Configuring VRRP-E load-balancing using short-path forwarding

VRRP-E traffic can be load-balanced using short-path forwarding on the backup devices.

Before configuring VRRP-E load-balancing, VRRP-E must be configured on all devices in the VRRP-E session.

Perform this task on all backup VRRP-E Layer 3 devices to allow load sharing within a VRRP extended group.
  1. Use the configure terminal command to enter global configuration mode. 
    device# configure terminal
  2. To globally enable VRRP-E, enter the router vrrp-extended command. 
    device(config)# router vrrp-extended
  3. Enter the interface ve command with an associated VLAN number. 
    device(config-vrrpe-router)# interface ve 10
    In this example, virtual Ethernet (ve) configuration mode is entered and the interface is assigned a VLAN number of 10.
  4. Enter an IP address for the interface using the ip address command. 
    device(config-vif-10)# ip address 192.168.4.1/24
  5. Enter the ip vrrp-extended vrid command with a number to assign a VRRP-E virtual router ID to the device. 
    device(config-vif-10)# ip vrrp-extended vrid 5
    In this example, VRRP-E group configuration mode is entered.
  6. Enter the backup command with a priority value to configure the device as a VRRP-E backup device. 
    device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# backup priority 50
  7. Enter the ip-address command with an IP address that is not used on any VRRP-E device interface to add a virtual IP address to the VRRP-E instance. 
    device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# ip-address 192.168.4.254
  8. Enter the short-path-forwarding command with a revert-priority value to configure the backup VRRP-E device as an alternate path with a specified priority. 
    device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# short-path-forwarding revert-priority 50
    When the backup device priority is higher than the configured revert-priority value, the backup router is able to perform short-path forwarding. If the backup priority is lower than the revert priority, short-path forwarding is disabled.
  9. Enter the activate command to activate the VRRP-E instance. 
    device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# activate

In the following example, short-path forwarding is configured on a backup VRRP-E device, and a revert priority threshold is configured. If the backup device priority falls below this threshold, short-path forwarding is disabled. 

device# configure terminal
device(config)# router vrrp-extended
device(config-vrrpe-router)# interface ve 10
device(config-vif-10)# ip address 192.168.4.1/24
device(config-vif-10)# ip vrrp-extended vrid 5
device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# backup priority 50
device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# ip-address 192.168.4.254
device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# short-path-forwarding revert-priority 50
device(config-vif-10-vrid-5)# activate
Parent topic: VRRP-E Load-Balancing Using Short-Path Forwarding