Configuring HSRP for IPv6 on Cisco Networks
Configuring HSRP for IPv6 on Cisco Networks
In a previous blog I discussed configuring HSRP in an IPv4 network. With the unrelenting advance of IPv6 into today’s networks, I thought I would re-examine this topic in such an environment. Figure 1 shows the topology I will be using for this blog:
For instructor-led Cisco training see our CCNA class schedule.
Figure 1-Blog topology
I am accomplishing all connectivity in this environment with static IPv6 routing. The IPv6 addresses used are also shown in figure 1. I configured HSRP1 and HSRP2 to be paired in an HSRP group, and I used the priority command to ensure that HSRP1 is the active router. The relevant configs for those two routers are shown in figure 2:
Figure 2-HSRP configs
A couple of things of note. I only set the timers on the active router. I easily could have duplicated that portion of the config on HSRP2, but it serves to demonstrate that the non-active router in the HSRP pairing will hear and adopt the timer values advertised by the active router. I also allowed autoconfig to determine the virtual IPv6 address that will be used. Since I don’t have a requirement to statically set this value, and all that matters is that it functions, allowing it to be determined automatically works just fine.
First, let’s verify that HSRP2 has learned the timer values in spite of the fact that they are not explicitly configured.
Figure 3-HSRP2 timers
There they are, the matching timers values that ARE explicitly configured on HSRP1. Now let’s verify that the Client box (a Cisco router in disguise) can reach the far side of the network – the Loopback IPV6 address configured on ISP:
Figure 4-PING and TRACE output
So we can see that there is IPv6 connectivity to the far side, and I even did a trace to verify the path. Currently, the Client machine’s path has a first hop of HSRP1, which is what we would expect. Now I will send 10,000 pings from the Client machine while observing HSRP1 and HSRP2 to verify that the standby configuration is correctly failing over, while also noting how many pings I lose.
Figure 5-HSRP failover activity after simulated failure
That is so cool! The failover happened within milliseconds (as it should have, to match the configuration) and from my Client machine, I only dropped one ping. I would screenshot that, but 1) it went by really fast and 2) it looks just like this: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! . ! ! ! ! !
As I am fond of saying, if you are confident in your IPv4 networking skills, then you are already skilled at IPv6 configuration and troubleshooting – you may just not realize it yet.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to post them….
Until next time….
Mark Jacob
Cisco and CompTIA Network + Instructor – Interface Technical Training
Phoenix, AZ
You May Also Like
A Simple Introduction to Cisco CML2
0 3849 0Mark Jacob, Cisco Instructor, presents an introduction to Cisco Modeling Labs 2.0 or CML2.0, an upgrade to Cisco’s VIRL Personal Edition. Mark demonstrates Terminal Emulator access to console, as well as console access from within the CML2.0 product. Hello, I’m Mark Jacob, a Cisco Instructor and Network Instructor at Interface Technical Training. I’ve been using … Continue reading A Simple Introduction to Cisco CML2
Cable Testers and How to Use them in Network Environments
0 713 1This content is from our CompTIA Network + Video Certification Training Course. Start training today! In this video, CompTIA Network + instructor Rick Trader demonstrates how to use cable testers in network environments. Let’s look at some tools that we can use to test our different cables in our environment. Cable Testers Properly Wired Connectivity … Continue reading Cable Testers and How to Use them in Network Environments
How to Build in a PSMethod to your PowerShell Code
0 72 0In this video, PowerShell instructor Jason Yoder shows how to add Methods (PSMethod) to your code using free software that’s added into the PSObject. For instructor-led PowerShell courses, see our course schedule. Microsoft Windows PowerShell Training Download the Building Methods PowerShell script</a> used in this video. <# ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ Building Methods ║ ╟──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╢ … Continue reading How to Build in a PSMethod to your PowerShell Code
Pingback: Using Cisco’s EEM for path selection in IPv6 networks
Pingback: How to Configure NTP for IPv6 on Cisco Networks