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Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.0 S

MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE): Link and Node Protection, with RSVP Hellos Support

Table Of Contents

MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE): Link and Node Protection, with RSVP Hellos Support

Feature Overview

Benefits

Fast ReRoute Operation

Bandwidth Protection Considerations

Using Backup Tunnels with Explicitly Signaled Bandwidth

Using Backup Tunnels Signaled with Zero Bandwidth

RSVP Hello Operation

Hello Instance

Hello Commands

Restrictions

Related Features and Technologies

Related Documents

Supported Platforms and Interfaces

Supported Standards, MIBs, RFCs, and Drafts

Prerequisites

Configuration Tasks

Enabling Fast ReRoute on LSPs

Creating a Backup Tunnel to the Next Hop or to the Next-Next Hop

Assigning Backup Tunnels to a Protected Interface

Associating Backup-Bandwidth and Pool Type with a Backup Tunnel

Configuring an Interface for Fast Link and Node Failure Detection

Verifying That Fast ReRoute Is In Place

Troubleshooting Tips

Configuration Examples

Enabling Fast ReRoute for all Tunnels

Creating an NHOP Backup Tunnel

Creating an NNHOP Backup Tunnel

Assigning Backup Tunnels to a Protected Interface

Associating Backup-Bandwidth and Pool Type with Backup Tunnels

Configuring RSVP Hello and POS Signals

Command Reference

clear ip rsvp hello instance counters

clear ip rsvp hello instance statistics

clear ip rsvp hello statistics

debug ip rsvp hello

ip rsvp signalling hello (configuration)

ip rsvp signalling hello (interface)

ip rsvp signalling hello dscp

ip rsvp signalling hello refresh interval

ip rsvp signalling hello refresh misses

ip rsvp signalling hello statistics

mpls traffic-eng backup-path

mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute timers

show ip rsvp hello

show ip rsvp hello instance detail

show ip rsvp hello instance summary

show ip rsvp hello statistics

show ip rsvp interface detail

show ip rsvp request

show ip rsvp reservation

show ip rsvp sender

show mpls traffic tunnel backup

show mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute database

show mpls traffic-eng tunnels

show mpls traffic-eng tunnels summary

tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw

Glossary


MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE): Link and Node Protection, with RSVP Hellos Support


Feature History

Release
Modification

12.0(10)ST

Fast ReRoute Link Protection feature was introduced.

12.0(16)ST

Link Protection for Cisco Series 7200 and 7500 platforms was added.

12.0(22)S

Fast ReRoute enhancements were added.

12.0(23)S

The show mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute database command was revised.

12.0(24)S

Support for the Cisco 10720 Internet Router and the Cisco 12000 series router engine 3 was added.

12.2(18)SXD1

This feature was integrated into Cisco IOS Release 12.2(18)SX.


This document describes the Fast ReRoute (FRR) enhancements, including Node Protection, in Cisco IOS Release 12.0(24)S. Node Protection can be viewed as a superset of (that is, an enhancement to) FRR Link Protection. The document includes the following sections:

Feature Overview

Supported Platforms and Interfaces

Supported Standards, MIBs, RFCs, and Drafts

Prerequisites

Configuration Tasks

Configuration Examples

Command Reference

Glossary


Note If you plan to use or already use MPLS Traffic Engineering Fast ReRoute Link Protection before Release 12.0(24)S, contact Cisco TAC Support for important deployment and upgrade information.


Feature Overview

Fast ReRoute (FRR) is a mechanism for protecting MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE) label-switched paths (LSPs) from link and node failures by locally repairing the LSPs at the point of failure, allowing data to continue to flow on them while their headend routers attempt to establish new end-to-end LSPs to replace them. FRR locally repairs the protected LSPs by rerouting them over backup tunnels that bypass failed links or nodes.

Backup tunnels that bypass only a single link of the LSP's path provide Link Protection. They protect LSPs if a link along their path fails by rerouting the LSP's traffic to the next hop (bypassing the failed link). These are referred to as next-hop (NHOP) backup tunnels because they terminate at the LSP's next hop beyond the point of failure. Figure 1 illustrates a next-hop backup tunnel.

Figure 1 Next-Hop Backup Tunnel

FRR provides Node Protection for LSPs. Backup tunnels that bypass next-hop nodes along LSP paths are called next-next-hop (NNH) backup tunnels because they terminate at the node following the next-hop node of the LSP paths, thereby bypassing the next-hop node. They protect LSPs if a node along their path fails by enabling the node upstream of the failure to reroute the LSPs and their traffic around the failed node to the next-next hop. FRR supports the use of RSVP Hellos to accelerate the detection of node failures. NNHOP backup tunnels also provide protection from link failures, because they bypass the failed link as well as the node.

Figure 2 illustrates a next-next hop backup tunnel.

Figure 2 Next-Next Hop Backup Tunnel

If an LSP is using a backup tunnel and something changes so that the LSP is no longer appropriate for the backup tunnel, the LSP is torn down. Such changes include the following:

Backup bandwidth of the backup tunnel is reduced.

Backup bandwidth type of backup tunnel is changed to a type that is incompatible with the primary LSP.

Primary LSP is modified so that Fast ReRoute is disabled. (The no mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute command is entered.)

The Fast ReRoute enhancements include the following:

Backup tunnel support—Backup tunnels can terminate at the next-next hop to support FRR.

Multiple backup tunnels—There no longer is a limit (except memory limitations) to the number of backup tunnels that can protect a given interface. In many topologies, support for Node Protection requires supporting multiple backup tunnels per protected interface. These backup tunnels can terminate at the same destination or at different destinations. That is, for a given protected interface, you can configure multiple NHOP or NNHOP backup tunnels. This allows redundancy and load balancing (see "Benefits").

Bandwidth protection on backup tunnels—NHOP and NNHOP backup tunnels can be used to provide bandwidth protection for rerouted LSPs. This is referred to as backup-bandwidth. You can associate backup-bandwidth with NHOP or NNHOP backup tunnels. This informs the router of the amount of backup-bandwidth a particular backup tunnel can protect. When a router maps LSPs to backup tunnels, bandwidth protection ensures that an LSP uses a given backup tunnel only if there is sufficient backup-bandwidth. The router selects which LSPs use which backup tunnels in order to provide maximum bandwidth protection. That is, the router determines the best way to map LSPs onto backup tunnels in order to maximize the number of LSPs that can be protected. For information about mapping tunnels and assigning backup-bandwidth, see "Backup Tunnel Selection Procedure".

Bandwidth pool restrictions for backup tunnels—You can restrict the types of LSPs that can use a given backup tunnel. Backup tunnels can be restricted so that only LSPs using sub-pool bandwidth can use them or only LSPs that use global-pool bandwidth can use them. This allows different backup tunnels to be used for voice and data. Example: The backup tunnel used for voice could provide bandwidth protection, and the backup tunnel used for data could (optionally) not provide bandwidth protection.

Semi-dynamic backup tunnel paths—The path of a backup tunnel can be configured to be determined dynamically. This can be done by using the IP explicit address exclusion feature that was added in Release 12.0(14)ST. Using this feature, semi-dynamic NHOP backup tunnel paths can be specified simply by excluding the protected link; semi-dynamic NNHOP backup tunnel paths can be configured simply by excluding the protected node.

RSVP Hello—RSVP Hello enables RSVP nodes to detect when a neighboring node is not reachable. This feature is useful when next-hop node failure is not detectable by link layer mechanisms, or when notification of link-layer failures is not available (for example, Gigabit Ethernet).

Benefits

Node Protection

Backup tunnels that terminate at the next-next hop protect both the downstream link and node. This provides protection for link and node failures.

Multiple Backup Tunnels Can Protect the Same Interface

In addition to being required for Node Protection, this enhancement provides the following benefits:

Redundancy—If one backup tunnel is down, other backup tunnels protect LSPs.

Increased backup capacity—If the protected interface is a high-capacity link and no single backup path exists with an equal capacity, multiple backup tunnels can protect that one high-capacity link. The LSPs using this link will fail over to different backup tunnels, allowing all of the LSPs to have adequate bandwidth protection during failure (rerouting). If bandwidth protection is not desired, the router spreads LSPs across all available backup tunnels (that is, there is load balancing across backup tunnels). For a more detailed explanation, see "Backup Tunnel Selection Procedure".

Bandwidth Protection

Rerouted LSPs not only have their packets delivered during a failure, but the quality of service can also be maintained.

Scalability

A backup tunnel can protect multiple LSPs. Furthermore, a backup tunnel can protect multiple interfaces. This is called many-to-one (N:1) protection. N:1 protection has significant scalability advantages over one-to-one (1:1) protection, where a separate backup tunnel must be used for each LSP needing protection. N:1 protection is not new with Node Protection; it existed with Link Protection.

Example of 1:1 protection: When 5,000 backup tunnels protect 5,000 LSPs, each router along the backup path must maintain state for an additional 5,000 tunnels.

Example of N:1 protection: When one backup tunnel protects 5,000 LSPs, each router along the backup path maintains one additional tunnel.

RSVP Hello

RSVP Hello allows a router to detect when its neighbor has gone down but its interface to that neighbor is still operational. When Layer 2 link protocols are unable to detect that the neighbor is unreachable, Hellos provide the detection mechanism; this allows the router to switch LSPs onto its backup tunnels and avoid packet loss.

Fast ReRoute Operation

This section illustrates and describes the following:

Fast ReRoute Activation

Backup Tunnels Terminating at Different Destinations

Backup Tunnels Terminating at the Same Destination

Backup Tunnel Selection Procedure

Bandwidth Protection

Load-balancing on Limited-bandwidth Backup Tunnels

Load-balancing on Unlimited-bandwidth Backup Tunnels

Pool Type and Backup Tunnels

Next-hop Versus Next-next Hop Backup Tunnels

Promotion

Fast ReRoute Activation

Two mechanisms cause routers to switch LSPs onto their backup tunnels:

Interface down notification

RSVP Hello neighbor down notification

When a router's link or neighboring node fails, the router often detects this failure by an interface down notification. On a GSR Packet Over SONET (POS) interface, this notification is very fast. When a router notices that an interface has gone down, it switches LPSs going out that interface onto their respective backup tunnels (if any).

RSVP Hellos can also be used to trigger Fast ReRoute. If RSVP Hellos are configured on an interface, messages are periodically sent to the neighboring router. If no response is received, Hellos declare that the neighbor is down. This causes any LSPs going out that interface to be switched to their respective backup tunnels.

Backup Tunnels Terminating at Different Destinations

Figure 3 illustrates an interface that has multiple backup tunnels terminating at different destinations and demonstrates why, in many topologies, support for Node Protection requires supporting multiple backup tunnels per protected interface.

Figure 3 Backup Tunnels that Terminate at Different Destinations

In this illustration, a single interface on R1 requires multiple backup tunnels. LSPs traverse the following routes:

R1, R2, R3

R1, R2, R4

To provide protection if node R2 fails, two NNHOP backup tunnels are required: one terminating at R3 and one terminating at R4.

Backup Tunnels Terminating at the Same Destination

Figure 4 shows how backup tunnels terminating at the same location can be used for redundancy and load balancing. Redundancy and load balancing work for both NHOP and NNHOP backup tunnels.

Figure 4 Backup Tunnels that Terminate at the Same Destination

In this illustration, there are three routers: R1, R2, and R3. At R1, there are two NNHOP backup tunnels (T1 and T2) that go from R1 to R3 without traversing R2.

Redundancy—If R2 fails or the link from R1 to R2 fails, either backup tunnel can be used. If one backup tunnel is down, the other can be used. LSPs are assigned to backup tunnels when the LSPs are first established. This is done before a failure.

Load balancing—If neither backup tunnel has enough bandwidth to back up all LSPs, both tunnels can be used. Some LSPs will use one backup tunnel, other LSPs will use the other backup tunnel. The router decides the best way to fit the LSPs onto the backup tunnels.

Backup Tunnel Selection Procedure

When an LSP is signaled, each node along the LSP path that provides FRR protection for the LSP selects a backup tunnel for the LSP to use if either of the following events occurs:

The link to the next hop fails.

The next hop fails.

By having the node select the backup tunnel for an LSP before a failure occurs, the LSP can be rerouted onto the backup tunnel quickly if there is a failure.

For an LSP to be mapped to a backup tunnel, all of the following conditions must exist:

The LSP is protected by FRR; that is, the LSP is configured with the tunnel mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute command.

The backup tunnel is up.

The backup tunnel is configured to have an IP address, typically a loopback address.

The backup tunnel is configured to protect this LSP's outgoing interface; that is, the interface is configured with the mpls traffic-eng backup-path command.

The backup tunnel does not traverse the LSP's protected interface.

The backup tunnel terminates at the LSP's NHOP or NNHOP. If it is an NNHOP tunnel, it does not traverse the LSP's NHOP.

The bandwidth protection requirements and constraints, if any, for the LSP and backup tunnel are met. For information about bandwidth protection considerations, see "Bandwidth Protection".

Bandwidth Protection

A backup tunnel can be configured to protect two types of backup-bandwidth:

Limited backup-bandwidth—A backup tunnel provides bandwidth protection. The sum of the bandwidth of all LSPs using this backup tunnel cannot exceed the backup tunnel's backup-bandwidth. When assigning LSPs to this type of backup tunnel, sufficient backup-bandwidth must exist.

Unlimited backup-bandwidth—The backup tunnel does not provide any bandwidth protection (that is, best-effort protection exists). There is no limit to the amount of bandwidth used by the LSPs that are mapped to this backup tunnel. LSPs that allocate zero bandwidth can only use backup tunnels that have unlimited backup-bandwidth.

Load-balancing on Limited-bandwidth Backup Tunnels

There may be more than one backup tunnel that has sufficient backup-bandwidth to protect a given LSP. In this case, the router chooses the one that has the least amount of backup-bandwidth available. This algorithm limits fragmentation, maintaining the largest amount of backup-bandwidth available.

Specifying limited backup bandwidth does not "guarantee" bandwidth protection if there is a link or node failure. For example, the set of NHOP and NNHOP backup tunnels that gets triggered when an interface fails may all share some link on the network topology, and this link may not have sufficient bandwidth to support all LSPs using this set of backup tunnels.

In Figure 5, both backup tunnels traverse the same links and hop. When the link between routers R1 and R4 fails, backup tunnels for primary tunnel 1 and primary tunnel 2 are triggered simultaneously. The two backup tunnels may share a link in the network.

Figure 5 Backup Tunnels Share a Link

In Figure 6, the backup tunnel for primary tunnel 1 may traverse routers R1-R2-R3-R4, and the backup tunnel for primary tunnel 2 may traverse routers R4-R2-R3-R1. In this case, the link R2-R3 may get overloaded if R1-R4 fails.

Figure 6 Overloaded Link

Load-balancing on Unlimited-bandwidth Backup Tunnels

More than one backup tunnel, each having unlimited backup-bandwidth, can protect a given interface. In this case, when choosing a backup tunnel for a given LSP, the router chooses the backup tunnel that has the least amount of backup-bandwidth in use. This algorithm evenly distributes the LSPs across backup tunnels based on LSP's bandwidth. If an LSP is requesting zero bandwidth, the router chooses the backup tunnel that is currently protecting the fewest LSPs.

Pool Type and Backup Tunnels

By default, a backup tunnel provides protection for LSPs that allocate from any pool (that is, global or sub-pool). However, a backup tunnel can be configured to protect only LSPs that use global-pool bandwidth, or only those that use sub-pool bandwidth.

Next-hop Versus Next-next Hop Backup Tunnels

More than one backup tunnel can protect a given LSP, where one backup tunnel terminates at the LSP's NNHOP, and the other terminates at the LSP's NHOP. In this case, the router chooses the backup tunnel that terminates at the NNHOP (that is, Fast ReRoute prefers NNHOP over NHOP backup tunnels).

Table 1 lists the tunnel selection priorities. The first choice is an NNHOP backup tunnel that acquires its bandwidth from a sub-pool or global-pool, and has limited bandwidth. If there is no such backup tunnel, the next choice (2) is a next-next hop backup tunnel that acquires a limited amount of bandwidth from any pool. The preferences go from 1 (best) to 8 (worst), where choice 3 is for an NNHOP backup tunnel with an unlimited amount of sub-pool or global-pool bandwidth.

Table 1 Tunnel Selection Priorities 

Preference
Backup Tunnel Destination
Bandwidth Pool
Bandwidth Amount

1 (Best)

Next-next hop

Sub-pool or global-pool

Limited

2

Next-next hop

Any

Limited

3

Next-next hop

Sub-pool or global-pool

Unlimited

4

Next-next hop

Any

Unlimited

5

Next-hop

Sub-pool or global-pool

Limited

6

Next-hop

Any

Limited

7

Next-hop

Sub-pool or global-pool

Unlimited

8 (Worst)

Next-hop

Any

Unlimited


Figure 7 shows an example of the backup tunnel selection procedure based on the designated amount of global-pool and sub-pool bandwidth currently available.

Figure 7 Choosing from Among Multiple Backup Tunnels

In this example, an LSP requires 20 units (kilobits per second) of sub-pool backup-bandwidth. The best backup tunnel is selected as follows:

1. Backup tunnels T1 through T4 are considered first because they terminate at the NNHOP.

2. Tunnel T4 is eliminated because it only has 10 units of sub-pool backup-bandwidth.

3. Tunnel T1 is eliminated because it protects only LSPs using global-pool bandwidth.

4. Tunnel T3 is chosen over T2 because, although both have sufficient backup-bandwidth, T3 has the least backup-bandwidth available (leaving the most backup-bandwidth available on T2).

5. Tunnels T5 and T6 need not be considered because they terminate at an NHOP, and therefore are less desirable than T3, which terminates at an NNHOP.

Promotion

After a backup tunnel has been chosen for an LSP, conditions may change that will cause us to reevaluate this choice. This reevaluation, if successful, is called promotion. Such conditions may include:

1. A new backup tunnel comes up.

2. The currently chosen backup tunnel for this LSP goes down.

3. A backup tunnel's available backup-bandwidth increases. For example, an LSP protected by the tunnel has been reoptimized by the headend to use another path.

For cases 1 and 2, above, the LSP's backup tunnel is evaluated immediately. Case 3 is addressed by periodically reevaluating LSP-to-backup tunnel mappings. By default, background reevaluation is performed every 5 minutes. This interval is configurable via the mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute timers command.

Bandwidth Protection Considerations

There are numerous ways in which bandwidth protection can be ensured. Table 2 describes the advantages and disadvantages of two methods.

Table 2 Bandwidth Protection Methods

Method
Advantages
Disadvantages

Reserve bandwidth for backup tunnels explicitly.

It is simple.

It is a challenge to allow bandwidth sharing of backup tunnels protecting against independent failures.

Use backup tunnels that are signaled with zero bandwidth.

It provides a way to share bandwidth used for protection against independent failures, so it ensures more economical bandwidth usage.

It may be complicated to determine the proper placement of zero bandwidth tunnels.


Cisco implementation of FRR does not mandate a particular approach, and it provides the flexibility to use either of the above approaches. However, given a range of configuration choices, be sure that the choices constant with a particular bandwidth protection strategy.

The following sections describe some important issues in choosing an appropriate configuration:

Using Backup Tunnels with Explicitly Signaled Bandwidth

Using Backup Tunnels Signaled with Zero Bandwidth

Using Backup Tunnels with Explicitly Signaled Bandwidth

There are two bandwidth parameters that must be set for a backup tunnel:

actual signaled bandwidth

backup-bandwidth

To signal bandwidth requirements of a backup tunnel, configure the bandwidth of the backup tunnel by using the tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth command.

To configure the backup-bandwidth of the backup tunnel, use the tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw command.

The signaled bandwidth is used by the LSRs on the path of the backup tunnel to perform admission control and do appropriate bandwidth accounting.

The backup-bandwidth is used by the PLR (the head-end of the backup tunnel) to decide how much primary traffic can be rerouted to this backup tunnel if there is a failure.

Both parameters need to be set to ensure proper operation. The numerical value of the signaled bandwidth and the backup-bandwidth should be the same.

Protected Bandwidth Pools and the Bandwidth Pool from which the Backup Tunnel Reserves its Bandwidth

The tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth command allows you to configure the following:

Amount of bandwidth a backup tunnel reserves

The DS-TE bandwidth pool from which the bandwidth needs to be reserved


Note Only one pool can be selected (that is, the backup tunnel can explicitly reserve bandwidth from either the global pool or the sub-pool, but not both).


The tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw command allows you to specify the bandwidth pool to which the traffic must belong for the traffic to use this backup tunnel. Multiple pools are allowed.

There is no direct correspondence between the bandwidth pool that is protected and the bandwidth pool from which the bandwidth of the backup tunnel draws its bandwidth.

Example: In this example, assume the following:

Bandwidth protection is desired only for sub-pool traffic, but the best-effort traffic using the global pool does not require bandwidth protection.

Scheduling is configured so that sub-pool traffic uses the priority queue, and global pool traffic is served at a lower priority.

Bandwidth protection for 10 Kbps of sub-pool traffic on a given link can be achieved by any of the following combinations:

tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth sub-pool 10

tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw sub-pool 10

tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth global-pool 10

tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw sub-pool 10 global-pool unlimited

tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth global-pool 40

tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw sub-pool 10 global-pool 30

Using Backup Tunnels Signaled with Zero Bandwidth

Frequently is desirable to use backup tunnels with zero signaled bandwidth, even when bandwidth protection is required. It may seem that if no bandwidth is explicitly reserved, no bandwidth guarantees can be provided. However, that is not necessarily true.

In the following situation:

Only link protection is desired

Bandwidth protection is desired only for sub-pool traffic

For each protected link AB with a max reservable sub-pool value of S, there may be a path from node A to node B such that the difference between max reservable global and max reservable sub-pool is at least S. If it is possible to find such paths for each link in the network, you can establish all the backup tunnels along such paths without any bandwidth reservations. If there is a single link failure, only one backup tunnel will use any link on its path. Since that path has at least S of available bandwidth (in the global pool), assuming that marking and scheduling is configured to classify the sub-pool traffic into a priority queue, the sub-pool bandwidth is guaranteed.

The above approach allows sharing of the global pool bandwidth between backup tunnels protecting independent link failures. The backup tunnels are expected to be used for only a short period of time after a failure (until the head-ends of affected LSPs reroute those LSPs to other paths with available sub-pool bandwidth). The probability of multiple unrelated link failures is very small (in the absence of node or SRLG failures, which result in multiple link failures). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that link failures are in practice independent with high probability. This "independent failure assumption" in combination with backup tunnels signaled without explicit bandwidth reservation enables efficient bandwidth sharing that yields substantial bandwidth savings.

Backup tunnels protecting the sub-pool traffic do now draw bandwidth from any pool. Primary traffic using the global pool can use the entire global pool, and primary traffic using the sub-pool can use the entire sub-pool. Yet, sub-pool traffic has a complete bandwidth guarantee if there is a single link failure.

A similar approach can be used for node and SRLG protection. However, the decision of where to put the backup tunnels is more complicated because both node and SRLG failures effectively result in the simultaneous failure of several links. Therefore, the backup tunnels protecting traffic traversing all affected links cannot be computed independently of each other. The backup tunnels protecting groups of links corresponding to different failures can still be computed independently of each other, which results in similar bandwidth savings.

Signaled Bandwidth versus Backup-Bandwidth

Backup-bandwidth is used locally (by the router that is the head-end of the backup tunnel) to determine which, and how many, primary LSPs can be rerouted on a particular backup tunnel. The router ensures that the combined bandwidth requirement of these LSPs does not exceed the backup-bandwidth.

Therefore, even when the backup tunnel is signaled with zero bandwidth, the backup-bandwidth must be configured with the value corresponding to the actual bandwidth requirement of the traffic protected by this backup tunnel. Unlike the case when bandwidth requirements of the backup tunnels are explicitly signaled, the value of the signaled bandwidth (which is zero) is not the same value as the backup-bandwidth.

RSVP Hello Operation

RSVP Hello enables RSVP nodes to detect when a neighboring node is not reachable. This provides node-to-node failure detection. When such a failure is detected, it is handled in a similar manner as a link-layer communication failure.

RSVP Hello can be used by FRR when notification of link-layer failures is not available (for example, with Ethernet), or when the failure detection mechanisms provided by the link layer are not sufficient for the timely detection of node failures.

A node running Hello sends a Hello Request to a neighboring node every interval. If the receiving node is running Hello, it responds with Hello Ack. If four intervals pass and the sending node has not received an Ack or it receives a bad message, the sending node declares that the neighbor is down and notifies FRR.

There are two configurable parameters:

Hello interval, by using the ip rsvp signalling hello refresh interval command

Number of acknowledgment messages that are missed before the sending node declares that the neighbor is down, by using the ip rsvp signalling hello refresh misses command


Note RSVP Hellos must be enabled on most Ethernet interfaces on Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers to enable FRR operation. The only exception is the 4-port OSM-2+4GE-WAN+ Gigabit Ethernet WAN Optical Services Module, which does not require RSVP Hellos to be enabled.


Hello Instance

A Hello instance implements RSVP Hello for a given router interface address and remote IP address. A Hello instance is expensive because of the large number of Hello requests that are sent and the strains they put on the router resources. Therefore, create a Hello instance only when it is necessary and delete it when it is no longer needed.

There are two types of Hello instances:

Active Hello Instances

Passive Hello Instances

Active Hello Instances

If a neighbor is unreachable when an LSP is ready to be fast rerouted, an active Hello instance is needed. Create an active Hello instance for each neighbor with at least one LSP in this state.

Active Hello instances periodically send Hello Request messages, and expect Hello Ack messages in response. If the expected Ack message is not received, the active Hello instance declares that the neighbor (remote IP address) is unreachable (lost). LSPs traversing that neighbor may be fast rerouted.

If there is a Hello instance with no LSPs for an unreachable neighbor, do not delete the Hello instance. Convert the active Hello instance to a passive Hello instance because there may be an active instance on the neighboring router that is sending Hello requests to this instance.

Passive Hello Instances

Passive Hello instances respond to Hello Request messages (sending Ack messages), but do not initiate Hello Request messages and do not cause LSPs to be fast rerouted. A router with multiple interfaces can run multiple Hello instances to different neighbors or to the same neighbor.

A passive Hello instance is created when a Hello Request is received from a neighbor with a source IP address/destination IP address pair in the IP header for which a Hello instance does not exist.

Delete passive instances if no Hello messages are received for this instance within 10 minutes.

Hello Commands

RSVP Hello comprises the following commands:

RSVP Hello Configuration Commands

RSVP Hello Statistics Commands

RSVP Hello Show Commands

RSVP Hello Debug Commands

RSVP Hello Configuration Commands

ip rsvp signalling hello (configuration)—Enables Hello globally on the router.

ip rsvp signalling hello (interface)—Enables Hello on an interface where you need Fast ReRoute protection.

ip rsvp signalling hello dscp—Sets the DSCP value that is in the IP header of the Hello message sent out from an interface.

ip rsvp signalling hello refresh interval—Configures the Hello request interval.

ip rsvp signalling hello refresh misses—Specifies how many Hello acknowledgments a node can miss in a row before the node considers that communication with its neighbor is down.

ip rsvp signalling hello statistics—Enables Hello statistics on the router.

RSVP Hello Statistics Commands

clear ip rsvp hello instance counters—Clears (refreshes) the values for Hello instance counters.

clear ip rsvp hello instance statistics—Clears Hello statistics for an instance.

clear ip rsvp hello statistics—Globally clears Hello statistics.

RSVP Hello Show Commands

show ip rsvp hello—Shows if Hello is enabled globally on the router and if Hello statistics are enabled.

show ip rsvp hello instance detail—Shows detailed information about a Hello instance.

show ip rsvp hello instance summary—Shows summary information about a Hello instance.

show ip rsvp hello statistics—Shows how long Hello packets have been in the Hello input queue.

show ip rsvp interface detail—Shows the interface configuration for Hello.

RSVP Hello Debug Commands

debug ip rsvp hello—Verifies that a Hello instance has been created, a Hello instance has been deleted, and when communication with a neighbor has been lost.

Restrictions

Interfaces must use MPLS Global Label Allocation.

Backup tunnel headend and tailend routers must implement Fast ReRoute as described in this document and in draft-pan-rsvp-fastreroute-00.txt.

Backup tunnels are not protected. If an LSP is actively using a backup tunnel and the backup tunnel fails, the LSP is torn down.

LSPs that are actively using backup tunnels are not considered for promotion. So, if an LSP is actively using a backup tunnel and a better backup tunnel becomes available, the active LSP is not switched to the better backup tunnel.

RSVP Hellos must be enabled on most Ethernet interfaces on Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers to enable FRR operation. The only exception is the 4-port OSM-2+4GE-WAN+ Gigabit Ethernet WAN Optical Services Module, which does not require RSVP Hellos to be enabled.

Related Features and Technologies

Intermediate System-to-Intermediate-System (IS-IS)

MPLS

MPLS Traffic Engineering Exclude Node/Link

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

RSVP

Related Documents

For IS-IS:

Cisco IOS IP Configuration Guide, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS IP Command Reference, Volume 2 of 3: Routing Protocols, Release 12.2

For Link Protection:

Cisco IOS Switching Services Command Reference, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS Switching Services Configuration Guide, Release 12.2

For MPLS Traffic Engineering:

Cisco IOS Switching Services Command Reference, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS Switching Services Configuration Guide, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS IP Command Reference, Volume 2 of 3: Routing Protocols, Release 12.2

Diff-Serv-aware MPLS Traffic Engineering, Release 12.2(4)T

MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE)—Interarea Tunnels, Release 12.0(22)S

MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE)—IP Explicit Address Exclusion, Release 12.0(22)S

For OSPF:

Cisco IOS IP Command Reference, Volume 2 of 3: Routing Protocols, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS IP Configuration Guide, Release 12.2

For RSVP:

Cisco IOS Quality of Service Solutions Command Reference, Release 12.2

Cisco IOS Quality of Service Solutions Configuration Guide, Release 12.2

Supported Platforms and Interfaces

Supported Platforms

Catalyst 6500 series and Cisco 7600 series

Sup720-3B and Sup720-3BXL:

Enhanced OSM POS modules
Enhanced FlexWAN with POS Port Adapters
WAN ports on the OSM-2+4GE-WAN+ module
WS-X6516
WS-X67xx


Note This feature is not supported on the Layer 2 LAN ports on OSM modules.


Cisco 7200 series

Cisco 7500 series

Cisco 10720 Internet Router

Cisco 12000 series

Engine 0:

4-port OC-3 POS
1-port OC-12 POS
1-port CHOC-12/DS3
1-port CHOC-12/ STM4 and OC3/ STM1
6-/12-port DS3
6-/12-port E3
6-port CT3
2-port CHOC-3/STM1

Engine 2:

1-port OC-48 POS
4-port OC-12 POS
8-/16-port OC-3 POS

Engine 3:

4-port OC-12c/STM-4c POS ISE
4-port CHOC-12 ISE
1-port OC-48c POS ISE
1-port CHOC-48 ISE
4-, 8-, and 16-port OC3c POS ISE

Supported Interfaces

Fast Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet

Packet over SONET (POS)

Determining Platform Support Through Cisco Feature Navigator

Cisco IOS software is packaged in feature sets that support specific platforms. To get updated information regarding platform support for this feature, access Cisco Feature Navigator. Cisco Feature Navigator dynamically updates the list of supported platforms as new platform support is added for the feature.

Cisco Feature Navigator is a web-based tool that enables you to determine which Cisco IOS software images support a specific set of features and which features are supported in a specific Cisco IOS image. You can search by feature or release. Under the release section, you can compare releases side by side to display both the features unique to each software release and the features in common.

To access Cisco Feature Navigator, you must have an account on Cisco.com. If you have forgotten or lost your account information, send a blank e-mail to cco-locksmith@cisco.com. An automatic check will verify that your e-mail address is registered with Cisco.com. If the check is successful, account details with a new random password will be e-mailed to you. Qualified users can establish an account on Cisco.com by following the directions at http://www.cisco.com/register.

Cisco Feature Navigator is updated regularly when major Cisco IOS software releases and technology releases occur. For the most current information, go to the Cisco Feature Navigator home page at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/fn

Availability of Cisco IOS Software Images

Platform support for particular Cisco IOS software releases is dependent on the availability of the software images for those platforms. Software images for some platforms may be deferred, delayed, or changed without prior notice. For updated information about platform support and availability of software images for each Cisco IOS software release, refer to the online release notes or, if supported, Cisco Feature Navigator.

Supported Standards, MIBs, RFCs, and Drafts

Standards

draft-ietf-mpls-rsvp-lsp-tunnel-09.txt

draft-pan-rsvp-fastreroute-00.txt

MIBs

No new or modified MIBs are supported by this feature.

To obtain lists of supported MIBs by platform and Cisco IOS release, and to download MIB modules, go to the Cisco MIB website on Cisco.com at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

RFCs and Drafts

This feature complies with draft-swallow-rsvp-bypass-label-03.txt.

Prerequisites

Your network must support the following Cisco IOS features in order to support features described in this document:

IP Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF)

MPLS

Your network must support at least one of the following protocols:

IS-IS

OSPF

Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers have the following additional prerequisites:

You must also enable the MPLS Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), both globally and on at least one interface (preferably the TE tunnel interface). To globally enable LDP, use the mpls ip command in global configuration mode. To enable LDP on an interface, use the mpls ip command in interface configuration mode.

RSVP Hellos must be enabled on most Ethernet interfaces to enable FRR operation. The only exception is the 4-port OSM-2+4GE-WAN+ Gigabit Ethernet WAN Optical Services Module, which does not require RSVP Hellos to be enabled.

Configuration Tasks

This section assumes that you want to add Fast ReRoute protection to a network in which MPLS TE LSPs are configured.

Before performing the configuration tasks, it is assumed that you have done the following tasks but you do not have to already have configured MPLS TE tunnels:

Enabled MPLS TE on all relevant routers and interfaces

Configured MPLS TE tunnels

To review how to configure MPLS TE tunnels, see the Cisco IOS Switching Services Configuration Guide, Release 12.2.

The following sections describe how to use FRR to protect LSPs in your network from link or node failures. Each task is identified as either required or optional.

Enabling Fast ReRoute on LSPs (required)

Creating a Backup Tunnel to the Next Hop or to the Next-Next Hop (required)

Assigning Backup Tunnels to a Protected Interface (required)

Associating Backup-Bandwidth and Pool Type with a Backup Tunnel (optional)

Configuring an Interface for Fast Link and Node Failure Detection (optional)


Note You can perform the configuration tasks in any order.



Note An NNHOP backup tunnel must not go via the NHOP.


Enabling Fast ReRoute on LSPs

LSPs can use backup tunnels only if they have been configured as fast reroutable. To do this, enter the following commands, beginning in global configuration mode, at the headend of each LSP:

 
Command
Purpose

Step 1 

Router(config)# interface tunnel number

Enters interface configuration mode for the specified tunnel.

Step 2 

Router(config-if)# tunnel mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute

Enables the tunnel to use a backup tunnel if there is a link or node failure.

Creating a Backup Tunnel to the Next Hop or to the Next-Next Hop

To create a backup tunnel to the next hop or to the next-next hop, enter the following commands on the node that will be the headend of the backup tunnel (that is, the node whose downstream link or node may fail). The node on which you enter these commands must be a supported platform. See "Supported Platforms and Interfaces".

Creating a backup tunnel is basically no different from creating any other tunnel. None of the commands below is new.


Note When using the exclude-address command to specify the path for a backup tunnel, the exclude-address must exclude an interface address to avoid a link (for creating an NHOP backup tunnel), or a router-ID address to avoid a node (for creating an NNHOP backup tunnel).


 
Command
Purpose

Step 1 

Router(config)# interface tunnel number

Creates a new tunnel interface and enters interface configuration mode.

Step 2 

Router(config-if)# ip unnumbered loopback0

Gives the tunnel interface an IP address which is the same as that of interface Loopback0.

Note This command is not effective until Lookback0 has been configured with an IP address.

Step 3 

Router(config-if)# tunnel destination A.B.C.D.

Specifies the IP address of the device where the tunnel will terminate. This address should be the router-id of the device which is the NHOP or NNHOP of LSPs to be protected.

Step 4 

Router(config-if)# tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng

Sets encapsulation mode of the tunnel to MPLS Traffic Engineering.

Step 5 

Router(config-if)# tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option number explicit name path-name

The backup tunnel's path will be computed by using the topology database to find the shortest path to the destination (A.B.C.D) that meets the constraints. The only constraint we have configured (via the explicit-path, below) is that the path should avoid the protected link or node.

Step 6 

Router(config)# ip explicit-path name name

Enters the subcommand mode for IP explicit paths to create the named path.

Step 7 

Router(cfg-ip-expl-path)# exclude-address address

For Link Protection, specify the IP address of the link to be protected. For Node Protection, specify the router-ID of the node to be protected.

Note Backup tunnel paths can be dynamic or explicit and they do not have to use exclude-address. Because backup tunnels must avoid the protected link or node, it is convenient to use an exclude-address.

Assigning Backup Tunnels to a Protected Interface

To assign one or more backup tunnels to a protected interface, enter the following commands on the node that will be the headend of the backup tunnel (that is, the node whose downstream link or node may fail). The node on which you enter these commands must be a supported platform. See "Supported Platforms and Interfaces".


Note You must configure the interface to have an IP address and to enable the MPLS Traffic Engineering tunnel feature.


 
Command
Purpose

Step 1 

Router(config)# interface type slot/port

Moves configuration to the physical interface level, directing subsequent configuration commands to the specific physical interface identified by the type. The slot and port identify the slot and port being configured. The interface must be a supported interface. See "Supported Platforms and Interfaces".

Step 2 

Router(config-if)# mpls traffic-eng backup-path tunnel tunnel-id

Allows LSPs going out this interface to use this backup tunnel if there is a link or node failure.

Note You can enter this command multiple times to associate multiple backup tunnels with the same protected interface.

Associating Backup-Bandwidth and Pool Type with a Backup Tunnel

To associate backup-bandwidth with a backup tunnel and designate the type of LSP that can use a backup tunnel, enter the following command:

Command
Purpose

Router(config-if)# tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw {bandwidth |

[sub-pool {bandwidth | Unlimited}]

[global-pool {bandwidth | Unlimited}]}

[any {bandwidth | Unlimited}]}

Associates bandwidth with a backup tunnel and designates whether LSPs that allocate bandwidth from the specified pool can use the tunnel.


Configuring an Interface for Fast Link and Node Failure Detection

To configure pos ais-shut, enter the following commands:

interface pos0/0 
pos ais-shut

To configure pos report lrdi on OS interfaces, enter the following commands:

interface pos0/0
 pos  report lrdi

Verifying That Fast ReRoute Is In Place

To ensure that Fast ReRoute can function, do the following:

Determine if Fast ReRoute has been configured correctly.

Verify that certain conditions exist so that backup tunnels can be operational.

Enter the show mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute database command.

Enter the show mpls traffic tunnel backup command.

Enter the show ip rsvp sender command, with the detail keyword specified.

Enter the show ip rsvp reservation command, with the detail keyword specified.

Fast ReRoute Configuration

To determine if Fast ReRoute has been configured correctly, do the following:

Verify that backup tunnels are up. To do so, enter the show mpls traffic-eng tunnels brief command.

Verify that LSPs are protected by the appropriate backup tunnels. To do so, enter the show ip rsvp sender command with the detail keyword.

Conditions that Must Exist for Backup Tunnels to be Operational

If you created LSPs and performed the required configuration tasks but do not have operational backup tunnels (that is, the backup tunnels are not up or the LSPs are not associated with those backup tunnels), verify that all the following conditions exist:

LSP is reroutable—At the headend of the LSP, enter the show run int tunnel tunnel-number command. The output should include the tunnel mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute command. If it does not, enter this command for the tunnel.

On the router where the backup tunnels originate, enter the show mpls traffic-eng tunnels backup command. The command output will allow you to verify the following:

Backup tunnel exists—Verify that there is a backup tunnel that terminates at this LSP's NHOP or NNHOP. Look for the LSP's NHOP or NNHOP in the Dest field.

Backup tunnel is up—To verify that the backup tunnel is up, look for "Up" in the State field.

Backup tunnel is associated with LSP's I/F—Verify that the interface for the LSP is allowed to use this backup tunnel. Look for the LSP's output interface in the "protects" field list.

Backup tunnel has sufficient bandwidth—If you restricted the amount of bandwidth a backup tunnel can hold, verify that the backup tunnel has sufficient bandwidth to hold the LSPs that would use this backup tunnel if there is a failure. The bandwidth of an LSP is defined by the line tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth at the headend of the LSP. To determine the available bandwidth on a backup tunnel, look at the "cfg" and "inuse" fields. If there is insufficient backup-bandwidth to accommodate the LSPs that would use this backup tunnel in the event of a failure, create an additional backup tunnel or increase the backup-bandwidth of the existing tunnel by using the tunnel mpls traffic-eng backup-bw command.

Note To determine how much bandwidth is sufficient, offline capacity planning may be required.

Backup tunnel has appropriate bandwidth type—If you restricted the type of LSPs (sub-pool or global-pool) that can use this backup tunnel, verify that the LSP is the appropriate type for the backup tunnel. The type of the LSP is defined by the line tunnel mpls traffic-eng bandwidth at the headend of this LSP. If this line contains the word "sub-pool", then it uses sub-pool bandwidth; otherwise, it uses global-pool bandwidth. Verify that the type matches the type the backup tunnel can hold by looking in the output of the above command.

If none of the above actions works, enable debug by entering the debug ip rsvp fast-reroute command and the debug mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute command on the router that is the headend of the backup tunnel. Then do the following:

1. Enter the shutdown command for the primary tunnel.

2. Enter the no shutdown command for the primary tunnel.

3. View the debug output.

show mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute database command

Enter the clear ip rsvp hello instance counters command to verify the following:

MPLS Traffic Engineering Fast ReRoute Node Protection has been enabled.

A certain type of LSP can use a backup tunnel.

The following command output displays the LSPs that are protected:

Router# show mpls traffic-eng fast-reroute database

Tunnel head end item frr information:
Protected Tunnel   In-label   intf/label       FRR intf/label      Status
Tunne1l0           Tun        pos5/0:Untagged  Tu0:12304           ready  

Prefix item frr information:
Prefix        Tunnel  In-label    Out intf/label   FRR intf/label Status
10.0.0.11/32  Tu110   Tun hd      pos5/0:Untagged  Tu0:12304      ready  

LSP midpoint frr information:
LSP identifier       In-label Out intf/label   FRR intf/label   Status
10.0.0.12 1 [459]    16       pos0/1:17        Tu2000:19        ready

NoteIf LDP is not enabled, separate prefix items are not shown because all prefixes then use a single rewrite. To confirm that a particular IP prefix is FRR protected, even though it is not shown in this display, enter it within the show mpls forwarding-table ip_address detail command. The final line of the display will tell whether that prefix is protected:

Router#show mpls forwarding-table 10.0.0.11 32 detail 
Local    Outgoing    Prefix         Bytes tag    Outgoing     Next Hop    
tag      tag or VC   or Tunnel Id   switched     interface              
Tun hd   Untagged    10.0.0.11/32   48           pos5/0       point2point
          MAC/Encaps=4/8, MTU=1520, Tag Stack{22}
          48D18847 00016000
          No output feature configured
          Fast Reroute Protection via (Tu0, outgoing label 12304)



show mpls traffic tunnel backup command

The following show ip rsvp sender command output verifies that protection has been enabled.

Router# show mpls traffic-eng tunnel backup 

Tunnel1000          Dest: 12.0.0.10       State: Up           
glb-pool cfg 100 inuse 0 num_lsps 0
     protects: POS0/0              
     protects: POS0/1 

The command shows the following information for a given backup tunnel:

Tunnel ID

Tunnel destination

Tunnel state—Up designates the status of the backup tunnel

Backup-bandwidth configured for each pool this tunnel protects

Backup-bandwidth in use for each pool

Number of LSPs currently using this backup tunnel

Protected interfaces that are using the backup tunnel

show ip rsvp sender command

Following is sample output from the show ip rsvp sender detail command when the command is entered at the Point of Local Repair (PLR) before a failure. For a detailed explanation of the output, see the show ip rsvp sender command.

Router# show ip rsvp sender detail 

PATH:
   Tun Dest: 24.1.1.1 Tun ID: 1 Ext Tun ID: 23.1.1.1
   Tun Sender: 23.1.1.1, LSP ID: 126
   Path refreshes arriving on POS1/0 from PHOP 11.1.1.1
   Path refreshes being sent to NHOP 12.1.1.2 on POS1/1
   Session Attr::
     Setup Prio: 0, Holding Prio: 0
     Flags: Local Prot desired, Label Recording, SE Style
     Session Name:tagsw4500-23_t1 
   ERO:
     12.1.1.2 (Strict IPv4 Prefix, 8 bytes, /32)
     14.1.1.1 (Strict IPv4 Prefix, 8 bytes, /32)
     14.1.1.2 (Strict IPv4 Prefix, 8 bytes, /32)
     24.1.1.1 (Strict IPv4 Prefix, 8 bytes, /32)
   Traffic params - Rate: 0G b