Configuring NSF-OSPF

This module describes how to configure Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) in Cisco software to minimize the
duration for which a network is unavailable to its users after a switchover. The main objective of NSF is to
continue forwarding IP packets following a Route Processor (RP) switchover. NSF is supported by the Open
Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol for routing. A device that is running NSF-compatible software is known
as an NSF-aware device and a device that is configured to support NSF is called an NSF-capable device.
NSF-capable devices can rebuild routing information from either NSF-aware or NSF-capable neighboring
devices.

• Finding Feature Information, page 1

• Prerequisites for NSF-OSPF, page 1
• Restrictions for NSF-OSPF, page 2
• Information About NSF-OSPF, page 2
• How to Configure NSF-OSPF, page 3
• Configuration Examples for NSF-OSPF, page 6
• Additional References for Configuring NSF-OSPF, page 7
• Feature Information for Configuring NSF-OSPF, page 9

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and
feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To
find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each
feature is supported, see the feature information table.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support.
To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Prerequisites for NSF-OSPF

For Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), all networking devices on the network
segment must be NSF-aware.

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Restrictions for NSF-OSPF

Restrictions for NSF-OSPF

• Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) capability is not enabled by default for the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
configurations.
• NSF OSPF for virtual links is not supported.
• NSF OSPF for sham links is not supported.
• NSF OSPF supports NSF/Stateful Switchover (SSO) for IPv4 traffic only.
• OSPFv3 is not supported with NSF/SSO. Only OSPFv2 is supported with NSF/SSO.
• If an NSF-capable device discovers that it has non-NSF-aware neighbors on a particular network segment,
the device will disable NSF capabilities for that segment. Other network segments composed entirely
of NSF-capable or NSF-aware devices will continue to provide NSF capabilities.
• You can configure strict link state advertisement (LSA) checking on both NSF-aware and NSF-capable
devices. However, configuring an LSA is effective only when the device is in helper mode.

Information About NSF-OSPF

NSF-OSPF Operations
For Cisco Nonstop Forwarding (NSF), the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol has been enhanced
to support high availability (HA) features in Stateful Switchover (SSO). Before an OSPF NSF-capable device
can perform a Route Processor (RP) switchover, the device must be aware of the available OSPF neighbors
on the network without resetting the neighbor relationship, and the device must acquire the contents of the
link state database for the network. The NSF-capable device sends an OSPF NSF signal to neighboring
NSF-aware devices to notify the devices that the neighbor relationship with the sending device must not be
reset. The NSF-capable device uses the signals that it receives from other devices on the network to rebuild
its neighbor list.
The NSF-capable device synchronizes its database with all the NSF-aware neighbors on its neighbor list.
After all neighbors exchange routing information, the NSF-capable device uses the routing information to
remove stale routes and update the routing information base (RIB) and the forwarding information base (FIB)
with the new forwarding information. The OSPF protocols are then fully converged.
Prior to RFC 3623, Cisco implemented the proprietary Cisco NSF. The RFC 3623 Graceful OSPF Restart
feature supports IETF NSF for OSPF processes in multivendor networks. The following are NSF device
modes of operation common to Cisco and IETF NSF implementations:
• Restarting mode—In this mode, the OSPF device performs nonstop forwarding recovery because of an
RP switchover.
• Helper mode—Also known as NSF-awareness mode. In this mode, the neighboring device is in the
restarting state and helps in NSF recovery.

The strict link state advertisement (LSA) checking feature allows a helper device to terminate the graceful
restart process if the device detects a changed LSA that would cause flooding during the graceful restart

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How to Configure NSF-OSPF

process. Strict LSA checking is disabled by default. You can enable strict LSA checking when there is a
change to an LSA that would be flooded to the restarting device.

How to Configure NSF-OSPF

Configuring NSF-OSPF
Perform only one of the following tasks:

Configuring Cisco NSF-OSPF

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. router ospf process-id [vrf vpn-name]
4. nsf cisco [enforce global]
5. nsf cisco helper [disable]
6. nsf ietf helper [disable | strict-lsa-checking]
7. end
8. show ip ospf nsf

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
• Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Device# configure terminal

Step 3 router ospf process-id [vrf vpn-name] Enables Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing process
and enters router configuration mode.
Example:
Device(config)# router ospf 12

Step 4 nsf cisco [enforce global] Enables Cisco Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) restarting mode.

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Configuring NSF-OSPF

Command or Action Purpose

• This command is not required on devices that operate
Example: only in NSF helper mode.

Device(config-router)# nsf cisco

Step 5 nsf cisco helper [disable] Enables Cisco NSF helper support.
• This command shows how to enable Cisco NSF helper
Example: mode.
Device(config-router)# nsf cisco helper

Step 6 nsf ietf helper [disable | strict-lsa-checking] (Optional) Disables IETF NSF helper mode on an
NSF-aware device.
Example:
Device(config-router)# nsf ietf helper disable

Step 7 end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Device(config-router)# end

Step 8 show ip ospf nsf Displays OSPF NSF state information.

Example:
Device# show ip ospf nsf

Configuring IETF NSF-OSPF

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. router ospf process-id [vrf vpn-name]
4. nsf ietf [restart-interval seconds]
5. nsf ietf helper [disable | strict-lsa-checking]
6. nsf cisco helper disable
7. end
8. show ip ospf nsf

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Configuring NSF-OSPF

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
• Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Device# configure terminal

Step 3 router ospf process-id [vrf vpn-name] Enables Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing process
and enters router configuration mode.
Example:
Device(config)# router ospf 12

Step 4 nsf ietf [restart-interval seconds] Enables IETF Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) restarting mode.
• This command is not required on devices that operate
Example: only in helper mode.
Device(config-router)# nsf ietf
restart-interval 180

Step 5 nsf ietf helper [disable | strict-lsa-checking] (Optional) Configures IETF NSF helper mode on neighbor
devices that operate in helper mode.
Example:
Device(config-router)# nsf ietf helper
strict-lsa-checking

Step 6 nsf cisco helper disable (Optional) Disables Cisco NSF helper mode on an
NSF-aware device.
Example:
Device(config-router)# nsf cisco helper disable

Step 7 end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Device(config-router)# end

Step 8 show ip ospf nsf Displays OSPF NSF state information.

Example:
Device# show ip ospf nsf

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Verifying NSF-OSPF

Verifying NSF-OSPF
SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. show ip ospf
3. show ip ospf neighbor [detail]

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
• Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

Step 2 show ip ospf Displays general information about Open Shortest Path First
(OSPF) routing processes.
Example:
Device# show ip ospf

Step 3 show ip ospf neighbor [detail] Displays OSPF-neighbor information on a per-interface basis.

Example:
Device# show ip ospf neighbor detail

Configuration Examples for NSF-OSPF

Example: Configuring Cisco NSF-OSPF

The following example shows how to enable Cisco Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) helper support in the router
configuration mode:

Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router ospf 400
Device(config-router)# nsf cisco helper

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Example: Configuring IETF NSF-OSPF

Device(config-router)# nsf ietf helper disable

Device(config-router)# end
The following sample output from the show ip ospf nsf command shows that NSF is enabled for Open Shortest
Path First (OSPF) process 400. NSF helper mode is enabled by default on devices running NSF-compatible
software. In this configuration, IETF helper mode is disabled for process 400.

Device> show ip ospf nsf

Routing Process "ospf 400"

Non-Stop Forwarding enabled
IETF NSF helper support disabled
Cisco NSF helper support enabled
OSPF restart state is NO_RESTART
Handle 2162698, Router ID 192.168.2.155, checkpoint Router ID 0.0.0.0
Config wait timer interval 10, timer not running
Dbase wait timer interval 120, timer not running

Example: Configuring IETF NSF-OSPF

The following example shows how to enable IETF Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) helper support in the router
configuration mode:
Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router ospf 500
Device(config-router)# nsf ietf helper strict-lsa-checking
Device(config-router)# nsf cisco helper disable
Device(config-router)# end

The following sample output from the show ip ospf nsf command shows that NSF is enabled for Open Shortest
Path First (OSPF) process 500. NSF helper mode is enabled by default on devices running NSF-compatible
software. In this configuration, Cisco helper mode is disabled.

Device> show ip ospf nsf

Routing Process "ospf 500"

Non-Stop Forwarding enabled
IETF NSF helper support enabled
Cisco NSF helper support disabled
OSPF restart state is NO_RESTART
Handle 1786466333, Router ID 10.1.1.1, checkpoint Router ID 0.0.0.0
Config wait timer interval 10, timer not running
Dbase wait timer interval 120, timer not running

Additional References for Configuring NSF-OSPF

Related Documents

Related Topic Document Title

Cisco IOS commands Cisco IOS Master Command List,
All Releases

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Additional References for Configuring NSF-OSPF

Related Topic Document Title

Debug commands
• Cisco IOS Debug Command
Reference - Commands A
through D
• Cisco IOS Debug Command
Reference - Commands E
through H
• Cisco IOS Debug Command
Reference - Commands I
through L
• Cisco IOS Debug Command
Reference - Commands M
through R
• Cisco IOS Debug Command
Reference - Commands S
through Z

High Availability commands Cisco IOS High Availability

Command Reference

Standards and RFCs

Standard/RFC Title
RFC 3623 Graceful OSPF Restart

Technical Assistance

Description Link
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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.
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Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID
and password.

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Feature Information for Configuring NSF-OSPF

Feature Information for Configuring NSF-OSPF

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This
table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release
train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support.
To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to . An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Table 1: Feature Information for Configuring NSF-OSPF

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

NSF Awareness–OSPF The Nonstop Forwarding (NSF)
Awareness-Open Shortest Path
First (OSPF) allows customer
premises equipment (CPE) devices
to participate in the upstream
device’s NSF recovery process.
The following commands were
introduced or modified: debug
ospf nsf, nsf (OSPF), nsf cisco,
nsf ietf, show ip ospf neighbor,
show ip ospf nsf.

NSF–OSPF (RFC 3623 OSPF The NSF-OSPFv2 feature was

Graceful Restart) introduced in Cisco software. The
feature uses the IETF standardized
graceful restart functionality as
described in RFC 3623.
The following commands were
introduced or modified: nsf cisco,
nsf ietf, nsf (OSPF).

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