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Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) enables a group of devices to form a single virtual device to provide redundancy. The LAN clients can then be configured with the virtual device as their default gateway. The virtual device, representing a group of devices, is also known as a VRRP group. The VRRP version 3 (v3) Protocol Support feature provides the capability to support IPv4 and IPv6 addresses while VRRP version 2 (v2) only supports IPv4 addresses. This module explains concepts related to VRRPv3 and describes how to create and customize a VRRP group in a network. Benefits of using VRRPv3 Protocol Support include the following:
Interoperability in multi-vendor environments.
VRRPv3 supports usage of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses while VRRPv2 only supports IPv4 addresses.
Improved scalability through the use of VRRS Pathways.
 Note |
In this module, VRRP and VRRPv3 are used interchangeably. |
For information on support of RSP module and Cisco IOS XE Releases, see Feature Compatibilty Matrix.
To enable VRRPv3 on your device, use the fhrp version vrrp v3 in global configuration mode.
Note |
By default, the VRRP version is set to version 2. |
VRRPv3 is not intended as a replacement for existing dynamic protocols. VRRPv3 is designed for use over multi-access, multicast, or broadcast capable Ethernet LANs.
VRRPv3 is supported on Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Bridge Domain Interface (BDI), and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), VRF-aware MPLS VPNs, and VLANs.
Because of the forwarding delay that is associated with the initialization of a BDI interface, you must not configure the VRRPv3 advertise timer to a value lesser than the forwarding delay on the BDI interface. If you configure the VRRPv3 advertise timer to a value equal to or greater than the forwarding delay on the BDI interface, the setting prevents a VRRP device on a recently initialized BDI interface from unconditionally taking over the master role. Use the bridge forward-time command to set the forwarding delay on the BDI interface. Use the vrrp timers advertise command to set the VRRP advertisement timer.
VRRPv3 does not support Stateful Switchover (SSO).
Full network redundancy can only be achieved if VRRP operates over the same network path as the VRRS Pathway redundant interfaces. For full redundancy, the following restrictions apply:
VRRS pathways should not share a different physical interface as the parent VRRP group or be configured on a sub-interface having a different physical interface as the parent VRRP group.
VRRS pathways should not be configured on BDI as long as the associated VLAN does not share the same trunk as the VLAN on which the parent VRRP group is configured.
No more than two variations of the both VRRP and HSRP protocols are supported when configuring VRRPv3. For example, if both VRRP for IPv4 and VRRP for IPv6 are configured, HSRP cannot be configured.
Maximum number of VRRPv3 groups supported is 255. It includes both IPv4 and IPv6 groups. Even if the same group is configured with IPv4 and IPv6, they are considered as two different entries.
Maximum number of VRRPv3 group entries in an interface is four. This is irrespective of whether IPv6 is configured in the same VRRPv3 group as IPv4.
When enabling 510 VRRPv3 groups, the following restrictions apply:
Note |
Use the platform scale vrrp command to increase the scale of VRRPv3 groups. For more information, see the Enabling 510 VRRPv3 Instances section. |
HSRP is not supported.
IPv6 VRRP is not supported.
Only one VRRP group can be configured on an interface.
There is no restriction in the number of instances of the same group; only on the maximum number of VRRP group instances, which is 510.
VRRP scale cannot be enabled or disabled if there is an existing VRRP or HSRP group.
Note |
When VRRPv3 is in use, VRRPv2 is unavailable. For VRRPv3 to be configurable, the fhrp version vrrp v3 command must be used in global configuration mode |
VRRP enables you to configure multiple devices as the default gateway device, which reduces the possibility of a single point of failure in a network.
You can configure VRRP in such a way that traffic to and from LAN clients can be shared by multiple devices, thereby sharing the traffic load more equitably between available devices.
VRRP supports up to 255 virtual devices (VRRP groups) on a device physical interface, subject to restrictions in scaling. Multiple virtual device support enables you to implement redundancy and load sharing in your LAN topology. In scaled environments, VRRS Pathways should be used in combination with VRRP control groups.
Note |
To utilize secondary IP addresses in a VRRP group, a primary address must be configured on the same group. |
Note |
Preemption of a lower priority master device is enabled with an optional delay. |
VRRP uses a dedicated Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) standard multicast address for VRRP advertisements. For IPv4, the multicast address is 224.0.0.18. For IPv6, the multicast address is FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:12. This addressing scheme minimizes the number of devices that must service the multicasts and allows test equipment to accurately identify VRRP packets on a segment. The IANA has assigned VRRP the IP protocol number 112.
An important aspect of the VRRP redundancy scheme is VRRP device priority. Priority determines the role that each VRRP device plays and what happens if the virtual primary device fails.
If a VRRP device owns the IP address of the virtual device and the IP address of the physical interface, this device will function as a virtual primary device.
Priority also determines if a VRRP device functions as a virtual device backup and the order of ascendancy to becoming a virtual primary device if the virtual primary device fails. You can configure the priority of each virtual device backup with a value of 1 through 254 using the priority command (use the vrrp address-family command to enter the VRRP configuration mode and access the priority option).
For example, if device A, the virtual primary device in a LAN topology, fails, an election process takes place to determine if virtual device backups B or C should take over. If devices B and C are configured with the priorities of 101 and 100, respectively, device B is elected to become virtual primary device because it has the higher priority. If devices B and C are both configured with the priority of 100, the virtual device backup with the higher IP address is elected to become the virtual primary device.
By default, a preemptive scheme is enabled whereby a higher priority virtual device backup that becomes available takes over from the virtual device backup that was elected to become virtual primary device. You can disable this preemptive scheme using the no preempt command (use the vrrp address-family command to enter the VRRP configuration mode, and enter the no preempt command). If preemption is disabled, the virtual device backup that is elected to become virtual primary device remains the primary until the original virtual primary device recovers and becomes primary again.
Note |
Preemption of a lower priority primary device is enabled with an optional delay. |
The virtual router master sends VRRP advertisements to other VRRP routers in the same group. The advertisements communicate the priority and state of the virtual router master. The VRRP advertisements are encapsulated into either IPv4 or IPv6 packets (based on the VRRP group configuration) and sent to the appropriate multicast address assigned to the VRRP group. For IPv4, the multicast address is 224.0.0.18. For IPv6, the multicast address is FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:12. The advertisements are sent every second by default and the interval is configurable.
Cisco routers allow you to configure millisecond timers, which is a change from VRRPv2. You need to manually configure the millisecond timer values on both the primary and the backup routers. The master advertisement value displayed in the show vrrp command output on the backup routers is always 1 second.
You must use millisecond timers where absolutely necessary and with careful consideration and testing. Millisecond values work only under favorable circumstances. The use of the millisecond timer values is compatible with third party vendors, as long as they also support VRRPv3. You can specify a timer value between 100 milliseconds and 40000 milliseconds.
VRRPv3 for IPv6 requires that a primary virtual link-local IPv6 address is configured to allow the group to operate. After the primary link-local IPv6 address is established on the group, you can add the secondary global addresses.
To enable VRRPv3 on a device, perform the following task:
| Step 1 |
enable Example:Enables privileged EXEC mode.
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| Step 2 |
configure terminal Example:Enters global configuration mode. |
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| Step 3 |
fhrp version vrrp v3 Example:Enables the ability to configure VRRPv3 and VRRS.
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| Step 4 |
end Example:Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
To create a VRRP group, perform the following task. Steps 7 to 14 denote customizing options for the group, and they are optional:
| Step 1 |
enable Example:Enables privileged EXEC mode.
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| Step 2 |
configure terminal Example:Enters global configuration mode. |
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| Step 3 |
fhrp version vrrp v3 Example:Enables the ability to configure VRRPv3 and VRRS.
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| Step 4 |
interface type number Example:Enters interface configuration mode. |
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| Step 5 |
vrrp group-id address-family {ipv4 | ipv6} Example:Creates a VRRP group and enters VRRP configuration mode. |
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| Step 6 |
address ip-address [primary | secondary] Example:Specifies a primary or secondary address for the VRRP group.
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| Step 7 |
description group-description Example:(Optional) Specifies a description for the VRRP group. |
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| Step 8 |
match-address Example:(Optional) Matches secondary address in the advertisement packet against the configured address.
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| Step 9 |
preempt delay minimum seconds Example:(Optional) Enables preemption of lower priority master device with an optional delay.
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| Step 10 |
priority priority-level Example:(Optional) Specifies the priority value of the VRRP group.
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| Step 11 |
timers advertise interval Example:(Optional) Sets the advertisement timer in milliseconds.
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| Step 12 |
vrrpv2 Example:(Optional) Enables support for VRRPv2 simultaneously, so as to interoperate with devices which only support VRRP v2.
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| Step 13 |
vrrs leader vrrs-leader-name Example:(Optional) Specifies a leader's name to be registered with VRRS and to be used by followers.
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| Step 14 |
shutdown Example:(Optional) Disables VRRP configuration for the VRRP group.
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| Step 15 |
end Example:Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
A VRRS leader leader-1 is created on interface BDI 201:
interface BDI201
ip address 201.0.0.2 255.255.255.0
vrrp 1 address-family ipv4
vrrs leader leader-1
address 201.0.0.10 primary
exit-vrrp
endA VRRS follower is created on interface BDI 200 using the vrrs pathway command:
interface BDI200
ip address 200.0.0.2 255.255.255.0
vrrs pathway leader-1
address 200.0.0.10
exit-vrrs-pw
end| Step 1 |
enable Example:Enables privileged EXEC mode.
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| Step 2 |
configure terminal Example:Enters global configuration mode. |
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| Step 3 |
fhrp version vrrp v3 Example:Enables the ability to configure VRRPv3 and VRRS.
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| Step 4 |
platform scale vrrp Example:Enables the configuration of 510 VRRPv3 group instances. |
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| Step 5 |
end Example:Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
To configure the delay period before the initialization of all FHRP clients on an interface, perform the following task:
| Step 1 |
enable Example:Enables privileged EXEC mode.
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| Step 2 |
configure terminal Example:Enters global configuration mode. |
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| Step 3 |
fhrp version vrrp v3 Example:Enables the ability to configure VRRPv3 and VRRS.
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| Step 4 |
interface type number Example:Enters interface configuration mode. |
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| Step 5 |
fhrp delay {[minimum] [reload] seconds} Example:Specifies the delay period for the initialization of FHRP clients after an interface comes up.
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| Step 6 |
end Example:Returns to privileged EXEC mode. |
The following example shows how to enable VRRPv3 on a device:
Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# fhrp version vrrp v3
Device(config-if-vrrp)# end
The following example shows how to create and customize an IPv4 VRRP group:
Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# fhrp version vrrp v3
Device(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/0
Device(config-if)# vrrp 3 address-family ipv4
Device(config-if-vrrp)# address 10.0.0.1 primary
Device(config-if-vrrp)# description group 3
Device(config-if-vrrp)# match-address
Device(config-if-vrrp)# preempt delay minimum 30
Device(config-if-vrrp)# end
Note |
In the above example, the fhrp version vrrp v3 command is used in the global configuration mode. |
The following example shows how to configure the delay period before FHRP client initialization :
Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# fhrp version vrrp v3
Device(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/0
Device(config-if)# fhrp delay minimum 5
Device(config-if-vrrp)# end
Note |
In the above example, a five-second delay period is specified for the initialization of FHRP clients after the interface comes up. You can specify a delay period between 0 and 3600 seconds. |
The following is a sample output of the status, configuration and statistics details for a VRRP group:
Device# show vrrp detail
GigabitEthernet0/0/0 - Group 3 - Address-Family IPv4
State is MASTER
State duration 1 mins 23.203 secs
Virtual IP address is 10.0.0.254
Virtual MAC address is 0000.5E00.0103
Advertisement interval is 1000 msec
Preemption enabled
Priority is 110
State change reason is VRRP_PRIORITY
Master Router is 10.0.0.1 (local), priority is 110
Master Advertisement interval is 1000 msec (expires in 598 msec)
Master Down interval is unknown
FLAGS: 1/1
VRRPv3 Advertisements: sent 1985 (errors 0) - rcvd 70
VRRPv2 Advertisements: sent 0 (errors 0) - rcvd 0
Group Discarded Packets: 3
VRRPv2 incompatibility: 0
IP Address Owner conflicts: 0
Invalid address count: 0
IP address configuration mismatch : 0
Invalid Advert Interval: 0
Adverts received in Init state: 3
Invalid group other reason: 0
Group State transition:
Init to master: 0
Init to backup: 3 (Last change Fri Jul 26 15:10:23.977)
Backup to master: 2 (Last change Fri Jul 26 15:10:27.547)
Master to backup: 0
Master to init: 1 (Last change Fri Jul 26 15:09:28.947)
Backup to init: 1 (Last change Fri Jul 26 14:40:55.710)
GigabitEthernet0/0/0 - Group 3 - Address-Family IPv6
State is MASTER
State duration 1 mins 26.772 secs
Virtual IP address is FE80::46B6:BEFF:FE50:DBB0
Virtual secondary IP addresses:
2001:1234::FFFF/64
Virtual MAC address is 0000.5E00.0203
Advertisement interval is 1000 msec
Preemption enabled
Priority is 255 (owner mode)
State change reason is VRRP_PRIORITY
Master Router is FE80::46B6:BEFF:FE50:DBB0 (local), priority is 255
Master Advertisement interval is 1000 msec (expires in 600 msec)
Master Down interval is unknown
FLAGS: 1/1
VRRPv3 Advertisements: sent 1181 (errors 0) - rcvd 1
VRRPv2 Advertisements: sent 0 (errors 0) - rcvd 0
Group Discarded Packets: 0
VRRPv2 incompatibility: 0
IP Address Owner conflicts: 0
Invalid address count: 0
IP address configuration mismatch : 1
Invalid Advert Interval: 0
Adverts received in Init state: 0
Invalid group other reason: 0
Group State transition:
Init to master: 2 (Last change Fri Jul 26 15:10:23.979)
Init to backup: 0
Backup to master: 0
Master to backup: 0
Master to init: 1 (Last change Fri Jul 26 15:09:28.947)
Backup to init: 0
Device# exit
VRRPv3 operations OID 1.3.6.1.2.1.207.1.1.1
VRRPv3 statistics OID 1.3.6.1.2.1.207.1.2
VRRPv3 traps for vrrpv3NewMaster (1.3.6.1.2.1.207.0.1) and vrrpv3ProtoError (1.3.6.1.2.1.207.0.2)
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Related Topic |
Document Title |
|---|---|
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Cisco IOS commands |
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FHRP commands |
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Configuring VRRPv2 |
Configuring VRRP |
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Standard/RFC |
Title |
|---|---|
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RFC5798 |
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol |
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RFC 6527 |
Definitions of Managed Objects for the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol Version 3 (VRRPv3) |
| MIB | MIBs Link |
|---|---|
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VRRPv3 MIB |
To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco software releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL: |
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Description |
Link |
|---|---|
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The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password. |
Virtual IP address owner —The VRRP router that owns the IP address of the virtual router. The owner is the router that has the virtual router address as its physical interface address.
Virtual router —One or more VRRP routers that form a group. The virtual router acts as the default gateway router for LAN clients. The virtual router is also known as a VRRP group.
Virtual router backup —One or more VRRP routers that are available to assume the role of forwarding packets if the virtual primary router fails.
Virtual primaryrouter —The VRRP router that is currently responsible for forwarding packets sent to the IP addresses of the virtual router. Usually, the virtual primary router also functions as the IP address owner.
VRRP router —A router that is running VRRP.
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