Cisco IOS XE IP Routing Protocols Configuration Guide, Release 2
OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets
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Table Of Contents

OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Finding Feature Information

Contents

Prerequisites for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Information About OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

OSPF Hello Interval and Dead Interval

OSPF Fast Hello Packets

Benefits of OSPF Fast Hello Packets

How to Configure OSPF Fast Hello Packets

Configuring OSPF Fast Hello Packets

Examples

Configuration Examples for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

OSPF Fast Hello Packets: Example

Additional References

Related Documents

Standards

MIBs

RFCs

Technical Assistance

Feature Information for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets


OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Last Updated: May 4, 2009

The OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets feature provides a way to configure the sending of hello packets in intervals less than 1 second. Such a configuration results in faster convergence in an Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) network.

Finding Feature Information

For the latest feature information and caveats, see 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 for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets" section.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco IOS XE software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Contents

•Prerequisites for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

•Information About OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

•How to Configure OSPF Fast Hello Packets

•Configuration Examples for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

•Additional References

•Feature Information for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Prerequisites for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

OSPF must be already configured in the network or must be configured at the same time as the OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets feature.

Information About OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

The following sections describe concepts related to OSPF support for fast hello packets:

•OSPF Hello Interval and Dead Interval

•OSPF Fast Hello Packets

•Benefits of OSPF Fast Hello Packets

OSPF Hello Interval and Dead Interval

OSPF hello packets are packets that an OSPF process sends to its OSPF neighbors to maintain connectivity with those neighbors. The hello packets are sent at a configurable interval (in seconds). The defaults are 10 seconds for an Ethernet link and 30 seconds for a non broadcast link. Hello packets include a list of all neighbors for which a hello packet has been received within the dead interval. The dead interval is also a configurable interval (in seconds), and defaults to four times the value of the hello interval. The value of all hello intervals must be the same within a network. Likewise, the value of all dead intervals must be the same within a network.

These two intervals work together to maintain connectivity by indicating that the link is operational. If a router does not receive a hello packet from a neighbor within the dead interval, it will declare that neighbor to be down.

OSPF Fast Hello Packets

OSPF fast hello packets refer to hello packets being sent at intervals of less than 1 second. To understand fast hello packets, you should already understand the relationship between OSPF hello packets and the dead interval. See the section "OSPF Hello Interval and Dead Interval" section.

OSPF fast hello packets are achieved by using the ip ospf dead-interval command. The dead interval is set to 1 second, and the hello-multiplier value is set to the number of hello packets you want to send during that 1 second, thus providing subsecond or "fast" hello packets.

When fast hello packets are configured on the interface, the hello interval advertised in the hello packets that are sent out this interface is set to 0. The hello interval in the hello packets received over this interface is ignored.

The dead interval must be consistent on a segment, whether it is set to 1 second (for fast hello packets) or set to any other value. The hello multiplier need not be the same for the entire segment as long as at least one hello packet is sent within the dead interval.

Benefits of OSPF Fast Hello Packets

The benefit of the OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets feature is that your OSPF network will experience faster convergence time than it would without fast hello packets. This feature allows you to detect lost neighbors within 1 second. It is especially useful in LAN segments, where neighbor loss might not be detected by the Open System Interconnection (OSI) physical layer and data-link layer.

How to Configure OSPF Fast Hello Packets

The following section describes how to enable OSPF fast hello packets:

•Configuring OSPF Fast Hello Packets

Configuring OSPF Fast Hello Packets

This section describes how to configure OSPF fast hello packets.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface type number

4. ip ospf dead-interval minimal hello-multiplier multiplier

5. end

6. show ip ospf interface [interface-type interface-number]

DETAILED STEPS

 
Command or Action
Purpose

Step 1 

enable

Example:

Router> enable

Enables higher privilege levels, such as privileged EXEC mode.

Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2 

configure terminal

Example:

Router# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3 

interface type number

Example:

Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet 0/0/1

Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.

Step 4 

ip ospf dead-interval minimal hello-multiplier multiplier

Example:

Router(config-if)# ip ospf dead-interval minimal hello-multiplier 5

Sets the interval during which at least one hello packet must be received, or else the neighbor is considered down.

•In the example, OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets is enabled by specifying the minimal keyword and the hello-multiplier keyword and value. Because the multiplier is set to 5, five hello packets will be sent every second.

Step 5 

end

Example:

Router(config-if)# end

(Optional) Saves configuration commands to the running configuration file, exits configuration mode, and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

•Use this command when you are ready to exit configuration mode and save the configuration to the running configuration file.

Step 6 

show ip ospf interface [interface-type interface-number]

Example:

Router# show ip ospf interface gigabitethernet 0/0/1

(Optional) Displays OSPF-related interface information.

•The relevant fields that verify OSPF fast hello packets are indicated in the sample output following this table.


Examples

The following sample output verifies that OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets is configured. In the line that begins with "Timer intervals configured," the hello interval is 200 milliseconds, the dead interval is 1 second, and the next hello packet is due in 76 milliseconds. 

Router# show ip ospf interface gigabitethernet 0/0/1


GigabitEthernet0/0/1 is up, line protocol is up

  Internet Address 172.16.1.2/24, Area 0

  Process ID 1, Router ID 172.17.0.2, Network Type BROADCAST, Cost:1

  Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State DR, Priority 1

  Designated Router (ID) 172.17.0.2, Interface address 172.16.1.2

  Backup Designated router (ID) 172.16.0.1, Interface address 172.16.1.1

  Timer intervals configured, Hello 200 msec, Dead 1, Wait 1, Retransmit 5

    Hello due in 76 msec

Index 2/2, flood queue length 0

  Next 0x0(0)/0x0(0)

  Last flood scan length is 2, maximum is 3

  Last flood scan time is 0 msec, maximum is 0 msec

  Neighbor Count is 1, Adjacent neighbor count is 1

    Adjacent with neighbor 172.16.0.1  (Backup Designated Router)

  Suppress hello for 0 neighbor(s)

Configuration Examples for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

The following section provides a configuration example:

•OSPF Fast Hello Packets: Example

OSPF Fast Hello Packets: Example

The following example configures OSPF fast hello packets; the dead interval is 1 second and 5 hello packets are sent every second: 

interface gigabitethernet 0/0/1

 ip ospf dead-interval minimal hello-multiplier 5

Additional References

The following sections provide references related to OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets.

Related Documents

Related Topic
Document Title

OSPF commands: complete command syntax, command mode, command history, defaults, usage guidelines, and examples

Cisco IOS IP Routing Protocols Command Reference

Configuring OSPF

"Configuring OSPF" chapter in the Cisco IOS XE IP Routing Protocols Configuration Guide, Release 2

Cisco IOS master command list, all releases

Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases


Standards

Standard
Title

No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.

—


MIBs

MIB
MIBs Link

No new or modified MIBs are supported by this feature, and support for existing MIBs has not been modified by this feature.

To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS XE releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs


RFCs

RFC
Title

None

—


Technical Assistance

Description
Link

The Cisco Support website provides extensive online resources, including documentation and tools for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with Cisco products and technologies.

To receive security and technical information about your products, you can subscribe to various services, such as the Product Alert Tool (accessed from Field Notices), the Cisco Technical Services Newsletter, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds.

Access to most tools on the Cisco Support website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/techsupport


Feature Information for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Table 1 lists the release history for this feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which Cisco IOS XE software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Note Table 1 lists only the Cisco IOS XE software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given Cisco IOS XE software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that Cisco IOS XE software release train also support that feature.

Table 1 Feature Information for OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets 

Feature Name
Releases
Feature Information

OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets

Cisco IOS XE
Release 2.1

The OSPF Support for Fast Hello Packets feature provides a way to configure the sending of hello packets in intervals less than 1 second. Such a configuration results in faster convergence in an Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) network.


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