How BGP announcement works (plain language)

BGP is how networks tell each other which IP prefixes they can reach. You or your host originate a prefix from an ASN, and neighboring networks propagate that route if their filters allow it. You do not run BGP from a cPanel shared account. A working session, matching paperwork, and a valid ROA are what make the announcement stick.

What actually gets announced

What travels is a prefix (a block of addresses) plus an origin ASN. LogicWeb has an ASN, and you may have one of your own. When you lease space from our inventory, the prefix is already ours; you can lease the announcement onto your ASN or keep it on our servers. An LOA is the letter that authorizes the announcement. Neighbors accept the route only if length, IRR objects, and RPKI state pass their filters, then they pass it along. There is no single global switch. Many independent filters have to agree before the rest of the internet learns a path.

A default route on a VPS is not BGP. You get a working path out through us, not a looking-glass login to the core. A dedicated server with a single IPv4 works the same way. BGP starts only when a prefix, an ASN, and a session all exist. If you do not have an ASN, bundling the space with our servers is normal and expected.

How hijack-shaped accidents happen

Without RPKI, a hijack often looks like a longer prefix or a louder false origin stealing traffic. A valid ROA that names the wrong ASN can take your own prefix off the internet. Two origins for one prefix—you and us both originating because a ticket said “announce it” twice—create a mystery outage with an RPKI invalid on one side. More-specific routes can steer traffic, but they can also look like a hijack and die on filters that only accept a /24 for IPv4.

What to verify after the session is up

Check a looking glass after the session is up, not only ping. Ping can succeed from a neighbor while the route is still filtered elsewhere. The prefix, the origin ASN, the ROA, and the glass should all agree. Incomplete IRR often shows up as a silent filter on a Friday, so create the route object and keep RPKI and IRR aligned. Shared cPanel accounts still cannot run BGP. The letter that lets anyone announce is the LOA.