Introduction and motivation
I have always felt the EIGRP metric as being really overwhelming. I see values like «2820096» and instead of understanding it, I always end up asking what the hell does that number mean.
For example, in RIP:
R 192.168.0.0/24 [120/3] via 172.16.1.1, 00:00:15, FastEthernet0/0
Just by looking at the metric of «3» I immediately know what is means: there are three steps between the announced network and the router receiving the advertisement. Easy, right? «Understanding the number» makes it easy for me to manage and diagnose it.
In OSPF, the metric (cost) is still not as cumbersome as EIGRP’s. However, in the following example, can you identify what does «66» mean? For you, is it «just a number» that won over another because of its numerical value being lower? How do you know if the number is right or not?
O 192.168.0.0/24 [110/66] via 172.16.1.1, 00:00:82, FastEthernet0/0