Do OSPF Hello and Dead timers have to match for routers to become OSPF neighbors?

OSPF, or Open Shortest Path First, is a link-state routing protocol that requires neighbor routers to establish a relationship before they can share routing information. For routers to successfully become OSPF neighbors, they must agree on certain configuration parameters, which include the Hello and Dead timer settings.

The Hello timer defines how often a router sends OSPF Hello packets to discover and maintain neighbor relationships. The Dead timer, on the other hand, determines how long a router will wait to hear from a neighbor before considering it down. Both timers play crucial roles in ensuring that routers can effectively communicate and maintain a stable network topology.

When these timers do not match between two routers, they will not form a neighbor relationship, which prevents them from exchanging OSPF routing information. Therefore, alignment of the Hello and Dead timers is essential for establishing OSPF adjacency, making it necessary that these values match.

In this context, selecting the option indicating that these timers must match reinforces the fundamental principles of OSPF operation and neighbor relationship formation.