IP routing redundancy is designed to allow for transparent fail-over at the first-hop IP router.
Both HSRP and VRRP enable two or more devices to work together in a group, sharing a single IP address, the virtual IP address. The virtual IP address is configured in each end user's workstation as a default gateway address and is cached in the host's Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache.
In an HSRP or VRRP group, one router is elected to handle all requests sent to the virtual IP address. With HSRP, this is the active router. An HSRP group has one active router, at least one standby router, and perhaps many listening routers. A VRRP group has one active router and one or more backup routers.