CH A P T E R

31

Configuring Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol

The Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) is an election protocol that dynamically assigns
responsibility for one or more virtual routers to the VRRP routers on a LAN, allowing several routers on
a multi-access link to utilize the same virtual IP address. A VRRP router is configured to run the VRRP
protocol in conjunction with one or more other routers attached to a LAN. In a VRRP configuration, one
router is elected as the virtual router master, with the other routers acting as backups in case the virtual
router master fails. This chapter includes the following topics:

Information About VRRP, page 31-1

Configuring VRRP, page 31-7

Configuration Examples for VRRP, page 31-16

Information About VRRP

VRRP Operation, page 31-1

Benefits of VRRP, page 31-3

Multiple Virtual Router Support, page 31-4

VRRP Router Priority and Preemption, page 31-4

VRRP Advertisements, page 31-5

VRRP Object Tracking, page 31-5

How Object Tracking Affects the Priority of a VRRP Router, page 31-5

VRRP Authentication, page 31-6

ISSUVRRP, page 31-6

SSOVRRP, page 31-7

VRRP Operation
There are several ways a LAN client can determine which router should be the first hop to a particular
remote destination. The client can use a dynamic process or static configuration. Examples of dynamic
router discovery are as follows:

Proxy ARPThe client uses Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to get the destination it wants to
reach, and a router responds to the ARP request with its own MAC address.

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Routing protocolThe client listens to dynamic routing protocol updates (for example, from
Routing Information Protocol [RIP]) and forms its own routing table.

IRDP (ICMP Router Discovery Protocol) clientThe client runs an Internet Control Message
Protocol (ICMP) router discovery client.

The dynamic discovery protocols incur some configuration and processing overhead on the LAN client.
This could be detrimental also, in the event of a router failure, the process of switching to another router
can be slow.
An alternative to dynamic discovery protocols is to statically configure a default router on the client.
This approach simplifies client configuration and processing, but creates a single point of failure. If the
default gateway fails, the LAN client is limited to communicating only on the local IP network segment
and is detached from the rest of the network.
VRRP can solve the static configuration problem. VRRP enables a group of routers to form a single
virtual router. The LAN clients can then be configured with the virtual router as their default gateway.
The virtual router, representing a group of routers, is also known as a VRRP group.
VRRP is supported on Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, BVI, and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, on MPLS VPNs,
VRF-aware MPLS VPNs and VLANs.
Figure 31-1 shows a LAN topology in which VRRP is configured. In this example, Routers A, B, and C
are VRRP routers (routers running VRRP) that comprise a virtual router. The IP address of the virtual
router is the same as that configured for the Ethernet interface of Router A (10.0.0.1).
Basic VRRP Topology

Router A
Virtual router
master

10.0.0.1

Client 1

Router B
Virtual router
backup

10.0.0.2

Client 2

Router C
Virtual router
backup

Virtual
router group
IP address = 10.0.0.1

10.0.0.3

Client 3

56623

Figure 31-1

Because the virtual router uses the IP address of the physical Ethernet interface of Router A, Router A
assumes the role of the virtual router master and is also known as the IP address owner. As the virtual
router master, Router A controls the IP address of the virtual router and is responsible for forwarding
packets sent to this IP address. Clients 1 through 3 are configured with the default gateway IP address
of 10.0.0.1.
Routers B and C function as virtual router backups. If the master virtual router fails, the router
configured with the higher priority will become the virtual router master and provide uninterrupted
service for the LAN hosts. When Router A recovers, it becomes the virtual router master again. For more
detail on the roles that VRRP routers play and what happens if the virtual router master fails, see the
VRRP Router Priority and Preemption section later in this document.

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Figure 31-2 shows a LAN topology in which VRRP is configured so that Routers A and B share the
traffic to and from clients 1 through 4 and that Routers A and B act as virtual router backups to each
other if either router fails.
Figure 31-2

Load Sharing and Redundancy VRRP Topology

Router A
Master for virtual router 1
Backup for virtual router 2

Router B
Backup for virtual router 1
Master for virtual router 2

10.0.0.2

129284

10.0.0.1

Client 1
Default gateway =
10.0.0.1

Client 2
Default gateway =
10.0.0.1

Client 3
Default gateway =
10.0.0.2

Client 4
Default gateway =
10.0.0.2

In this topology, two virtual routers are configured. (For more information, see the Multiple Virtual
Router Support section later in this document.) For virtual router 1, Router A is the owner of IP address
10.0.0.1 and virtual router master, and Router B is the virtual router backup to Router A. Clients 1 and
2 are configured with the default gateway IP address of 10.0.0.1.
For virtual router 2, Router B is the owner of IP address 10.0.0.2 and virtual router master, and Router A
is the virtual router backup to Router B. Clients 3 and 4 are configured with the default gateway IP
address of 10.0.0.2.

Benefits of VRRP
Redundancy

VRRP enables you to configure multiple routers as the default gateway router, which reduces the
possibility of a single point of failure in a network.
Load Sharing

You can configure VRRP in such a way that traffic to and from LAN clients can be shared by multiple
routers, thereby sharing the traffic load more equitably among available routers.
Multiple Virtual Routers

VRRP supports up to 255 virtual routers (VRRP groups) on a router physical interface, subject to the
platform supporting multiple MAC addresses. Multiple virtual router support enables you to implement
redundancy and load sharing in your LAN topology.
Multiple IP Addresses

The virtual router can manage multiple IP addresses, including secondary IP addresses. Therefore, if you
have multiple subnets configured on an Ethernet interface, you can configure VRRP on each subnet.

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Preemption

The redundancy scheme of VRRP enables you to preempt a virtual router backup that has taken over for
a failing virtual router master with a higher priority virtual router backup that has become available.
Authentication

VRRP message digest 5 (MD5) algorithm authentication protects against VRRP-spoofing software and
uses the industry-standard MD5 algorithm for improved reliability and security.
Advertisement Protocol

VRRP uses a dedicated Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) standard multicast address
(224.0.0.18) for VRRP advertisements. This addressing scheme minimizes the number of routers that
must service the multicasts and allows test equipment to accurately identify VRRP packets on a segment.
The IANA assigned VRRP the IP protocol number 112.
VRRP Object Tracking

VRRP object tracking provides a way to ensure the best VRRP router is virtual router master for the
group by altering VRRP priorities to the status of tracked objects such as interface or IP route states.

Multiple Virtual Router Support

You can configure up to 255 virtual routers on a physical interface. The actual number of virtual routers
that a router interface can support depends on the following factors:

Router processing capability

Router memory capability

Router interface support of multiple MAC addresses

In a topology where multiple virtual routers are configured on a router interface, the interface can act as
a master for one virtual router and as a backup for one or more virtual routers.

VRRP Router Priority and Preemption

An important aspect of the VRRP redundancy scheme is VRRP router priority. Priority determines the
role that each VRRP router plays and what happens if the virtual router master fails.
If a VRRP router owns the IP address of the virtual router and the IP address of the physical interface,
this router will function as a virtual router master.
Priority also determines if a VRRP router functions as a virtual router backup and the order of
ascendancy to becoming a virtual router master if the virtual router master fails. You can configure the
priority of each virtual router backup with a value of 1 through 254 using the vrrp priority command.
For example, if Router A, the virtual router master in a LAN topology, fails, an election process takes
place to determine if virtual router backups B or C should take over. If Routers B and C are configured
with the priorities of 101 and 100, respectively, Router B is elected to become virtual router master
because it has the higher priority. If Routers B and C are both configured with the priority of 100, the
virtual router backup with the higher IP address is elected to become the virtual router master.

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By default, a preemptive scheme is enabled whereby a higher priority virtual router backup that becomes
available takes over for the virtual router backup that was elected to become virtual router master. You
can disable this preemptive scheme using the no vrrp preempt command. If preemption is disabled, the
virtual router backup that is elected to become virtual router master remains the master until the original
virtual router master recovers and becomes master again.

VRRP Advertisements
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 in IP packets and sent to the IPv4 multicast address assigned to the
VRRP group. The advertisements are sent every second by default; the interval is configurable.
Although the VRRP protocol as per RFC 3768 does not support millisecond timers, Cisco routers allow
you to configure millisecond timers. 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 because the packets on the backup routers do
not accept millisecond values.
You must use millisecond timers where absolutely necessary and with careful consideration and testing.
Millisecond values work only under favorable circumstances, and you must be aware that the use of the
millisecond timer values restricts VRRP operation to Cisco devices only.

VRRP Object Tracking

Object tracking is an independent process that manages creating, monitoring, and removing tracked
objects such as the state-of-the line protocol of an interface. Clients such as the Hot Standby Router
Protocol (HSRP), Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP), and now VRRP register their interest with
specific tracked objects and act when the state of an object changes.
Each tracked object is identified by a unique number that is specified on the tracking CLI. Client
processes such as VRRP use this number to track a specific object.
The tracking process periodically polls the tracked objects and notes any change of value. The changes
in the tracked object are communicated to interested client processes, either immediately or after a
specified delay. The object values are reported as either up or down.
VRRP object tracking gives VRRP access to all the objects available through the tracking process. The
tracking process provides the ability to track individual objects such as a the state of an interface line
protocol, state of an IP route, or the reachability of a route.
VRRP provides an interface to the tracking process. Each VRRP group can track multiple objects that
may affect the priority of the VRRP router. Specify the object number to be tracked and VRRP will be
notified of any change to the object. VRRP increments (or decrements) the priority of the virtual router
based on the state of the object being tracked.

How Object Tracking Affects the Priority of a VRRP Router

The priority of a device can change dynamically if it has been configured for object tracking and the
object that is being tracked goes down. The tracking process periodically polls the tracked objects and
notes any change of value. The changes in the tracked object are communicated to VRRP, either
immediately or after a specified delay. The object values are reported as either up or down. Examples of
objects that can be tracked are the line protocol state of an interface or the reachability of an IP route. If

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the specified object goes down, the VRRP priority is reduced. The VRRP router with the higher priority
can now become the virtual router master if it has the vrrp preempt command configured. See the
VRRP Object Tracking section for more information on object tracking.

VRRP Authentication
VRRP ignores unauthenticated VRRP protocol messages. The default authentication type is text
authentication.
You can configure VRRP text authentication, authentication using a simple MD5 key string, or MD5 key
chains for authentication.
MD5 authentication provides greater security than the alternative plain text authentication scheme. MD5
authentication allows each VRRP group member to use a secret key to generate a keyed MD5 hash of
the packet that is part of the outgoing packet. A keyed hash of an incoming packet is generated and if
the generated hash does not match the hash within the incoming packet, the packet is ignored.
The key for the MD5 hash can either be given directly in the configuration using a key string or supplied
indirectly through a key chain.
A router ignores incoming VRRP packets from routers that do not have the same authentication
configuration for a VRRP group. VRRP has three authentication schemes:

No authentication

Plain text authentication

MD5 authentication

VRRP packets are rejected in any of the following cases:

The authentication schemes differ on the router and in the incoming packet.

MD5 digests differ on the router and in the incoming packet.

Text authentication strings differ on the router and in the incoming packet.

ISSUVRRP
VRRP supports In Service Software Upgrade (ISSU). An ISSU allows a high-availability (HA) system
to run in Stateful Switchover (SSO) mode even when different versions of Cisco IOS software are
running on the active and standby Route Processors (RPs) or line cards.
ISSU provides the ability to upgrade or downgrade from one supported Cisco IOS release to another
while continuing to forward packets and maintain sessions, thereby reducing planned outage time. The
ability to upgrade or downgrade is achieved by running different software versions on the active RP and
standby RP for a short period of time to maintain state information between RPs. This feature allows the
system to switch over to a secondary RP running upgraded (or downgraded) software and continue
forwarding packets without session loss and with minimal or no packet loss. This feature is enabled by
default.
For detailed information about ISSU, see the Cisco IOS In Service Software Upgrade Process document
at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/ha/configuration/guide/ha-inserv_updg.html
For detailed information about ISSU on the 7600 series routers, see the ISSU and eFSU on Cisco 7600
Series Routers document at the following URL:

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http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/hw/routers/ps368/products_configuration_guide_chapte
r09186a00807f1c85.html

SSOVRRP
With the introduction of the SSOVRRP feature, VRRP is SSO aware. VRRP can detect when a router
is failing over to the secondary RP and continue in its current group state.
SSO functions in networking devices (usually edge devices) that support dual Route Processors (RPs).
SSO provides RP redundancy by establishing one of the RPs as the active processor and the other RP as
the standby processor. SSO also synchronizes critical state information between the RPs so that network
state information is dynamically maintained between RPs.
Prior to being SSO aware, if VRRP was deployed on a router with redundant RPs, a switchover of roles
between the active RP and the standby RP would result in the router relinquishing its activity as a VRRP
group member and then rejoining the group as if it had been reloaded. The SSOVRRP feature enables
VRRP to continue its activities as a group member during a switchover. VRRP state information between
redundant RPs is maintained so that the standby RP can continue the routers activities within the VRRP
during and after a switchover.
This feature is enabled by default. To disable this feature, use the no vrrp sso command in global
configuration mode.
For more information, see the Stateful Switchover document at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/ha/configuration/guide/ha-stfl_swovr.html

Configuring VRRP
The following sections outline the steps necessary to configure VRRP:

Customizing VRRP, page 31-7 (optional)

Enabling VRRP, page 31-8 (required)

Disabling VRRP on an Interface, page 31-9 (optional)

Configuring VRRP Object Tracking, page 31-10 (optional)

Configuring VRRP MD5 Authentication Using a Key String, page 31-11 (optional)

Configuring VRRP MD5 Authentication Using a Key Chain, page 31-12 (optional)

Verifying the VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration, page 31-13 (optional)

Configuring VRRP Text Authentication, page 31-14 (optional)

Enabling the Router to Send SNMP VRRP Notifications, page 31-15 (optional)

Customizing VRRP
Customizing the behavior of VRRP is optional. Be aware that as soon as you enable a VRRP group, that
group is operating. It is possible that if you first enable a VRRP group before customizing VRRP, the
router could take over control of the group and become the virtual router master before you have finished
customizing the feature. Therefore, if you plan to customize VRRP, it is a good idea to do so before
enabling VRRP.
Complete the following steps in privileged EXEC mode to customize VRRP:

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Step 1

Command or Action

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

interface type number

Enters interface configuration mode.

Step 4

ip address ip-address mask

Configures an IP address for an interface.

Step 5

vrrp group description text

Assigns a text description to the VRRP group.

Step 6

vrrp group priority level

Sets the priority level of the router within a VRRP group.

Step 7

vrrp group preempt [delay minimum seconds]

Step 8

vrrp group timers advertise [msec] interval

The default priority is 100.

Configures the router to take over as virtual router master

for a VRRP group if it has a higher priority than the current
virtual router master.

The default delay period is 0 seconds.

The router that is IP address owner will preempt,

regardless of the setting of this command.

Configures the interval between successive advertisements

by the virtual router master in a VRRP group.

Note

The unit of the interval is in seconds unless the msec

keyword is specified. The default interval value is
1 second.
All routers in a VRRP group must use the same
timer values. If the same timer values are not set, the
routers in the VRRP group will not communicate
with each other and any misconfigured router will
change its state to master.

Step 9

vrrp group timers learn

Configures the router, when it is acting as virtual router

backup for a VRRP group, to learn the advertisement
interval used by the virtual router master.

Step 10

no vrrp sso

(Optional) Disables VRRP support of SSO. VRRP support

of SSO is enabled by default.

Enabling VRRP
To enable VRRP perform the following steps.
Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enter your password if prompted.

Enters global configuration mode.

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Command or Action

Purpose

Step 3

interface type number

Enters interface configuration mode.

Step 4

ip address ip-address mask

Configures an IP address for an interface.

Step 5

vrrp group ip ip-address [secondary]

Enables VRRP on an interface.

Note

After you identify a primary IP address, you can use the

vrrp ip command again with the secondary keyword to
indicate additional IP addresses supported by this
group.
All routers in the VRRP group must be configured
with the same primary address and a matching list
of secondary addresses for the virtual router. If
different primary or secondary addresses are
configured, the routers in the VRRP group will not
communicate with each other and any
misconfigured router will change its state to master.

Step 6

end

Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Step 7

Router# show vrrp [brief | group]

(Optional) Displays a brief or detailed status of one or all

VRRP groups on the router.

Step 8

Router# show vrrp interface type number [brief]

(Optional) Displays the VRRP groups and their status on a

specified interface.

Disabling VRRP on an Interface

Disabling VRRP on an interface allows the protocol to be disabled, but the configuration retained. This
ability was added with the introduction of the VRRP MIB, RFC 2787, Definitions of Managed Objects
for the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol.
You can use a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management tool to enable or disable
VRRP on an interface. Because of the SNMP management capability, the vrrp shutdown command was
introduced to represent a method via the CLI for VRRP to show the state that had been configured using
SNMP.
When the show running-config command is entered, you can see immediately if the VRRP group has
been configured and set to enabled or disabled. This is the same functionality that is enabled within the
MIB.
The no form of the command enables the same operation that is performed within the MIB. If the vrrp
shutdown command is specified using the SNMP interface, then entering the no vrrp shutdown
command using the Cisco IOS CLI will reenable the VRRP group.
To disable VRRP perform the following steps.

Step 1

Command or Action

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enter your password if prompted.

Enters global configuration mode.

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Command or Action

Purpose

Step 3

interface type number

Enters interface configuration mode.

Step 4

ip address ip-address mask

Configures an IP address for an interface.

Step 5

vrrp group shutdown

Disables VRRP on an interface.

Note

The command is now visible on the router.

You can have one VRRP group disabled, while
retaining its configuration, and a different VRRP
group enabled.

Configuring VRRP Object Tracking

Restrictions
The following restriction applies to VRRP object tracking.
If a VRRP group is the IP address owner, its priority is fixed at 255 and cannot be reduced through object
tracking.
To configure VRRP object tracking perform the following steps.

Step 1

Command or Action

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

track object-number interface type number

{line-protocol | ip routing}

Configures an interface to be tracked where changes in the

state of the interface affect the priority of a VRRP group.

This command configures the interface and

corresponding object number to be used with the
vrrp track command.

The line-protocol keyword tracks whether the interface

is up. The ip routing keyword also checks that IP
routing is enabled and active on the interface.

You can also use the track ip route command to track

the reachability of an IP route or a metric type object.

Step 4

interface type number

Enters interface configuration mode.

Step 5

vrrp group ip ip-address

Enables VRRP on an interface and identifies the IP address

of the virtual router.

Step 6

vrrp group priority level

Sets the priority level of the router within a VRRP group.

Step 7

vrrp group track object-number [decrement

priority]

Configures VRRP to track an object.

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Command or Action

Purpose

Step 8

end

Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Step 9

show track [object-number]

Displays tracking information.

Configuring VRRP MD5 Authentication Using a Key String

Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to configuring VRRP MD5 Authentication using a key string.

Interoperability with vendors that may have implemented the RFC 2338 method is not enabled.

Text authentication cannot be combined with MD5 authentication for a VRRP group at any one time.
When MD5 authentication is configured, the text authentication field in VRRP hello messages is set
to all zeroes on transmit and ignored on receipt, provided the receiving router also has MD5
authentication enabled.

To configure VRRP MD5 Authentication using a key string perform the following steps.

Step 1

Command

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

interface type number

Configures an interface type and enters interface

configuration mode.

Step 4

ip address ip-address mask [secondary]

Specifies a primary or secondary IP address for an

interface.

Step 5

vrrp group priority priority

Configures VRRP priority.

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Configuring VRRP

Step 6

Command

Purpose

vrrp group authentication md5 key-string [0 | 7]

key-string [timeout seconds]

Configures an authentication string for VRRP MD5

authentication.

The key argument can be up to 64 characters in

length and it is recommended that at least 16
characters be used.

No prefix to the key argument or specifying 0

means the key will be unencrypted.

Specifying 7 means the key will be encrypted.

The key-string authentication key will
automatically be encrypted if the service
password-encryption global configuration
command is enabled.

The timeout value is the period of time that the

old key string will be accepted to allow
configuration of all routers in a group with a
new key.

Note

Step 7

vrrp group ip [ip-address [secondary]]

Step 8

Repeat Steps 1 through 7 on each router that will communicate.

Step 9

end

All routers within the VRRP group must be

configured with the same authentication
string. If the same authentication string is
not configured, the routers in the VRRP
group will not communicate with each
other and any misconfigured router will
change its state to master.

Enables VRRP on an interface and identifies the IP

address of the virtual router.
Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Configuring VRRP MD5 Authentication Using a Key Chain

Perform this task to configure VRRP MD5 authentication using a key chain. Key chains allow a different
key string to be used at different times according to the key chain configuration. VRRP will query the
appropriate key chain to obtain the current live key and key ID for the specified key chain.

Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to configuring VRRP MD5 using a keychain.

Interoperability with vendors that may have implemented the RFC 2338 method is not enabled.

Text authentication cannot be combined with MD5 authentication for a VRRP group at any one time.
When MD5 authentication is configured, the text authentication field in VRRP hello messages is set
to all zeroes on transmit and ignored on receipt, provided the receiving router also has MD5
authentication enabled.

To configure VRRP MDF authentication using a key chain perform the following steps.

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Configuring VRRP

Step 1

Command

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

key chain name-of-chain

Enables authentication for routing protocols and

identifies a group of authentication keys.

Step 4

key key-id

Identifies an authentication key on a key chain.

Step 5

The key-id must be a number.

Specifies the authentication string for a key.

key-string string

The string can be 1 to 80 uppercase or

lowercase alphanumeric characters; the first
character cannot be a number.

Step 6

exit

Returns to global configuration mode.

Step 7

interface type number

Configures an interface type and enters interface

configuration mode.

Step 8

ip address ip-address mask [secondary]

Specifies a primary or secondary IP address for an

interface.

Step 9

vrrp group priority priority

Configures VRRP priority.

Step 10

vrrp group authentication md5 key-chain key-chain

Configures an authentication MD5 key chain for

VRRP MD5 authentication.

Note

The key chain name must match the name

specified in Step 3.
All routers within the VRRP group must be
configured with the same authentication
string. If the same authentication string is
not configured, the routers in the VRRP
group will not communicate with each
other and any misconfigured router will
change its state to master.

Step 11

vrrp group ip [ip-address [secondary]]

Enables VRRP on an interface and identifies the IP

address of the virtual router.

Step 12

Repeat Steps 1 through 11 on each router that will

communicate.

Step 13

end

Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Verifying the VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration

To verify the VRRP MD5 authentication configuration perform the following steps:

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Configuring VRRP

Step 1

show vrrp
Use this command to verify that the authentication is configured correctly:
Router# show vrrp
Ethernet0/1 - Group 1
State is Master
Virtual IP address is 10.21.0.10
Virtual MAC address is 0000.5e00.0101
Advertisement interval is 1.000 sec
Preemption is enabled
min delay is 0.000 sec
Priority is 100
Authentication MD5, key-string, timeout 30 secs
Master Router is 10.21.0.1 (local), priority is 100
Master Advertisement interval is 1.000 sec
Master Down interval is 3.609 sec

This output shows that MD5 authentication is configured and the f00d4s key string is used. The timeout
value is set at 30 seconds.
Step 2

debug vrrp authentication

Use this command to verify that both routers have authentication configured, that the MD5 key ID is the
same on each router, and that the MD5 key strings are the same on each router:
Router1#: debug vrrp authentication
VRRP: Sent: 21016401FE050000AC1801FE0000000000000000
VRRP: HshC: B861CBF1B9026130DD34AED849BEC8A1
VRRP:
VRRP:
VRRP:
VRRP:

Rcvd:
HshC:
HshR:
Grp 1

21016401FE050000AC1801FE0000000000000000
B861CBF1B9026130DD34AED849BEC8A1
C5E193C6D84533FDC750F85FCFB051E1
Adv from 172.24.1.2 has failed MD5 auth

Router2#: debug vrrp authentication

VRRP: Sent: 21016401FE050000AC1801FE0000000000000000
VRRP: HshC: C5E193C6D84533FDC750F85FCFB051E1
VRRP:
VRRP:
VRRP:
VRRP:

Rcvd:
HshC:
HshR:
Grp 1

21016401FE050000AC1801FE0000000000000000
C5E193C6D84533FDC750F85FCFB051E1
B861CBF1B9026130DD34AED849BEC8A1
Adv from 172.24.1.1 has failed MD5 auth

Configuring VRRP Text Authentication

Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to configuring VRRP text authentication:

Interoperability with vendors that may have implemented the RFC 2338 method is not enabled.

Text authentication cannot be combined with MD5 authentication for a VRRP group at any one time.
When MD5 authentication is configured, the text authentication field in VRRP hello messages is set
to all zeroes on transmit and ignored on receipt, provided the receiving router also has MD5
authentication enabled.

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Configuring VRRP

To configure VRRP text authentication perform the following steps:

Step 1

Command

Purpose

enable

Enables higher privilege levels, such as privileged

EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

interface type number

Configures an interface type and enters interface

configuration mode.

Step 4

ip address ip-address mask [secondary]

Specifies a primary or secondary IP address for an

interface.

Step 5

vrrp group authentication text text-string

Authenticates VRRP packets received from other

routers in the group.

If you configure authentication, all routers

within the VRRP group must use the same
authentication string.

The default string is cisco.

Note

Step 6

vrrp group ip ip-address

Step 7

Repeat Steps 1 through 6 on each router that will communicate.

Step 8

end

All routers within the VRRP group must be

configured with the same authentication
string. If the same authentication string is
not configured, the routers in the VRRP
group will not communicate with each
other and any misconfigured router will
change its state to master.

Enables VRRP on an interface and identifies the IP

address of the virtual router.
Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Enabling the Router to Send SNMP VRRP Notifications

The VRRP MIB supports SNMP Get operations, which allow network devices to get reports about VRRP
groups in a network from the network management station.
Enabling VRRP MIB trap support is performed through the CLI, and the MIB is used for collecting
reports. A trap notifies the network management station when a router becomes a Master or backup
router. When an entry is configured from the CLI, the RowStatus for that group in the MIB immediately
goes to the active state.
To enable the router to send SNMP VRRP notifications perform the following steps:

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Configuration Examples for VRRP

Step 1

Command or Action

Purpose

enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

snmp-server enable traps vrrp

Enables the router to send SNMP VRRP notifications (traps

and informs).

Step 4

snmp-server host host community-string vrrp

Specifies the recipient of an SNMP notification operation.

Configuration Examples for VRRP

Example: Configuring VRRP, page 31-16

Example: VRRP Object Tracking, page 31-17

Example: VRRP Object Tracking Verification, page 31-17

Example: VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration Using a Key String, page 31-18

Example: VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration Using a Key Chain, page 31-18

Example: VRRP Text Authentication, page 31-18

Example: Disabling a VRRP Group on an Interface, page 31-19

Example: VRRP MIB Trap, page 31-19

Example: Configuring VRRP

In the following example, Router A and Router B each belong to three VRRP groups.
In the configuration, each group has the following properties:

Group 1:
Virtual IP address is 10.1.0.10.
Router A will become the master for this group with priority 120.
Advertising interval is 3 seconds.
Preemption is enabled.

Group 5:
Router B will become the master for this group with priority 200.
Advertising interval is 30 seconds.
Preemption is enabled.

Group 100:
Router A will become the master for this group first because it has a higher IP address

(10.1.0.2).
Advertising interval is the default 1 second.
Preemption is disabled.

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Router A
RouterA(config)# interface ethernet 1/0
RouterA(config-if)# ip address 10.1.0.2 255.0.0.0
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 120
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 1 authentication cisco
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 1 timers advertise 3
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 1 timers learn
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.1.0.10
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 5 priority 100
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 5 timers advertise 30
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 5 timers learn
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 5 ip 10.1.0.50
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 100 timers learn
RouterA(config-if)# no vrrp 100 preempt
RouterA(config-if)# vrrp 100 ip 10.1.0.100
RouterA(config-if)# no shutdown

Router B
RouterB(config)# interface ethernet 1/0
RouterB(config-if)# ip address 10.1.0.1 255.0.0.0
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 100
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 1 authentication cisco
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 1 timers advertise 3
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 1 timers learn
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.1.0.10
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 5 priority 200
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 5 timers advertise 30
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 5 timers learn
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 5 ip 10.1.0.50
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 100 timers learn
RouterB(config-if)# no vrrp 100 preempt
RouterB(config-if)# vrrp 100 ip 10.1.0.100
RouterB(config-if)# no shutdown

Example: VRRP Object Tracking

In the following example, the tracking process is configured to track the state of the line protocol on
serial interface 0/1. VRRP on Ethernet interface 1/0 then registers with the tracking process to be
informed of any changes to the line protocol state of serial interface 0/1. If the line protocol state on
serial interface 0/1 goes down, then the priority of the VRRP group is reduced by 15.
Router(config)# track 1 interface Serial0/1 line-protocol
Router(config-track)# exit
Router(config)# interface Ethernet1/0
Router(config-if)# ip address 10.0.0.2 255.0.0.0
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.0.0.3
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 120
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 track 1 decrement 15

Example: VRRP Object Tracking Verification

The following examples verify the configuration shown in the Example: VRRP Object Tracking
section:
Router# show vrrp
Ethernet1/0 - Group 1
State is Master

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Configuration Examples for VRRP

Virtual IP address is 10.0.0.3

Virtual MAC address is 0000.5e00.0101
Advertisement interval is 1.000 sec
Preemption is enabled
min delay is 0.000 sec
Priority is 105
Track object 1 state Down decrement 15
Master Router is 10.0.0.2 (local), priority is 105
Master Advertisement interval is 1.000 sec
Master Down interval is 3.531 sec
Router# show track
Track 1
Interface Serial0/1 line-protocol
Line protocol is Down (hw down)
1 change, last change 00:06:53
Tracked by:
VRRP Ethernet1/0 1

Example: VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration Using a Key String

The following example shows how to configure MD5 authentication using a key string and timeout of
30 seconds:
Router(config)# interface Ethernet0/1
Router(config-if)# description ed1-cat5a-7/10
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.21.0.10
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 110
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 authentication md5 key-string f00c4s timeout 30
Router(config-if)# exit

Example: VRRP MD5 Authentication Configuration Using a Key Chain

The following example shows how to configure MD5 authentication using a key chain:
Router(config)# key chain vrrp1
Router(config-keychain)# key 1
Router(config-keychain-key)# key-string f00c4s
Router(config-keychain-key)# exit
Router(config)#interface ethernet0/1
Router(config-if)# description ed1-cat5a-7/10
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 110
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 authentication md5 key-chain vrrp1
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.21.0.10

In this example, VRRP queries the key chain to obtain the current live key and key ID for the specified
key chain.

Example: VRRP Text Authentication

The following example shows how to configure VRRP text authentication using a text string:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 0/0
Router(config-if)# ip address 10.21.8.32 255.255.255.0
Router(config-if)# vrrp 10 authentication text stringxyz
Router(config-if)# vrrp 10 ip 10.21.8.10

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Configuration Examples for VRRP

Example: Disabling a VRRP Group on an Interface

The following example shows how to disable one VRRP group on Ethernet interface 0/1 while retaining
VRRP for group 2 on Ethernet interface 0/2:
Router(config)# interface ethernet0/1
Router(config-if)# ip address 10.24.1.1 255.255.255.0
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 10.24.1.254
Router(config-if)# vrrp 1 shutdown
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# interface ethernet0/2
Router(config-if)# ip address 10.168.42.1 255.255.255.0
Router(config-if)# vrrp 2 ip 10.168.42.254

Example: VRRP MIB Trap

The following example shows how to enable the VRRP MIB trap support functionality:
Router(config)# snmp-server enable traps vrrp
Router(config)# snmp-server host 10.1.1.0 community abc vrrp

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