BGP
/bee-jee-pee/ · noun · Development · Origin: 1989
Definitions
Border Gateway Protocol — the routing protocol that glues the internet together by enabling autonomous systems (ISPs, cloud providers, enterprises) to exchange reachability information. Often called 'the protocol that runs the internet,' BGP operates on trust between operators and has no built-in authentication, making it both essential and terrifyingly fragile.
In plain English: The system that tells internet traffic which path to take between networks — it basically holds the entire internet together with trust and hope.
Example: A BGP misconfiguration by a small ISP in Pakistan accidentally took YouTube offline worldwide for two hours in 2008.
Origin Story
The duct tape holding the entire internet together since 1989
The **Border Gateway Protocol** was created by Kirk Lougheed and Yakov Rekhter in 1989, famously sketched out on three napkins at an IETF meeting lunch. The internet needed a way for autonomous networks (like ISPs, universities, and corporations) to exchange routing information.
BGP replaced EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol) and became the protocol that literally decides how data traverses the internet. Every packet that crosses network boundaries follows paths determined by BGP. It's often called "the protocol that runs the internet."
The terrifying part: BGP operates largely on trust. When one network announces routes, its neighbors believe it. This trust-based model has led to route hijacks, accidental outages (Pakistan accidentally took down YouTube globally in 2008), and ongoing security concerns.
Coined by: Kirk Lougheed, Yakov Rekhter
Context: IETF, 1989 (RFC 1105)
Fun fact: The 'three napkins' origin story is legendary in networking. BGP's entire design was sketched during an IETF lunch. Those napkins are considered one of the most important pieces of paper in internet history -- though nobody knows where they are now.