

This approach offers tangible benefits beyond technical curiosity:

1. Provider Independence: Services maintain consistent addressing across host migrations
2. Traffic Engineering: Multi-homing with AS path prepending enables path optimization
3. Educational Value: Hands-on BGP experience demystifies internet infrastructure

Counterperspective: The Complexity Barrier

Critics might argue that such configurations introduce unnecessary complexity for individual operators. However, the technical write-up demonstrates that:

• Modern FreeBSD networking features reduce implementation friction
• Automation potential exists through tools like Ansible or SaltStack
• The operational overhead decreases over time as the setup stabilizes

The Philosophical Dimension

At its core, this technical achievement represents a democratization of internet infrastructure. Where BGP once required six-figure investments and dedicated transit agreements, individuals can now participate in global routing for minimal cost. This aligns with the original end-to-end principle of internet architecture, where intelligence resides at the edges rather than centralized intermediaries.

As the author notes: "BGP doesn't care about your size. It just cares that your routes are valid, your filters are clean, and your packets know where to go." This egalitarian view of internet routing suggests we may see more individuals and small organizations claiming their autonomous presence in the global routing table.

For those interested in exploring further, key resources include:

• FRR Documentation
• FreeBSD Handbook: Advanced Networking
• RIPE NCC Resource Request Process

The technical write-up serves as both a practical guide and a manifesto for a more accessible internet routing paradigm—one where individuals can participate as first-class network citizens rather than passive consumers of connectivity.