Abdicating VRRP master device status

Changing the priority of a VRRP master device allows a temporary abdication of the master device status to allow a backup device with a higher priority to assume the master device role.

A VRRP session must be configured and running.

When you change the priority of a VRRP owner, the change takes effect only for the current power cycle. The change is not saved to the startup configuration file when you save the configuration, and it is not retained across a reload or reboot. Following a reload or reboot, the VRRP owner again has priority 255.

Note: This task is supports IPv4 VRRP only. IPv6 VRRP, VRRP-E, and IPv6 VRRP-E are not supported.
  1. On the master device and from privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode by issuing the configure terminal command. 
    device# configure terminal
  2. Globally enable VRRP. 
    device(config)# router vrrp
  3. Configure an Ethernet interface. 
    device(config)# interface ethernet 1/1/6
  4. Enter the virtual router ID (VRID) for which the device is the VRRP owner. 
    device(config-if-e1000-1/1/6)# ip vrrp vrid 1
    Note: You can assign a VRID number in the range of 1 through 255.
  5. Enter a priority for this device that is lower than the priority of at least one backup device associated with the VRID. 
    device(config-if-e1000-1/1/6-vrid-1)# owner priority 99
  6. Verify the abdication of the master device using the show ip vrrp command. 
    device(config-if-e1000-1/1/6-vrid-1)# show ip vrrp

Total number of VRRP routers defined: 1
Interface ethernet 1/1/6
auth-type no authentication
VRID 1
state backup
administrative-status enabled
mode owner
priority 99
current priority 99
hello-interval 1 sec
ip-address 10.53.5.1
backup routers 10.53.5.2
    In this example, the mode shows this device as the owner of the virtual router (mode owner), but the VRRP priority for the device is only 99 and the state is now backup instead of master. The administrative status is still enabled. The output verifies that this device is now a backup device.
Parent topic: VRRPv2