IP Addresses and Services Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, IOS XR Releases

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IP Addresses and Services Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, IOS XR Releases

VRRP over physical and bundle interfaces

Updated: August 12, 2026

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This topic describes VRRP support for IPv4 and IPv6 networks on physical interfaces, physical sub-interfaces, bundle interfaces, and bundle sub-interfaces, including supported scale and topology.

You can configure multiple routers from a VRRP router group and use one of these routers as the default gateway router to reduce the possibility of a single point of network failure. It also ensures that the traffic load received from and sent to LAN clients is equally shared between the available routers for optimal performance.

You can configure up to 510 IPv4 and IPv6 VRRP groups on the Cisco Silicon One Q200 and P100 ASIC-based systems.

Table 1. Feature History Table
Feature Name	Release Information	Feature Description
VRRP over Physical interfaces and Bundle interfaces	Release 25.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only*) This feature is supported on: 8011-32Y8L2H2FH 8011-12G12X4Y-A/D
VRRP over Physical interfaces and Bundle interfaces	Release 25.1.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8700 [ASIC: K100], 8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only*) This feature is supported on: 8712-MOD-M 8011-4G24Y4H-I
VRRP over Physical interfaces and Bundle interfaces	Release 24.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200 [ASIC: P100], 8700 [ASIC: P100])(select variants only); Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100])(select variants only) *This feature is supported on: 8212-48FH-M 8711-32FH-M 88-LC1-36EH 88-LC1-12TH24FH-E 88-LC1-52Y8H-EM
VRRP over Physical interfaces and Bundle interfaces	Release 24.2.11	This feature ensures high availability of routing paths by mitigating any failure in the primary interfaces within a group of physical or bundle interfaces or sub-interfaces in a network with a failover to a backup physical or bundle interface. The feature achieves this failover through a backup router in the VRRP router group configured on the physical or bundle interfaces or sub-interfaces. The virtual IP addresses from the failed primary router are handed over to this backup router.

Topology

This topology provides the VRRP implementation over a Bundle sub-interface on a network segment.

VRRP topology and underlying network elements:

Interface Bundle-Ether100.1: This is the Bundle sub-interface which is configured on the Master router (IP Address: 39.101.1.1) and the Backup router (IP Address: 39.101.1.2).
VRRP Router Group: The VRRP router group consists of two or more routers configured with VRRP. This group provides backup services to the backup router (Router B) in the event of the Master router (Router A) failure. The virtual IP address of the VRRP router group in this topology is 39.101.1.3.
Router A: Router A is the Master router on which the Bundle sub-interface Bundle-Ether100.1 is configured. This router receives and routes packets destined for the MAC address of the group. This router is known as the IP address owner of the VRRP router group.
Router B: When the designated Master router fails, VRRP detects it and selects another router with the highest priority in the VRRP router group as the Backup router. This Backup router with the Bundle sub-interface Bundle-Ether100.1 configuration takes over the job of Router A and assumes control of the MAC and IP Addresses of the VRRP router group.
Client 1 and Client 2: These are source hosts from which traffic is forwarded through the Master router or Backup router to the destination hosts.

Guidelines for VRRP configuration

These guidelines apply when you configure VRRP:

When setting up VRRP for both IPv4 and IPv6 groups with more than 510 sessions, or when using aggressive timer intervals below 1 second, it is crucial to adjust the LPTS flow parameters accordingly. Specifically, increase the LPTS policer rate to a minimum of 3000 pps. This ensures optimal performance and avoids any LPTS drops for VRRP traffic to maintain network stability and efficiency. For detailed instructions on configuring these settings, refer to the Usage Guidelines section within the lpts pifib hardware police command documentation.

Configure VRRP for IPv4 networks on physical and bundle interfaces

Perform the following configuration on both the master router and the backup router. On each router, first configure the main bundle interface (Bundle-Ether100 ) and add the member links to Bundle-Ether100 .

Note

Apply customizations to control the behavior of the VRRP group when you commit the VRRP configuration on the router. Without these customizations, the router seizes control of the VRRP group and immediately assumes the role of the IP address owner virtual router.

Procedure

On the master router, enter the interface configuration mode and configure an IPv4 address for the interface.

Example:

Router(config)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-if)# ipv4 address 39.101.1.1/24
Router(config-if)# encapsulation dot1q 1
Router(config-if)# no shut
Router(config-if)# commit
Router(config-if)# exit

Enter the VRRP configuration mode, add the configured interface, and configure VRRP for IPv4.

Example:

Router(config)# router vrrp
Router(config-vrrp)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-vrrp-if)# address-family ipv4 vrrp 1
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-router)# address 39.101.1.3

Set a priority for the virtual router.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# priority 100

Configure a preempt delay value that controls the selection of the IP address owner virtual router, and commit the configuration.
Example:
```
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# preempt delay 30
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# commit
```

On the backup router, repeat the preceding steps by using an IPv4 address that is unique to the backup router but sharing the same VRRP virtual address.

Example:

Router(config)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-if)# ipv4 address 39.101.1.2/24
Router(config-if)# encapsulation dot1q 1
Router(config-if)# no shut
Router(config-if)# commit
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# router vrrp
Router(config-vrrp)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-vrrp-if)# address-family ipv4 vrrp 1
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-router)# address 39.101.1.3
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# priority 100
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# preempt delay 30
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# commit

Verify the interface configuration on the master router by using the show run interface command.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-virtual-router)# do show run interface Bundle-Ether100.1
interface Bundle-Ether100.1
 ipv4 address 39.101.1.1/24
 encapsulation dot1q 1
!

Verify VRRP operation by using the show vrrp detail command.

Example:

Router# show vrrp detail
Bundle-Ether100.1 - IPv4 vrID 1
  State is Master
    16 state changes, last state change 00:05:26
    State change history:
    Feb 23 05:09:11.811 UTC  Backup   -> Init     Interface Down update
    Feb 23 05:13:25.018 UTC  Init     -> Backup   Delay timer expired
    Feb 23 05:13:28.990 UTC  Backup   -> Master   Master down timer expired
    Feb 23 05:13:59.911 UTC  Master   -> Backup   Higher priority advert received
    Feb 23 05:28:20.344 UTC  Backup   -> Master   Master down timer expired
  Last resign sent:     Never
  Last resign received: Feb 23 05:02:47.544 UTC
  Virtual IP address is 39.101.1.3
  Virtual MAC address is 0000.5E00.0101, state is active
  Master router is local
  Version is 2
  Advertise time 1 secs
    Master Down Timer 3.960 (3 x 1 + (246 x 1/256))
  Minimum delay 1 sec, reload delay 5 sec
  Current priority 10
    Configured priority 10, may preempt
      minimum delay 30 secs

You have successfully configured and verified VRRP for IPv4 networks on the master and backup routers.

Configure VRRP for IPv6 networks on physical and bundle interfaces

Note

Apply customizations to control the behavior of the VRRP group when you commit the VRRP configuration on the router. Without these customizations, the router seizes control of the VRRP group and immediately assumes the role of the IP address owner virtual router.

Procedure

On the master router, enter the interface configuration mode and configure an IPv6 address.

Example:

Router# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-if)# ipv6 address 39:100:0:1::1:1/64
Router(config-if)# encapsulation dot1q 1
Router(config-if)# no shut

Exit the interface configuration mode, enter the VRRP configuration mode, and add the configured interface for VRRP.
Example:
```
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# Router vrrp
Router(config-vrrp)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
```

Enable the IPv6 global and link local address family on the interface.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-if)# address-family ipv6 vrrp 1
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# address global 39:100:0:1::1:3
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# address linklocal autoconfig

Set a priority for the virtual router.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# priority 100

Configure a preempt delay value that controls the selection of the IP address owner virtual router, and commit the configuration.
Example:
```
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# preempt delay 30
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# commit
```

On the backup router, repeat the preceding steps by using an IPv6 address that is unique to the backup router but sharing the same VRRP virtual address.

Example:

Router# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-if)# ipv6 address 39:100:0:1::1:2/64
Router(config-if)# encapsulation dot1q 1
Router(config-if)# no shut
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# Router vrrp
Router(config-vrrp)# interface Bundle-Ether100.1
Router(config-vrrp-if)# address-family ipv6 vrrp 1
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# address global 39:100:0:1::1:3
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# address linklocal autoconfig
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# priority 100
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# preempt delay 30
Router(config-vrrp-virtual-Router)# commit

Verify the interface configuration on the master router by using the show run interface command.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-virtual-router)# do show run interface Bundle-Ether100.1
interface Bundle-Ether100.1
 ipv6 address 39:100:0:1::1:1/64
 encapsulation dot1q 1
!

Verify the VRRP configuration by using the show running-config router vrrp command.

Example:

Router(config-vrrp-virtual-router)# do show running-config router vrrp
router vrrp
 interface Bundle-Ether100.1
  address-family ipv6
   vrrp 1
    priority 100
    preempt delay 30
    address global 39:100:0:1::1:3
    address linklocal autoconfig
  !
 !
!

Verify VRRP operation by using the show vrrp detail command.

Example:

Router# show vrrp detail
Bundle-Ether100.1 - IPv6 vrID 1
  State is Master
    18 state changes, last state change 00:05:26
    State change history:
    Feb 23 05:09:11.811 UTC  Backup   -> Init     Interface Down update
    Feb 23 05:13:25.018 UTC  Init     -> Backup   Delay timer expired
    Feb 23 05:13:28.990 UTC  Backup   -> Master   Master down timer expired
    Feb 23 05:13:59.911 UTC  Master   -> Backup   Higher priority advert received
    Feb 23 05:28:20.344 UTC  Backup   -> Master   Master down timer expired
  Last resign sent:     Never
  Last resign received: Feb 22 16:57:09.690 UTC
   Virtual IP address is fe80::200:5eff:fe00:201
     Secondary Virtual IP address is 39:100:0:1::1:3
   Virtual MAC address is 0000.5E00.0201, state is active
   Master router is local
   Version is 3
  Advertise time 1 secs
    Master Down Timer 3.960 (3 x 1 + (246 x 1/256))
  Minimum delay 1 sec, reload delay 5 sec
  Current priority 10
    Configured priority 10, may preempt
      minimum delay 30 secs

You have successfully configured and verified VRRP for IPv6 networks on the master and backup routers.

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