What is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)?

BGP is the protocol that makes the internet work by exchanging routing information between autonomous systems (AS). It's the postal service of the internet, determining the best path for data packets to travel from source to destination across multiple networks.

What Does the BGP Route Checker Show?

• IP Prefixes: Network blocks that contain the IP address
• ASN Information: Autonomous System Numbers that announce the routes
• Organization Details: Companies or entities that control the networks
• PTR Records: Reverse DNS information for the IP
• RIR Allocation: Regional Internet Registry that allocated the IP space

Why Check BGP Routes?

• Network Troubleshooting: Diagnose routing problems and connectivity issues
• Security Analysis: Detect BGP hijacking or route leaks
• Network Planning: Understand routing paths for peering decisions
• Monitoring: Track changes in how networks are announced
• Research: Study internet routing architecture and AS relationships

How to Use the BGP Route Checker

Step 1: Enter an IP address (e.g., 8.8.8.8) or network prefix (e.g., 8.8.8.0/24)
Step 2: Click "Check BGP Routes" to retrieve routing information
Step 3: Review the advertised prefixes and ASN details
Step 4: Use "Copy Results" to save the BGP information

Example BGP Lookup:

Input: 8.8.8.8

Results:
IP Address: 8.8.8.8
PTR Record: dns.google
RIR: ARIN
Country: US

Advertised Prefixes:
Prefix: 8.8.8.0/24
ASN: AS15169
Organization: Google LLC
Description: Google Public DNS
    

Understanding BGP Concepts:

• Prefix: A range of IP addresses (e.g., 192.0.2.0/24)
• AS Path: The sequence of ASNs a route passes through
• Origin AS: The AS that originally announced the prefix
• Route Announcement: How an AS tells others about its IP ranges

Related Network Tools

• ASN Lookup - Look up Autonomous System details
• IP Geolocation Lookup - Find IP location
• Traceroute Visualizer - Trace network paths
• WHOIS Lookup - Domain registration lookup