Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

• About BFD, on page 1

• Licensing Requirements for BFD, on page 4
• Prerequisites for BFD, on page 4
• Guidelines and Limitations, on page 4
• Default Settings, on page 7
• Configuring BFD, on page 8
• Configuring BFD Support for Routing Protocols, on page 15
• Configuring BFD Interoperability, on page 27
• Verifying the BFD Configuration, on page 31
• Monitoring BFD, on page 31
• BFD Multihop, on page 31
• Configuration Examples for BFD, on page 35
• Related Documents, on page 36
• RFCs, on page 36

About BFD
BFD is a detection protocol designed to provide fast forwarding-path failure detection times for media types,
encapsulations, topologies, and routing protocols. You can use BFD to detect forwarding path failures at a
uniform rate, rather than the variable rates for different protocol hello mechanisms. BFD makes network
profiling and planning easier and reconvergence time consistent and predictable.
BFD provides subsecond failure detection between two adjacent devices and can be less CPU-intensive than
protocol hello messages because some of the BFD load can be distributed onto the data plane on supported
modules.

Asynchronous Mode
Cisco NX-OS supports the BFD asynchronous mode, which sends BFD control packets between two adjacent
devices to activate and maintain BFD neighbor sessions between the devices. You configure BFD on both
devices (or BFD neighbors). Once BFD has been enabled on the interfaces and on the appropriate protocols,
Cisco NX-OS creates a BFD session, negotiates BFD session parameters, and begins to send BFD control
packets to each BFD neighbor at the negotiated interval. The BFD session parameters include the following:
• Desired minimum transmit interval—The interval at which this device wants to send BFD hello messages.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

1
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
BFD Detection of Failures

• Required minimum receive interval—The minimum interval at which this device can accept BFD hello
messages from another BFD device.
• Detect multiplier—The number of missing BFD hello messages from another BFD device before this
local device detects a fault in the forwarding path.

The following figure shows how a BFD session is established. The figure shows a simple network with two
routers running Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and BFD. When OSPF discovers a neighbor (1), it sends a
request to the local BFD process to initiate a BFD neighbor session with the OSPF neighbor router (2). The
BFD neighbor session with the OSPF neighbor router is now established (3).
Figure 1: Establishing a BFD Neighbor Relationship

BFD Detection of Failures

Once a BFD session has been established and timer negotiations are complete, BFD neighbors send BFD
control packets that act in the same manner as an IGP hello protocol to detect liveliness, except at a more
accelerated rate. BFD detects a failure, but the protocol must take action to bypass a failed peer.
BFD sends a failure detection notice to the BFD-enabled protocols when it detects a failure in the forwarding
path. The local device can then initiate the protocol recalculation process and reduce the overall network
convergence time.
The following figure shows what happens when a failure occurs in the network (1). The BFD neighbor session
with the OSPF neighbor router is torn down (2). BFD notifies the local OSPF process that the BFD neighbor
is no longer reachable (3). The local OSPF process tears down the OSPF neighbor relationship (4). If an
alternative path is available, the routers immediately start converging on it.

Note Note The BFD failure detection occurs in less than a second, which is much faster than OSPF Hello messages
could detect the same failure.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

2
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Distributed Operation

Figure 2: Tearing Down an OSPF Neighbor Relationship

Distributed Operation
Cisco NX-OS can distribute the BFD operation to compatible modules that support BFD. This process offloads
the CPU load for BFD packet processing to the individual modules that connect to the BFD neighbors. All
BFD session traffic occurs on the module CPU. The module informs the supervisor when a BFD failure is
detected.

BFD Echo Function

Echo packets are defined and processed only by the transmitting system. For IPv4 and IPv6, the echo packets'
destination address is that of the transmitting device. It is chosen in such a way as to cause the remote system
to forward the packet back to the local system. This bypasses the routing lookup on the remote system and
relies on the forwarding information base (FIB) instead. BFD can use the slow timer to slow down the
asynchronous session when the echo function is enabled and reduce the number of BFD control packets that
are sent between two BFD neighbors. The Echo function tests only the forwarding path of the remote system
by having the remote (neighbor) system loop them back, so there is less inter-packet delay variability and
faster failure detection times.

Security
Cisco NX-OS uses the packet Time to Live (TTL) value to verify that the BFD packets came from an adjacent
BFD peer. For all asynchronous and echo request packets, the BFD neighbor sets the TTL value to 255 and
the local BFD process verifies the TTL value as 255 before processing the incoming packet. For the echo
response packet, BFD sets the TTL value to 254.
You can configure SHA-1 authentication of BFD packets.

High Availability
BFD supports stateless restarts. After a reboot or supervisor switchover, Cisco NX-OS applies the running
configuration and BFD immediately sends control packets to the BFD peers.

Virtualization Support
BFD supports virtual routing and forwarding instances (VRFs). VRFs exist within virtual device contexts
(VDCs). By default, Cisco NX-OS places you in the default VDC and default VRF.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

3
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Licensing Requirements for BFD

Licensing Requirements for BFD

The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:

Product License Requirement

Cisco NX-OS BFD requires no license. Any feature not included in

a license package is bundled with the NX-OS image
and is provided at no extra charge to you.

Prerequisites for BFD

BFD has the following prerequisites:
• You must enable the BFD feature.
• Disable Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages on BFD-enabled interfaces.
• Disable the IP packet verification check for identical IP source and destination addresses.
• See other detailed prerequisites that are listed with the configuration tasks.

Guidelines and Limitations

BFD has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
• Forming BFD neighbors on a vPC VLAN through an orphan port is not supported on Cisco Nexus 9000
Switches.
• Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.2(1), QSFP-40/100-SRBD comes up in the speed of 100-G and
inter-operate with other QSFP-40/100-SRBD at either 40-G or 100-G speed on Cisco Nexus 9500
Switches with the N9K-X9636C-RX line card. The QSFP-40/100-SRBD can also inter-operate with
QSFP-40G-SR-BD at 40G speeds. However to operate at 40G speed, you must configure the speed as
40G.
• show commands with the internal keyword are not supported.
• BFD per-member link support is added on Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches.
• BFD supports BFD version 1.
• BFD supports IPv4 and IPv6.
• BFD supports OSPFv3.
• BFD supports IS-ISv6.
• If BFD is configured with IS-IS, use unique IP address on interfaces or disable echo function to prevent
interface flapping.
• BFD supports BGPv6.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

4
Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Guidelines and Limitations

• BFD supports EIGRPv6.

• BFD supports only one session per address family, per Layer 3 interface.
• BFD supports only sessions which have unique (src_ip, dst_ip, interface/vrf) combination.
• BFD supports single-hop BFD.
• Only single-hop static BFD is supported.
• BFD for BGP supports single-hop EBGP and iBGP peers.

• BFD supports keyed SHA-1 authentication.

• BFD supports the following Layer 3 interfaces—physical interfaces, port channels, sub-interfaces, and
VLAN interfaces.
• BFD depends on a Layer 3 adjacency information to discover topology changes, including Layer 2
topology changes. A BFD session on a VLAN interface (SVI) may not be up after the convergence of
the Layer 2 topology if there is no Layer 3 adjacency information available.
• For BFD on a static route between two devices, both devices must support BFD. If one or both of the
devices do not support BFD, the static routes are not programmed in the Routing Information Base (RIB).
• Both single-hop and multi-hop BFD features are supported with specific restrictions. For multi-hop BFD
features restrictions, refer to Guidelines and Limitations for BFD Multihop, on page 32 section.
• Port channel configuration limitations:
• For Layer 3 port channels used by BFD, you must enable LACP on the port channel.
• For Layer 2 port channels used by SVI sessions, you must enable LACP on the port channel.

• SVI limitations:
• An ASIC reset causes traffic disruption for other ports and it can cause the SVI sessions on the other
ports to flap. For example, if the carrier interface is a virtual port channel (vPC), BFD is not supported
over the SVI interface and it could cause a trigger for an ASIC reset. When a BFD session is over
SVI using virtual port channel (vPC) Peer-Link, the BFD echo function is not supported. You must
disable the BFD echo function for all sessions over SVI between vPC peer nodes.
An SVI on the Cisco Nexus series switches should not be configured to establish a BFD neighbor
adjacency with a device connected to it via a vPC. This is because the BFD keepalives from the
neighbor, if sent over the vPC member link connected to the vPC peer-switch, do not reach this SVI
causing the BFD adjacency to fail.
• When you change the topology (for example, add or delete a link into a VLAN, delete a member
from a Layer 2 port channel, and so on), the SVI session could be affected. It may go down first
and then come up after the topology discovery is finished.
• BFD over FEX HIF interfaces is not supported.
• When a BFD session is over SVI using virtual port-channel (vPC) Peer-Link (either BCM or GEM
based ports), the BFD echo function is not supported. You must disable the BFD echo function for
all sessions over SVI between vPC peer nodes using the no bfd echo command at the SVI
configuration level.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

5
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Guidelines and Limitations

Tip If you do not want the SVI sessions to flap and you need to change the topology,
you can disable the BFD feature before making the changes and re-enable BFD
after the changes have been made. You can also configure the BFD timer to be
a large value (for example, 5 seconds), and change it back to a fast timer after
the above events complete.

• When you configure the BFD Echo function on the distributed Layer 3 port channels, reloading a member
module flaps the BFD session hosted on that module, which results in a packet loss.
If you connect the BFD peers directly without a Layer 2 switch in between, you can use the BFD per-link
mode as an alternative solution.

Note Using BFD per-link mode and sub-interface optimization simultaneously on a

Layer 3 port channel is not supported.

• When you specify a BFD neighbor prefix in the clear {ip | ipv6} route prefix command, the BFD
echo session flaps.
• The clear {ip | ipv6} route * command causes BFD echo sessions to flap.
• HSRP for IPv4 is supported with BFD.
• BFD packets generated by the Cisco NX-OS device line cards are sent with COS 6/DSCP CS6. The
DSCP/COS values for BFD packets are not user configurable.
• When configuring BFDv6 in no-bfd-echo mode, it is recommended to run with timers of 150 ms with a
multiplier of 3.
• BFDv6 is not supported for VRRPv3 and HSRP for v6.
• IPv6 eigrp bfd cannot be disabled on an interface.
• IETF BFD is not supported on N9K-X96136YC-R, N9K-X9636C-R, N9K-X9636C-RX and
N9K-X9636Q-R line cards.
• Port channel configuration notes:
• When the BFD per-link mode is configured, the BFD echo function is not supported. You must
disable the BFD echo function using the no bfd echo command before configuring the bfd per-link
command.
• Before configuring BFD per-link, make sure there is no BFD session running on the port-channel.
If there is any BFD session running already, remove it and then proceed with bfd per-link
configuration.
• Configuring BFD per-link with link-local is not supported.
• The supported platforms include Cisco Nexus 9500 Series switches with N9K-X9636C-R,
N9K-X9636Q-R, N9K-X9636C-RX line cards.

• Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(7), BFD is supported on unnumbered interfaces.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

6
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Default Settings

Note BFD over unnumbered Switched Virtual Interfaces (SVIs) are not supported.
Downgrade compatibility for BFD on unnumbered interface support cannot be
verified using show incompatibility nxos bootflash:filename command. The
compatibility will be checked during install all command.

• When you configure BFD on a numbered interface along with OSPF and when the interface is converted
to an unnumbered interface, the OSPF and BFD command remains in the running configuration but the
BFD functionality may not work
• The following BFD command configurations are not supported for configuration replace:
• port-channel bfd track-member-link
• port-channel bfd destination destination-ip-address

BFD Support on Nexus Switches

BFD support is available on the Nexus platforms in these releases. For more information, see platform support
matrix.

Table 1: BFD Support on Nexus Switches

Default Settings
The following table lists the default settings for BFD parameters.

Table 2: Default BFD Parameters

Parameters Default

BFD feature Disabled

Required minimum receive interval 50 milliseconds

Desired minimum transmit interval 50 milliseconds

Detect multiplier 3

Echo function Enabled

Mode Asynchronous

Port-channel Logical mode (one session per source-destination pair

address)

Slow timer 2000 milliseconds

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

7
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD

Configuring BFD
Configuration Hierarchy
You can configure BFD at the global level and at the interface level. The interface configuration overrides
the global configuration.
For physical ports that are members of a port channel, the member port inherits the primary port channel BFD
configuration.

Task Flow for Configuring BFD

Follow these steps in the following sections to configure BFD:
• Enabling the BFD Feature.
• Configuring Global BFD Parameters or Configuring BFD on an Interface.

Enabling the BFD Feature

You must enable the BFD feature before you can configure BFD on an interface and protocol.

Note Use the no feature bfd command to disable the BFD feature and remove all associated configuration.

Command Purpose

no feature bfd Disables the BFD feature and

removes all associated
Example:
configuration.
switch(config)# no feature bfd

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. feature bfd
3. show feature | include bfd
4. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

8
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring Global BFD Parameters

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 feature bfd Enables the BFD feature.

Example:
switch(config)# feature bfd

Step 3 show feature | include bfd (Optional) Displays enabled and disabled features.
Example:
switch(config)# show feature | include
bfd

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Global BFD Parameters

You can configure the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions on the device. The BFD session parameters
are negotiated between the BFD peers in a three-way handshake.
See the Configuring BFD on an Interface section to override these global session parameters on an interface.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
3. bfd slow-timer [interval]
4. bfd echo-interface loopback interface number
5. show running-config bfd
6. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

9
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on an Interface

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions
on the device. This command overrides these values by
Example:
configuring the BFD session parameters on an interface.
switch(config)# bfd interval 50 min_rx The mintx and msec range is from 50 to 999 milliseconds
50 multiplier 3
and the default is 50. The multiplier range is from 1 to 50.
The multiplier default is 3.

Step 3 bfd slow-timer [interval] Configures the slow timer used in the echo function. This
value determines how fast BFD starts up a new session and
Example:
at what speed the asynchronous sessions use for BFD
switch(config)# bfd slow-timer 2000 control packets when the echo function is enabled. The
slow-timer value is used as the new control packet interval,
while the echo packets use the configured BFD intervals.
The echo packets are used for link failure detection, while
the control packets at the slower rate maintain the BFD
session. The range is from 1000 to 30000 milliseconds. The
default is 2000.

Step 4 bfd echo-interface loopback interface number Configures the interface used for Bidirectional Forwarding
Detection (BFD) echo frames. This command changes the
Example:
source address for the echo packets to the one configured
switch(config)# bfd echo-interface loopback 1 3 on the specified loopback interface. The interface number
range is from 0 to 1023.

Step 5 show running-config bfd (Optional) Displays the BFD running configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# show running-config bfd

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config

Configuring BFD on an Interface

You can configure the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions on an interface. The BFD session
parameters are negotiated between the BFD peers in a three-way handshake.
This configuration overrides the global session parameters for the configured interface.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

10
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on an Interface

Before you begin

Ensure that Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages are disabled on BFD-enabled
interfaces. Use the no ip redirects command or the no ipv6 redirects command on the interface.
Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface int-if
3. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
4. bfd authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key ascii_key
5. show running-config bfd
6. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions
on the device. This command overrides these values by
Example:
configuring the BFD session parameters on an interface.
switch(config-if)# bfd interval 50 The mintx and msec range is from 50 to 999 milliseconds
min_rx 50 multiplier 3
and the default is 50. The multiplier range is from 1 to 50.
The multiplier default is 3.
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5), configuring
BFD session parameters under interface with default timer
values using the bfd interval 50 min_rx 50 multiplier 3
command is functionally equivalent to no bfd interval
command.
Once BFD session parameters under interface are set to
default values, those BFD sessions running on that interface
will inherit global session parameters, if present.

Step 4 bfd authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key ascii_key (Optional) Configures SHA-1 authentication for all BFD
sessions on the interface. The ascii_key string is a secret
Example:
key shared among BFD peers. The id value, a number

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

11
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on a Port Channel

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-if)# bfd authentication between 0 and 255, is assigned to this particular ascii_key.
keyed-sha1 keyid 1 ascii_key cisco123 BFD packets specify the key by id, allowing the use of
multiple active keys.
To disable SHA-1 authentication on the interface, use the
no form of the command.

Step 5 show running-config bfd (Optional) Displays the BFD running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config bfd

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring BFD on a Port Channel

You can configure the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions on a port channel. If per-link mode is
used for Layer 3 port channels, BFD creates a session for each link in the port channel and provides an
aggregate result to client protocols. For example, if the BFD session for one link on a port channel is up, BFD
informs client protocols, such as OSPF, that the port channel is up. The BFD session parameters are negotiated
between the BFD peers in a three-way handshake.
This configuration overrides the global session parameters for the configured port channel. The member ports
of the port channel inherit the port channel BFD session parameters.

Before you begin

Ensure that you enable LACP on the port channel before you enable BFD.
Ensure that Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages are disabled on BFD-enabled
interfaces. Use the no ip redirects command on the interface.
Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface port-channel number
3. bfd per-link
4. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
5. bfd authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key ascii_key
6. show running-config bfd
7. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

12
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on a Port Channel

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel number Enters port-channel configuration mode. Use the ? keyword
to display the supported number range.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel 2
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 bfd per-link Configures the BFD sessions for each link in the port
channel.
Example:
switch(config-if)# bfd per-link

Step 4 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value (Optional) Configures the BFD session parameters for all
BFD sessions on the port channel. This command overrides
Example:
these values by configuring the BFD session parameters.
switch(config-if)# bfd interval 50 The mintx and msec range is from 50 to 999 milliseconds
min_rx 50 multiplier 3
and the default is 50. The multiplier range is from 1 to 50.
The multiplier default is 3.

Step 5 bfd authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key ascii_key (Optional) Configures SHA-1 authentication for all BFD
sessions on the interface. The ascii_key string is a secret
Example:
key shared among BFD peers. The id value, a number
switch(config-if)# bfd authentication between 0 and 255, is assigned to this particular ascii_key.
keyed-sha1 keyid 1 ascii_key cisco123
BFD packets specify the key by id, allowing the use of
multiple active keys.
To disable SHA-1 authentication on the interface, use the
no form of the command.

Step 6 show running-config bfd (Optional) Displays the BFD running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config bfd

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

13
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring the BFD Echo Function

Configuring the BFD Echo Function

You can configure the BFD echo function on one or both ends of a BFD-monitored link. The echo function
slows down the required minimum receive interval, based on the configured slow timer. The
RequiredMinEchoRx BFD session parameter is not set to zero if the echo function is disabled in compliance
with RFC 5880. The slow timer becomes the required minimum receive interval if the echo function is enabled.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section on or the
Configuring BFD on an Interface section.
Ensure that Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect messages are disabled on BFD-enabled
interfaces. Use the no ip redirects command on the interface.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. bfd slow-timer echo-interval
3. interface int-if
4. bfd echo
5. show running-config bfd
6. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 bfd slow-timer echo-interval Configures the slow timer used in the echo function. This
value determines how fast BFD starts up a new session and
Example:
is used to slow down the asynchronous sessions when the
switch(config)# bfd slow-timer 2000 BFD echo function is enabled. This value overwrites the
required minimum receive interval when the echo function
is enabled. The range is from 1000 to 30000 milliseconds.
The default is 2000.

Step 3 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config)# interface ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

14
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD Support for Routing Protocols

Command or Action Purpose

Step 4 bfd echo Enables the echo function. The default is enabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# bfd echo

Step 5 show running-config bfd (Optional) Displays the BFD running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config bfd

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring BFD Support for Routing Protocols

Configuring BFD on BGP
You can configure BFD for the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.
Enable the BGP feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide for
more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. router bgp as-number
3. neighbor (ip-address | ipv6-address) remote-as as-number
4. bfd [multihop | singlehop]
5. update-source interface
6. show running-config bgp
7. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

15
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on EIGRP

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 router bgp as-number Enables BGP and assigns the AS number to the local BGP
speaker. The AS number can be a 16-bit integer or a 32-bit
Example:
integer in the form of a higher 16-bit decimal number and
switch(config)# router bgp 64496 a lower 16-bit decimal number in xx.xx format.
switch(config-router)#

Step 3 neighbor (ip-address | ipv6-address) remote-as as-number Configures the IPv4 or IPv6 address and AS number for a
remote BGP peer. The ip-address format is x.x.x.x. The
Example:
ipv6-address format is A:B::C:D.
switch(config-router)# neighbor
209.165.201.1 remote-as 64497
switch(config-router-neighbor)#

Step 4 bfd [multihop | singlehop] Configures the BFD multi hop or single hop session on the
device. The default is with no keyword. When you do not
Example:
specify any keyword and if the peer is directly connected
switch(config-router-neighbor)# bfd multiihop then a single hop session is selected, if the peer is not
connected then a multi hop session type is selected. When
you specify a "multihop" or "singlehop" option, the session
type is forced in a device according to the CLI option.

Step 5 update-source interface Allows BGP sessions to use the primary IP address from a
particular interface as the local address when forming a
Example:
BGP session with a neighbor and enables BGP to register
switch(config-router-neighbor)# update-source as a client with BFD.
ethernet 2/1

Step 6 show running-config bgp (Optional) Displays the BGP running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# show
running-config bgp

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuring BFD on EIGRP

You can configure BFD for the Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP).

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

16
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on EIGRP

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.
Enable the EIGRP feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide
for more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. router eigrp instance-tag
3. bfd [ipv4 | ipv6]
4. interface int-if
5. ip eigrp instance-tag bfd
6. show ip eigrp [vrf vrf-name] [ interfaces if]
7. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 router eigrp instance-tag Creates a new EIGRP process with the configured instance
tag. The instance tag can be any case-sensitive,
Example:
alphanumeric string up to 20 characters.
switch(config)# router eigrp Test1
switch(config-router)# If you configure an instance-tag that does not qualify as an
AS number, you must use the autonomous-system to
configure the AS number explicitly or this EIGRP instance
will remain in the shutdown state.

Step 3 bfd [ipv4 | ipv6] (Optional) Enables BFD for all EIGRP interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# bfd ipv4

Step 4 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

17
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on OSPF

Command or Action Purpose

Step 5 ip eigrp instance-tag bfd (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on an EIGRP interface.
The instance tag can be any case-sensitive, alphanumeric
Example:
string up to 20 characters.
switch(config-if)# ip eigrp Test1 bfd
The default is disabled.

Step 6 show ip eigrp [vrf vrf-name] [ interfaces if] (Optional) Displays information about EIGRP. The vrf-name
can be any case-sensitive, alphanumeric string up to 32
Example:
characters.
switch(config-if)# show ip eigrp

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuring BFD on OSPF

You can configure BFD for the Open Shortest Path First.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.
Enable the OSPF feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide for
more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. router ospf instance-tag
3. bfd [ipv4 | ipv6]
4. interface int-if
5. ip ospf bfd
6. show ip ospf [vrf vrf-name] [ interfaces if]
7. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

18
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on IS-IS

Command or Action Purpose

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 router ospf instance-tag Creates a new OSPF instance with the configured instance
tag. The instance tag can be any case-sensitive,
Example:
alphanumeric string up to 20 characters.
switch(config)# router ospf 200
switch(config-router)#

Step 3 bfd [ipv4 | ipv6] (Optional) Enables BFD for all OSPF interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router)# bfd

Step 4 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 5 ip ospf bfd (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on an OSPF interface.

The default is disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# ip ospf bfd

Step 6 show ip ospf [vrf vrf-name] [ interfaces if] (Optional) Displays information about OSPF. The vrf-name
can be any case-sensitive, alphanumeric string up to 32
Example:
characters.
switch(config-if)# show ip ospf

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy
running-config startup-config

Example Configurations for BFD on OSPF

Example configuration where BFD is enabled under a non-default VRF (OSPFv3 neighbors in vrf3).
configure terminal
router ospfv3 10
vrf vrf3
bfd

Configuring BFD on IS-IS

You can configure BFD for the Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) protocol.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

19
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on IS-IS

Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.
Enable the IS-IS feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide for
more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. router isis instance-tag
3. bfd [ipv4 | ipv6]
4. interface int-if
5. isis bfd
6. show isis [vrf vrf-name] [ interface if]
7. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 router isis instance-tag Creates a new IS-IS instance with the configured instance
tag.
Example:

switch(config)# router isis 100

switch(config-router)# net
49.0001.1720.1600.1001.00
switch(config-router)# address-family ipv6
unicast

Step 3 bfd [ipv4 | ipv6] (Optional) Enables BFD for all OSPF interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router)# bfd

Step 4 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 5 isis bfd (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on an IS-IS interface.

The default is disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# isis bfd

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

20
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on HSRP

Command or Action Purpose

Step 6 show isis [vrf vrf-name] [ interface if] (Optional) Displays information about IS-IS. The vrf-name
can be any case-sensitive, alphanumeric string up to 32
Example:
characters.
switch(config-if)# show isis

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy
running-config startup-config

Example Configurations for BFD on IS-IS

Example configuration for IS-IS where BFD is enabled under IPv4 and an IPv6 address family.
configure terminal
router isis isis-1
bfd
address-family ipv6 unicast
bfd

Configuring BFD on HSRP

You can configure BFD for the Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP). The active and standby HSRP routers
track each other through BFD. If BFD on the standby HSRP router detects that the active HSRP router is
down, the standby HSRP router treats this event as an active time rexpiry and takes over as the active HSRP
router.
The show hsrp detail command shows this event as BFD@Act-down or BFD@Sby-down.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.
Enable the HSRP feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide for
more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. hsrp bfd all-interfaces
3. interface int-if
4. hsrp bfd
5. show running-config hsrp
6. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

21
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on VRRP

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 hsrp bfd all-interfaces (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on all HSRP interfaces.
The default is disabled.
Example:
switch# hsrp bfd all-interfaces

Step 3 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-router)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 4 hsrp bfd (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on an HSRP interface.

The default is disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# hsrp bfd

Step 5 show running-config hsrp (Optional) Displays the HSRP running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config hsrp

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuring BFD on VRRP

You can configure BFD for the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP). The active and standby VRRP
routers track each other through BFD. If BFD on the standby VRRP router detects that the active VRRP router
is down, the standby VRRP router treats this event as an active time rexpiry and takes over as the active VRRP
router.
The show vrrp detail command shows this event as BFD@Act-down or BFD@Sby-down.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Configure the BFD session parameters. See the Configuring Global BFD Parameters section or the Configuring
BFD on an Interface section.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

22
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on VRRP

Enable the VRRP feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide
for more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface int-if
3. vrrp group-no
4. vrrp bfd address
5. show running-config vrrp
6. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 vrrp group-no Specifies the VRRP group number.

Example:
switch(config-if)# vrrp 2

Step 4 vrrp bfd address Enables or disables BFD on a VRRP interface. The default
is disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# vrrp bfd

Step 5 show running-config vrrp (Optional) Displays the VRRP running configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config vrrp

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-if)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

23
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on PIM

Configuring BFD on PIM

You can configure BFD for the Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) protocol.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.
Enable the PIM feature. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide for
more information.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. ip pim bfd
3. interface int-if
4. ip pim bfd-instance [disable]
5. show running-config pim
6. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 ip pim bfd Enables BFD for PIM.

Example:
switch(config)# ip pim bfd

Step 3 interface int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword to
display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config)# interface
ethernet 2/1
switch(config-if)#

Step 4 ip pim bfd-instance [disable] (Optional) Enables or disables BFD on a PIM interface.
The default is disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# ip pim bfd-instance

Step 5 show running-config pim (Optional) Displays the PIM running configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# show running-config pim

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

24
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD on Static Routes

Command or Action Purpose

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.
Example:
switch(config)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuring BFD on Static Routes

You can configure BFD for static routes on an interface. You can optionally configure BFD on a static route
within a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. vrf context vrf-name
3. ip route route interface {nh-address | nh-prefix}
4. ip route static bfd interface {nh-address | nh-prefix}
5. show ip route static [vrf vrf-name]
6. copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 vrf context vrf-name (Optional) Enters VRF configuration mode.

Example:
switch(config)# vrf context Red
switch(config-vrf)#

Step 3 ip route route interface {nh-address | nh-prefix} Creates a static route Use the ? keyword to display the
supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-vrf)# ip route 192.0.2.1 ethernet
2/1 192.0.2.4

Step 4 ip route static bfd interface {nh-address | nh-prefix} Enables BFD for all static routes on an interface. Use the?
keyword to display the supported interfaces.
Example:

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

25
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Disabling BFD on an Interface

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-vrf)# ip route static bfd ethernet
2/1 192.0.2.4

Step 5 show ip route static [vrf vrf-name] (Optional) Displays the static routes.
Example:
switch(config-vrf)# show ip route static vrf Red

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:
switch(config-vrf)# copy
running-config startup-config

Disabling BFD on an Interface

You can selectively disable BFD on an interface for a routing protocol that has BFD enabled at the global or
VRF level.
To disable BFD on an interface, use one of the following commands in interface configuration mode:

Command Purpose

ip eigrp instance-tag bfd disable Disables BFD on an EIGRP interface. The instance
tag can be any case-sensitive, alphanumeric string up
Example:
to 20 characters.
switch(config-if)# ip eigrp Test1 bfd
disable

ip ospf bfd disable Disables BFD on an OSPFv2 interface.

Example:
switch(config-if)# ip ospf bfd disable

isis bfd disable Disables BFD on an IS-IS interface.

Example:
switch(config-if)# isis bfd disable

Disabling BFD on an Interface

Example configuration where BFD is disabled per interface.
configure terminal
interface port-channel 10
no ip redirects
ip address 22.1.10.1/30
ipv6 address 22:1:10::1/120
no ipv6 redirects
ip router ospf 10 area 0.0.0.0
ip ospf bfd disable /*** disables IPv4 BFD session for OSPF
ospfv3 bfd disable /*** disables IPv6 BFD session for OSPFv3

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

26
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD Interoperability

Configuring BFD Interoperability

Configuring BFD Interoperability in Cisco NX-OS Devices in a Point-to-Point
Link
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface port-channel int-if
3. ip ospf bfd
4. no ip redirects
5. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
6. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel int-if Enters interface configuration mode. Use the ? keyword
to display the supported interfaces.
Example:
switch(config-if)# interface ethernet 2/1

Step 3 ip ospf bfd Enables BFD on an OSPFv2 interface. The default is

disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# ip ospf bfd OSPF is used as an example. You can enable BFD of any
of the supported protocols.

Step 4 no ip redirects Prevents the device from sending redirects.

Example:
switch(config-if)# no ip redirects

Step 5 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions
on the port channel. This command overrides these values
Example:
by configuring the BFD session parameters. The mintx and
switch(config-if)# bfd interval 50 msec range is from 50 to 999 milliseconds and the default
min_rx 50 multiplier 3
is 50. The multiplier range is from 1 to 50. The multiplier
default is 3.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

27
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD Interoperability in Cisco NX-OS Devices in a Switch Virtual Interface

Command or Action Purpose

Step 6 exit Exits interface configuration mode and returns to EXEC
mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit

Configuring BFD Interoperability in Cisco NX-OS Devices in a Switch Virtual

Interface
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface port-channel vlan vlan-id
3. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
4. no ip redirects
5. ip address ip-address/length
6. ip ospf bfd
7. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel vlan vlan-id Creates a dynamic Switch Virtual Interface (SVI).
Example:
switch(config)# interface vlan 998
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions
on the device. The mintx and msec range is from 50 to 999
Example:
milliseconds and the default is 50. The multiplier range is
switch(config-if)# bfd interval 50 from 1 to 50. The multiplier default is 3.
min_rx 50 multiplier 3

Step 4 no ip redirects Prevents the device from sending redirects.

Example:
switch(config-if)# no ip redirects

Step 5 ip address ip-address/length Configures an IP address for this interface.

Example:

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

28
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring BFD Interoperability in Cisco NX-OS Devices in Logical Mode

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-if)# ip address 10.1.0.253/24

Step 6 ip ospf bfd Enables BFD on an OSPFv2 interface. The default is

disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# ip ospf bfd

Step 7 exit Exits interface configuration mode and returns to EXEC

mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit

Configuring BFD Interoperability in Cisco NX-OS Devices in Logical Mode

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface port-channel type number.subinterface-id
3. bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
4. no ip redirects
5. ip ospf bfd
6. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel type number.subinterface-id Enters port channel configuration mode. Use the ? keyword
to display the supported number range.
Example:
switch(config-if)# interface port-channel 50.2

Step 3 bfd interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures the BFD session parameters for all BFD sessions
on the port channel. The mintx and msec range is from 50
Example:
to 999 milliseconds and the default is 50. The multiplier
switch(config-if)# bfd interval 50 range is from 1 to 50. The multiplier default is 3.
min_rx 50 multiplier 3

Step 4 no ip redirects Prevents the device from sending redirects.

Example:
switch(config-if)# no ip redirects

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

29
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Verifying BFD Interoperability in a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Device

Command or Action Purpose

Step 5 ip ospf bfd Enables BFD on an OSPFv2 interface. The default is
disabled.
Example:
switch(config-if)# ip ospf bfd OSPF is used as an example. You can enable BFD of any
of the supported protocols.

Step 6 exit Exits interface configuration mode and returns to EXEC

mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit

Verifying BFD Interoperability in a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Device

The following example shows how to verify BFD interoperability in a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series device.

switch# show bfd neighbors details

OurAddr NeighAddr LD/RD RH/RS Holdown(mult) State Int
Vrf
10.1.1.1 10.1.1.2 1140850707/2147418093 Up 6393(4) Up Vlan2121
default
Session state is Up and using echo function with 50 ms interval
Local Diag: 0, Demand mode: 0, Poll bit: 0, Authentication: None
MinTxInt: 50000 us, MinRxInt: 2000000 us, Multiplier: 3
Received MinRxInt: 2000000 us, Received Multiplier: 4
Holdown (hits): 8000 ms (0), Hello (hits): 2000 ms (108)
Rx Count: 92, Rx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 347/1996/1776 last: 1606 ms ago
Tx Count: 108, Tx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 1515/1515/1515 last: 1233 ms ago
Registered protocols: ospf
Uptime: 0 days 0 hrs 2 mins 44 secs
Last packet: Version: 1 - Diagnostic: 0
State bit: Up - Demand bit: 0
Poll bit: 0 - Final bit: 0
Multiplier: 4 - Length: 24
My Discr.: 2147418093 - Your Discr.: 1140850707
Min tx interval: 2000000 - Min rx interval: 2000000
Min Echo interval: 1000 - Authentication bit: 0
Hosting LC: 10, Down reason: None, Reason not-hosted: None

switch# show bfd neighbors details

OurAddr NeighAddr LD/RD RH/RS Holdown(mult) State Int
Vrf
10.0.2.1 10.0.2.2 1140850695/131083 Up 270(3) Up Po14.121
default
Session state is Up and not using echo function
Local Diag: 0, Demand mode: 0, Poll bit: 0, Authentication: None
MinTxInt: 50000 us, MinRxInt: 50000 us, Multiplier: 3
Received MinRxInt: 100000 us, Received Multiplier: 3
Holdown (hits): 300 ms (0), Hello (hits): 100 ms (3136283)
Rx Count: 2669290, Rx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 12/1999/93 last: 29 ms ago
Tx Count: 3136283, Tx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 77/77/77 last: 76 ms ago
Registered protocols: ospf
Uptime: 2 days 21 hrs 41 mins 45 secs
Last packet: Version: 1 - Diagnostic: 0
State bit: Up - Demand bit: 0
Poll bit: 0 - Final bit: 0
Multiplier: 3 - Length: 24

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

30
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Verifying the BFD Configuration

My Discr.: 131083 - Your Discr.: 1140850695

Min tx interval: 100000 - Min rx interval: 100000
Min Echo interval: 0 - Authentication bit: 0
Hosting LC: 8, Down reason: None, Reason not-hosted: None

Verifying the BFD Configuration

To display BFD configuration information, perform one of the following:

Command Purpose

show running-config bfd Displays the running BFD configuration.

show startup-config bfd Displays the BFD configuration that will be applied
on the next system startup.

Monitoring BFD
Use the following commands to display BFD:

Command Purpose

show bfd neighbors [application name] [details] Displays information about BFD for a supported
application, such as BGP or OSPFv2.

show bfd neighbors [interface int-if] [details] Displays information about BFD neighbors on an
interface.

show bfd neighbors [dest-ip ip-address] [src-ip Displays information about the specified BFD
ip-address][details] neighbors on an interface.

show bfd neighbors [vrf vrf-name] [details] Displays information about BFD for a VRF.

show bfd [ipv4 | ipv6] [neighbors] Displays information about IPv4 neighbors or IPv6
neighbors.

BFD Multihop
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.2(1), BFD multihop is supported on Cisco Nexus 9000 switches in
compliance with RFC5883. You can now configure IPv4 BFD sessions over multihop routes. BFD multihop
session is setup between a unique source and destination address pair. A multihop BFD session is associated
with the link between a source-destination rather than an interface as in single hop BFD sessions. BFD multihop
is not supported on IPv6.

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

31
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
BFD Multihop Number of Hops

BFD Multihop Number of Hops

BFD multihop sets the TTL field to the maximum limit, and it does not check the value on reception. The
BFD code has no impact on the number of hops a BFD multihop packet can traverse. However, in most of
the systems, it limits the number of hops to 255.

Guidelines and Limitations for BFD Multihop

BFD multihop has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
• BFD multihop is supported on Cisco Nexus 9200 and 9300-EX platform switches and Cisco Nexus 9500
platform switches with N9K-X9700-EX line cards.
• Multihop BFD is identified with UDP Destination port 4784.
• The default interval timers for multihop BFD is 250 ms with multiplier 3.
• The maximum number of multihop BFD sessions supported is 100.
• The existing BFD authentication support is extended for multihop sessions.
• Echo mode is not supported for multihop BFD.
• Multihop with segment routing underlay is not supported.
• BFD multihop is not supported for BGP IPv6 multihop neighbors.
• When Multihop BFD session is installed in port-channel, the following points must be taken care:
• If all the sessions are hosted on a single line card of Cisco Nexus 9500 family switches, during
reloading of hosted line cards all the sessions will be hosted on another line card. BFD and BGP
sessions may flap in this case.
• Multihop BFD session for BGP over cross modules port-channel doesn't provide full redundancy.

Configuring BFD Multihop Session Global Interval Parameters

You can configure the BFD session global parameters for all BFD sessions on the device. Different BFD
session parameters for each session can be achieved using the per session configuration commands .

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. [no] bfd multihop interval milliseconds min_rx milliseconds multiplier interval-multiplier
3. end

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

32
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring Per Multihop Session BFD Parameters

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 [no] bfd multihop interval milliseconds min_rx Configures the BFD multihop session global parameters
milliseconds multiplier interval-multiplier for all BFD sessions on the device. This command overrides
the default values. The Required Minimum Receive Interval
Example:
and Desired Minimum Transmit Interval are 250. The
switch(config)# bfd multihop interval 250 min_rx multiplier default is 3.
250 multiplier 3

Step 3 end Saves the configuration change and ends the configuration
session.
Example:
switch(config)# end

Configuring Per Multihop Session BFD Parameters

You can configure per multihop session BFD parameters.

Before you begin

Enable the BFD feature. See the Enabling the BFD Feature section.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. router bgp as-number
3. neighbor (ip-address | ipv6-address) remote-as as-number
4. update-source interface
5. bfd
6. bfd multihop interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value
7. bfd multihop authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key ascii_key
8. copy running-config startup-config

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

33
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuring Per Multihop Session BFD Parameters

DETAILED STEPS

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 router bgp as-number Enables BGP and assigns the AS number to the local BGP
speaker. The AS number can be a 16-bit integer or a 32-bit
Example:
integer in the form of a higher 16-bit decimal number and
switch(config)# router bgp 64496 a lower 16-bit decimal number in xx.xx format.
switch(config-router)#

Step 3 neighbor (ip-address | ipv6-address) remote-as as-number Configures the IPv4 or IPv6 address and AS number for a
remote BGP peer. The ip-address format is x.x.x.x. The
Example:
ipv6-address format is A:B::C:D.
switch(config-router)# neighbor
209.165.201.1 remote-as 64497
switch(config-router-neighbor)#

Step 4 update-source interface Retrieves the source IP address of the BFD session from
the interface.
Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# update-source
Ethernet1/4
switch(config-router-neighbor)#

Step 5 bfd Enables BFD for this BGP peer.

Example:
switch(config-router-neighbor)# bfd multihop

Step 6 bfd multihop interval mintx min_rx msec multiplier value Configures Multihop BFD interval values for this neighbor.
The mintx and msec range is from 250 to 999 milliseconds
Example:
and the default is 250. The multiplier range is from 1 to 50.
switch(config-router-neighbor)# bfd multihop The multiplier default is 3.
interval 250
min_rx 250 multiplier 3

Step 7 bfd multihop authentication keyed-sha1 keyid id key (Optional) Configures SHA-1 authentication for BFDs on
ascii_key Multihop BFD session over this neighbor. The ascii_key
string is a secret key shared among BFD peers. The id value,
Example:
a number between 0 and 255, is assigned to this particular
switch(config-router-neighbor)# bfd multihop ascii_key. BFD packets specify the key by id, allowing the
authentication
keyed-sha1 keyid 1 ascii_key cisco123
use of multiple active keys.
To disable SHA-1 authentication on the interface, use the
no form of the command.

Step 8 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves the configuration change.

Example:

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

34
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Configuration Examples for BFD

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-router-neighbor)# copy
running-config startup-config

Configuration Examples for BFD

This example shows how to configure BFD for OSPFv2 on Ethernet 2/1, using the default BFD session
parameters:

feature bfd
feature ospf
router ospf Test1
interface ethernet 2/1
ip ospf bfd
no shutdown

This example shows how to configure BFD for all EIGRP interfaces, using the default BFD session parameters:

feature bfd
feature eigrp
bfd interval 100 min_rx 100 multiplier 4
router eigrp Test2
bfd

This example shows how to configure BFDv6:

feature bfd
feature ospfv3
router ospfv3 Test1
interface Ethernet2/7
ipv6 router ospfv3 Test1 area 0.0.0.0
ospfv3 bfd
no shutdown

Show Example for BFD

This example shows results of the show bfd ipv6 neighbors details command.

#show bfd ipv6 neighbors details

OurAddr NeighAddr
LD/RD RH/RS Holdown(mult) State Int
Vrf
cc:10::2 cc:10::1
1090519335/1090519260 Up 5692(3) Up Po1
default

Session state is Up and using echo function with 250 ms interval

Local Diag: 0, Demand mode: 0, Poll bit: 0, Authentication: None
MinTxInt: 250000 us, MinRxInt: 2000000 us, Multiplier: 3
Received MinRxInt: 2000000 us, Received Multiplier: 3

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

35
 Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Related Documents

Holdown (hits): 6000 ms (4), Hello (hits): 2000 ms (205229)

Rx Count: 227965, Rx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 124/1520/1510 last: 307 ms ago
Tx Count: 205229, Tx Interval (ms) min/max/avg: 1677/1677/1677 last: 587 ms ago
Registered protocols: bgp
Uptime: 3 days 23 hrs 31 mins 13 secs
Last packet: Version: 1 - Diagnostic: 0
State bit: Up - Demand bit: 0
Poll bit: 0 - Final bit: 0
Multiplier: 3 - Length: 24
My Discr.: 1090519260 - Your Discr.: 1090519335
Min tx interval: 250000 - Min rx interval: 2000000
Min Echo interval: 250000 - Authentication bit: 0
Hosting LC: 1, Down reason: None, Reason not-hosted: None

Related Documents
Related Topic Document Title

BFD commands Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing

Configuration Guide

RFCs
RFC Title

RFC 5880 Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)

RFC 5881 BFD for IPv4 and IPv6 (Single Hop)

RFC 7130 Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) on Link

Aggregation Group (LAG) Interfaces

Configuring Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

36