---
title: "Understanding BGP Basic and BGP Standard in Catchpoint"
slug: "understanding-bgp-basic-and-bgp-standard-in-catchpoint"
updated: 2026-01-15T18:36:31Z
published: 2026-01-15T18:36:31Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.catchpoint.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understanding BGP Basic and BGP Standard in Catchpoint

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) monitoring helps you track how your prefixes are routed across the global Internet.

Catchpoint offers two tiers of BGP monitoring — **BGP Basic** and **BGP Standard** — designed to give you flexibility based on your visibility, data freshness, and historical retention needs.

This article explains both options so you can choose the right tier for your monitoring strategy.

---

## **Why BGP Monitoring Matters**

BGP controls how traffic reaches your services across the Internet. Outages, route leaks, hijacks, or propagation delays can significantly impact reachability and performance. Catchpoint’s BGP monitors help you:

- Detect routing anomalies quickly
- Track route propagation globally
- Identify ISP‑specific issues
- Validate routing policy and changes
- Maintain availability and reliability

---

### **BGP Monitoring Tiers**

Catchpoint provides two tiers: **BGP Basic** and **BGP Standard**. Both allow you to monitor any prefix, but differ in data freshness, peer coverage, and historical retention.

---

## **1. BGP Basic**

BGP Basic is designed for customers looking for **cost‑effective, broad routing visibility**.

### **Key Features**

| Capability | BGP Basic |
| --- | --- |
| **Data Freshness** | Up to **15‑minute** delay (non‑real‑time) |
| **Peer Coverage** | **50 pre‑selected peers** from RIS, RouteViews, and Catchpoint |
| **History Retention** | **90 days** |
| **Use Cases** | General routing visibility, propagation tracking, basic anomaly detection |

### **Ideal For**

- Teams needing a reliable, lightweight view into routing
- Monitoring prefixes with low routing volatility
- Use cases where real‑time detection is not required

---

## **2. BGP Standard**

BGP Standard is Catchpoint’s **premium, real‑time BGP monitoring** experience, designed for operational and mission‑critical visibility.

### **Key Features**

| Capability | BGP Standard |
| --- | --- |
| **Data Freshness** | **Real‑time** (includes Catchpoint and RIS Live) |
| **Peer Coverage** | **Full set of global peers** across Catchpoint, RIS, and RouteViews |
| **History Retention** | **13 months** |
| **Use Cases** | Real‑time routing anomaly detection, hijack/leak detection, operational visibility |

### **Ideal For**

- Critical services where routing issues must be detected immediately
- Troubleshooting complex ISP‑level routing events
- Post‑incident deep‑dive analysis with long historical records

---

## **Feature Comparison Summary**

| Feature | **BGP Basic** | **BGP Standard** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Data Freshness | Up to 15 minutes | Real‑time |
| Peer Coverage | 50 curated peers | All Catchpoint + RIS + RouteViews peers |
| Historical Storage | 90 days | 13 months |
| Best For | Cost‑effective visibility, lightweight monitoring | Mission‑critical routing insight & rapid incident detection |

---

## **How to Choose Between the Two**

Choose **BGP Basic** if you want:

- Low‑cost visibility into routing
- Non‑urgent analysis or propagation tracking
- A starting point to adopt BGP monitoring

Choose **BGP Standard** if you need:

- Immediate detection of routing incidents
- Highest peer diversity and accuracy
- Long‑term historical analysis
- Stronger operational or enterprise‑grade guarantees

---

## **Using BGP Monitors in Catchpoint**

When creating a new BGP test, you will see both monitor types (based on your account configuration):

- **BGP Basic**
- **BGP Standard**

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/cb4af8f9-6751-4fd2-b39c-07aae832badb/Images/Documentation/image(606).png)

You may mix and match—some prefixes on Basic, others on Standard—depending on your business needs.

You can switch a test’s monitor type at any time. The test will continue to work normally and begin collecting data under the new tier.

---