APPLICATION NOTE - VRRP
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and the iMX350 RAPTOR Layer 3 Switch
One important function of a router or layer 3 switch is to be a gateway to the Wide Area
Network (WAN) for hosts on the Local Area Network (LAN). On large and/or critical LANs,
multiple routers may act as the gateway, using dynamic routing protocols, such as OSPF
or RIP. However, there are applications where static routing is preferable to dynamic
routing, but this will result in the gateway being a single point of failure. Virtual Router
Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), as defined by RFC 5798, offers a solution to this.
VRRP allows the creation of a high availability configuration by combining two or more
physical routers into a logical grouping called a virtual router. These physical routers then
coordinate their operation to provide a single logical gateway for hosts on the LAN. The
virtual router is configured as the host’s gateway, with the individual physical routers that
comprise the virtual router being unknown to the hosts. As long as one of the physical
routers in the virtual router is operational, data to and from the hosts will be forwarded.
VRRP OPERATION
A VRRP vir tual router consists of a master router and one or more backup routers.
Normally, there will only be one backup router in an implementation. The routers will be
given a VRRP priority; the one with the highest priority will be considered the preferred
master. The master router performs the function of forwarding packets between the local
hosts and the remote network, while the backup router is in a passive state until needed.
The master router informs the backup router(s) of its status by sending advertisement
messages at regular intervals, typically every second. If the master router fails, the
backup router with the highest priority takes over and becomes the new master router.
The virtual router has both a MAC address and an IP address. By sharing these addresses
across multiple physical routers, connectivity is maintained with the remote network if a
router fails, and a backup takes over as the master, generally within a few seconds.
The MAC address used by the virtual router is called the VRRP virtual MAC. This MAC
address is returned by the master router when responding to any ARP requests related to
the gateway IP address.
The vir tual MAC address is derived from the vir tual router identifier, which is a user-
defined value from 1 to 255. The full virtual MAC address will be 00-00-5e-00-01-xx, where
xx is the VRRP ID. The virtual router’s IP address is configured into all hosts on the LAN
as their default gateway address.
Figure 1.0
WAN
Router Virtual IP- 192.168.1.1 Router
(Master) Virtual MAC- 00-00-5e-00-01-01 (Backup)
VRRP Session ID-1
IP – 192.168.1.2 IP – 192.168.1.3
Ethernet Ethernet
Switch Switch
Ethernet Network
Device IP – 192.18.1.100
Default Gateway IP – 192.168.1.1
VRRP supports the use of VLANs. There is a VRRP instance created for each VLAN with
its own unique settings. Each VRRP instance has an identifier that is associated with a
virtual IP/MAC Address pair.
For example:
VLAN 1- router 1 (master) LAN Interface- 192.168.1.2
VLAN 1- router 2 (backup) LAN Interface- 192.168.1.3
VRRP Session ID- 1
Virtual IP/MAC Address- 192.168.1.1/00-00-5e-00-01-01
VLAN 239- router 1 (master) LAN Interface- 192.168.239.2
VLAN 239- router 2 (backup) LAN Interface- 192.168.239.3
VRRP Session ID- 2
Virtual IP/MAC Address- 192.168.239.1/00-00-5e-00-01-02
VLAN 1024- router 1 (master) LAN Interface- 192.168.24.2
VLAN 1024- router 2 (backup) LAN Interface- 192.168.24.3
VRRP Session ID- 3
Virtual IP/MAC Address- 192.168.24.1/00-00-5e-00-01-03
EXAMPLE USE CASES
LARGE SUBSTATION WITH WAN ACCESS
The critical aspect of VRRP is maintaining the Default Gateway for the local Subnets sitting
behind the routers. The VRRP routers are the gateway to the WAN and support routing for the
VLANs behind them in the substation. There is a VRRP instance for every VLAN configured in the
substation on the participating physical VRRP routers. If the master router fails, the backup router
takes over seamlessly, with no loss of connectivity between the devices behind the router and
the WAN. There is no need to change the Default Gateway on any end device on any configured
VLAN.
Figure 2.0
GROUP OF REMOTE SUBSTATIONS WITH CONNECTION TO THE
CONTROL CENTER ON A PRIVATE NETWORK
In this example, all the remote substations get their remote connectivity through the Control
Center. All the configured VLANs in the remote substations are routed to the control Center
through the VRRP routers installed there. The remote/field substations connect into a network
that is owned/managed by the electric utility, so these are private subnets. They only have access
to the WAN through the Control Center VRRP routers, so these are of extreme importance to the
operation of the utility.
Figure 3.0
VRRP SETTINGS FOR THE iMX350 RAPTOR
Figure 4.0
Example Settings
To enable VRRP and configure an instance over a VLAN interface, execute the following
commands in both of the switches (the specific address used are from the diagram above).
The first set of commands for the first RAPTOR (router/Layer 3 switch) will be followed by the
backup RAPTOR settings.
RAPTOR #1 settings
− Enter the Global Configuration Mode.
iS5comm# configure terminal
− Enable VRRP and enter the VRRP Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config)# router vrrp
− Select an interface to configure VRRP and enter the VRRP Interface Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config-vrrp)# interface vlan 1
− Create a VRRP instance and specify a primary IP address. This IP address should be same IP
address of the VLAN interface. This is used as source IP Address for VRRP advertisement packets.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# vrrp 1 ipv4 12.0.0.1
− Add an associated IP address 12.0.0.6 to the VRRP instance. This IP Address should be in the
same subnet of interface IP address.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# vrrp 1 ipv4 12.0.0.6 secondary
− Exit from the VRRP Interface Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# end
Exit to iS5comm# and enter “wr startup-config” to save entries
RAPTOR #2 settings
− Enter the Global Configuration Mode.
iS5comm# configure terminal
− Enable VRRP and enter the VRRP Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config)# router vrrp
− Select an interface to configure VRRP and enter the VRRP Interface Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config-vrrp)# interface vlan 1
− Create a VRRP instance and specify a primary IP address. This IP address should be same IP
address of the VLAN interface. This is used as source IP Address for VRRP advertisement
packets.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# vrrp 1 ipv4 12.0.0.1
− Add an associated IP address 12.0.0.5 to the VRRP instance. This IP Address should be in the
same subnet of interface IP address.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# vrrp 1 ipv4 12.0.0.5 secondary
− Exit from the VRRP Interface Configuration Mode.
iS5comm(config-vrrp-if)# end
Exit to iS5comm# and enter “wr startup-config” to save entries
Settings from the viewpoint of the master VRRP router
iS5comm# show vrrp interface vlan 1 detail
vlan1 - vrID 1
---------------
State is master
Virtual IP address is 12.0.0.1
Virtual MAC address is 00:00:5e:00:01:01
master router is 12.0.0.5
Associated IP Addresses :
----------------------
12.0.0.5
12.0.0.6
Advertise time is 1000 milli secs
Current priority is 200
Configured priority is 200, may preempt
Settings from the viewpoint of the backup VRRP router
iS5comm# show vrrp interface vlan 1 detail
vlan1 - vrID 1
---------------
State is backup
Virtual IP address is 12.0.0.1
Virtual MAC address is 00:00:5e:00:01:01
master router is 12.0.0.5
Associated IP Addresses :
----------------------
12.0.0.5
12.0.0.6
Advertise time is 1000 milli secs
Current priority is 150
Configured priority is 150, may preempt
ABOUT iS5 COMMUNICATIONS INC.
iS5 Communications Inc. (“iS5Com”) is a global provider of integrated services and solutions,
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