BGP from Scratch: Setting Up Your First Autonomous System with BIRD 2 in 2026

BGP from Scratch: Setting Up Your First Autonomous System with BIRD 2 Running your own Autonomous System isn't just for ISPs anymore. If you're multihoming across data centers, need provider-independent addressing, or want to control your traffic engineering — BGP is how you get there. This guide takes you from zero to a working BGP setup with BIRD 2, including getting your ASN, configuring peering, and setting up RPKI. Prerequisites A server (VPS or dedicated) with a public interface Your own ASN and at least one IP prefix (see below) At least one upstream provider willing to establish a BGP session with you Basic Linux networking knowledge Getting Number Resources Before you can run BGP, you need: An ASN — Your unique identifier in the global routing table IP space — At least a /48 IPv6 (or /24 IPv4, though these are scarce and expensive) Through an RIR Directly If you're in the RIPE NCC region (Europe, Middle East, parts of Central Asia), you can request resources directly if you're