What exactly do you mean by a route reflector in the context of Border Gateway Protocol? Why is it necessary?

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Accepted Answer

A route reflector in BGP is a device that helps reduce the number of BGP peerings required in a network by reflecting routes to other routers.

Route reflectors help reduce the number of BGP peerings required in a network by allowing a router to reflect routes to other routers without the need for a full mesh of peerings.
They are necessary in large networks with many routers to reduce the complexity and resource usage of maintaining full mesh peerings.
Route reflectors help prevent routing loops and improve scalability by allowing for hierarchical routing structures.
Example: In a network with 100 routers, using a route reflector can reduce the number of required peerings from 495 (full mesh) to just a few (route reflector).

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