# Why Your Traffic Didn't go the way you expected

DevFeed: [Why Your Traffic Didn't go the way you expected](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-your-traffic-didn-t-go-the-way-you-expected-40172.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.j2sw.com/netops/why-traffic-didnt-use-the-peer/>)

Author: j2sw

Published: 2026-07-28T15:16:02Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Justin Wilson (j2sw)](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/justin-wilson-j2sw.md>)

Topics: [BGP](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/bgp.md>), [Routing (disambiguation)](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/routing.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>)

Tags: [bgp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bgp.md>), [fd-ix](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/fd-ix.md>), [network-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/network-engineering.md>), [network-operations](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/network-operations.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/networking.md>), [peering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/peering.md>), [routing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/routing.md>), [routing-table](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/routing-table.md>), [transit](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/transit.md>)

## AI overview

This troubleshooting article explains why traffic may not use an expected peering path even when a BGP session is established. It focuses on routing-table selection, Local Preference, BGP policy, and the possibility that return traffic follows a different path.

## Source excerpt

3 Mintue read timeJustin Wilson PacketsDownRange A common problem I run into when diagnosing route issues is traffic not going across the path it's supposed to. An established BGP session only means the routers successfully exchanged routes. It says nothing about which route your router actually installed in the forwarding table. Let's get into some ... Read more The post Why Your Traffic Didn't go the way you expected appeared first on Justin Wilson (j2sw).