Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Routing Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.x

Configure a PIM BSR

Updated: March 9, 2026

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Use this procedure to set up automated discovery by defining feature templates and candidate roles. This high-level workflow ensures that all necessary components are in place for the election process to function correctly.

Before you begin

Every Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN site must have its own RP.

SPT-only mode must be enabled on all Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN sites.

For a BSR to work for any multicast stream that spans across Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN sites, SPT-only mode is mandatory. For a BSR within a local-site multicast stream within a Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN site, it is not necessary to enable SPT-only mode.

For a PIM BSR to elect the RP, configure the following in Cisco SD-WAN Manager:

Procedure

Multicast feature template with SPT Only set to On for the selected Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device.
PIM feature template with an interface.
RP candidate.
BSR candidate.

Configure Shortest-Path Tree mode for a multicast feature template

Before you begin

In Cisco SD-WAN Manager, configure SPT Only mode to ensure that the RPs can communicate with each other using the shortest-path tree.

When configuring a BSR, configuration of SPT Only mode is mandatory.

Procedure

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
Click Feature Templates.

In Cisco SD-WAN Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Feature Templates is titled Feature.
Click Add Template.
From the Select Devices drop-down list, choose a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device.
In the Template Name field, enter a name containing up to 128 alphanumeric characters. In the Description field, enter a description containing up to 2048 alphanumeric characters.
Under the Basic Configuration section for SPT Only, choose On.
To enable the Local Replicator on the device, choose On (otherwise keep it set to Off).
To configure a replicator, choose Threshold, and specify a value. (Optional, keep it set to the default value if you are not configuring a replicator).
Click Save.

Configure a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device as SPT-only using a CLI template

Procedure

Configure a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device as spt-only

Device(config)# sdwan multicast address-family ipv4 vrf 1 
spt-only

Use the show platform software sdwan multicast remote-nodes vrf command to verify that system IP addresses are configured with spt-only mode:

Device# show platform software sdwan multicast remote-nodes vrf 1                                         
Multicast SDWAN Overlay Remote Nodes (* - Replicator):                            
                                           Received                Sent           
                 SPT-Only               (X,G)      (S,G)      (X,G)      (S,G)    
 System IP       Mode         Label   Join/Prune Join/Prune Join/Prune Join/Prune 
 172.16.255.11   Yes          1003        0/0        0/0        0/0        0/0    
 172.16.255.14   Yes          1003        0/0        0/0        1/0      10/10    
 172.16.255.16   Yes          1003        0/0        0/0        0/0        0/0    
 172.16.255.21   Yes          1003        0/0        0/0        0/0        0/0

Example:

Sample Multicast Configuration With SPT-Only

Device(config)# sdwan
Device(config)# multicast
Device(config)# address-family ipv4 vrf 1
Device(config)# spt-only
!

Configure a PIM feature template and add an interface

Configure a PIM feature template and add an interface for an RP and the BSR candidate.

Procedure

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
Click Feature Templates.

In Cisco SD-WAN Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Feature Templates is titled Feature.
Click Add Template.
From the Select Devices drop-down list, choose a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device.
Under Other Templates, choose Cisco PIM.
In the Template Name field, enter a name containing up to 128 alphanumeric characters. In the Description field, enter a description containing up to 2048 alphanumeric characters.
Click Interface > New Interface. In the Interface Name field, specify an interface with a value.
In the Query Interval (seconds) field, the field auto-populates. In the Join/Prune Interval (seconds) field, the field auto-populates.
Click Add and then click Save.

Configure the RP candidate

Configure the same Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device as the candidate RP for all multicast groups or selective groups.

Procedure

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
Click Feature Templates.

In Cisco SD-WAN Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Feature Templates is titled Feature.
Edit the PIM feature template that you created by clicking ... and then clicking Edit.
Click Basic Configuration.
Click RP Candidate > New RP Candidate.
From the Interface drop-down list, choose the interface that you used for configuring the PIM feature template.
1. (Optional) In the Access List field, if you have configured the access list with a value, add the same value.
2. (Optional) In the Interval field, if you have configured the interval with a value, add the same interval value.
In the Priority field, specify a higher priority on the Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device than on the service-side device.
Click Add.
Click Update to save your configuration changes.

Configure the BSR candidate

Procedure

Repeat Step 1 through Step 4 from the Configure the RP candidate section.
Click BSR Candidate.
In the BSR Candidate field, chose the same interface from the drop-down list that you used for configuring the PIM feature template.
(Optional) In the Hash Mask Length field, specify the hash mask length. Valid values for hash mask length range from 0 – 32.
In the Priority field, specify a higher priority on the Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device device than on the service-side device.
(Optional) In the RP Candidate Access List field, if you have configured the RP candidate access list with a value, add the same value. An RP candidate uses a standard access control list (ACL) where you can enter the name for the access list.
Click Update to save your configuration changes.

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