diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/rfc/rfc5798.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/rfc/rfc5798.txt | 2243 |
1 files changed, 2243 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc5798.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc5798.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..adc0383 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc5798.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2243 @@ + + + + + + +Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) S. Nadas, Ed. +Request for Comments: 5798 Ericsson +Obsoletes: 3768 March 2010 +Category: Standards Track +ISSN: 2070-1721 + + + Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) Version 3 for IPv4 and IPv6 + +Abstract + + This memo defines the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) for + IPv4 and IPv6. It is version three (3) of the protocol, and it is + based on VRRP (version 2) for IPv4 that is defined in RFC 3768 and in + "Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol for IPv6". VRRP specifies an + election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a + virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. The VRRP router + controlling the IPv4 or IPv6 address(es) associated with a virtual + router is called the Master, and it forwards packets sent to these + IPv4 or IPv6 addresses. VRRP Master routers are configured with + virtual IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, and VRRP Backup routers infer the + address family of the virtual addresses being carried based on the + transport protocol. Within a VRRP router, the virtual routers in + each of the IPv4 and IPv6 address families are a domain unto + themselves and do not overlap. The election process provides dynamic + failover in the forwarding responsibility should the Master become + unavailable. For IPv4, the advantage gained from using VRRP is a + higher-availability default path without requiring configuration of + dynamic routing or router discovery protocols on every end-host. For + IPv6, the advantage gained from using VRRP for IPv6 is a quicker + switchover to Backup routers than can be obtained with standard IPv6 + Neighbor Discovery mechanisms. + +Status of This Memo + + This is an Internet Standards Track document. + + This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force + (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has + received public review and has been approved for publication by the + Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on + Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741. + + Information about the current status of this document, any errata, + and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at + http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5798. + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 1] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (c) 2010 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the + document authors. All rights reserved. + + This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal + Provisions Relating to IETF Documents + (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of + publication of this document. Please review these documents + carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect + to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must + include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of + the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as + described in the Simplified BSD License. + + This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF + Contributions published or made publicly available before November + 10, 2008. The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this + material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow + modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process. + Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling + the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified + outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may + not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format + it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other + than English. + +Table of Contents + + 1. Introduction ....................................................4 + 1.1. A Note on Terminology ......................................4 + 1.2. IPv4 .......................................................5 + 1.3. IPv6 .......................................................6 + 1.4. Requirements Language ......................................6 + 1.5. Scope ......................................................7 + 1.6. Definitions ................................................7 + 2. Required Features ...............................................8 + 2.1. IPvX Address Backup ........................................8 + 2.2. Preferred Path Indication ..................................8 + 2.3. Minimization of Unnecessary Service Disruptions ............9 + 2.4. Efficient Operation over Extended LANs .....................9 + 2.5. Sub-Second Operation for IPv4 and IPv6 .....................9 + 3. VRRP Overview ..................................................10 + 4. Sample Configurations ..........................................11 + 4.1. Sample Configuration 1 ....................................11 + 4.2. Sample Configuration 2 ....................................13 + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 2] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + 5. Protocol .......................................................14 + 5.1. VRRP Packet Format ........................................15 + 5.1.1. IPv4 Field Descriptions ............................15 + 5.1.1.1. Source Address ............................15 + 5.1.1.2. Destination Address .......................15 + 5.1.1.3. TTL .......................................16 + 5.1.1.4. Protocol ..................................16 + 5.1.2. IPv6 Field Descriptions ............................16 + 5.1.2.1. Source Address ............................16 + 5.1.2.2. Destination Address .......................16 + 5.1.2.3. Hop Limit .................................16 + 5.1.2.4. Next Header ...............................16 + 5.2. VRRP Field Descriptions ...................................16 + 5.2.1. Version ............................................16 + 5.2.2. Type ...............................................17 + 5.2.3. Virtual Rtr ID (VRID) ..............................17 + 5.2.4. Priority ...........................................17 + 5.2.5. Count IPvX Addr ....................................17 + 5.2.6. Rsvd ...............................................17 + 5.2.7. Maximum Advertisement Interval (Max Adver Int) .....17 + 5.2.8. Checksum ...........................................18 + 5.2.9. IPvX Address(es) ...................................18 + 6. Protocol State Machine .........................................18 + 6.1. Parameters Per Virtual Router .............................18 + 6.2. Timers ....................................................20 + 6.3. State Transition Diagram ..................................21 + 6.4. State Descriptions ........................................21 + 6.4.1. Initialize .........................................21 + 6.4.2. Backup .............................................22 + 6.4.3. Master .............................................24 + 7. Sending and Receiving VRRP Packets .............................26 + 7.1. Receiving VRRP Packets ....................................26 + 7.2. Transmitting VRRP Packets .................................27 + 7.3. Virtual Router MAC Address ................................28 + 7.4. IPv6 Interface Identifiers ................................28 + 8. Operational Issues .............................................29 + 8.1. IPv4 ......................................................29 + 8.1.1. ICMP Redirects .....................................29 + 8.1.2. Host ARP Requests ..................................29 + 8.1.3. Proxy ARP ..........................................30 + 8.2. IPv6 ......................................................30 + 8.2.1. ICMPv6 Redirects ...................................30 + 8.2.2. ND Neighbor Solicitation ...........................30 + 8.2.3. Router Advertisements ..............................31 + 8.3. IPvX ......................................................31 + 8.3.1. Potential Forwarding Loop ..........................31 + 8.3.2. Recommendations Regarding Setting Priority Values ..32 + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 3] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + 8.4. VRRPv3 and VRRPv2 Interoperation ..........................32 + 8.4.1. Assumptions ........................................32 + 8.4.2. VRRPv3 Support of VRRPv2 ...........................32 + 8.4.3. VRRPv3 Support of VRRPv2 Considerations ............33 + 8.4.3.1. Slow, High-Priority Masters ...............33 + 8.4.3.2. Overwhelming VRRPv2 Backups ...............33 + 9. Security Considerations ........................................33 + 10. Contributors and Acknowledgments ..............................34 + 11. IANA Considerations ...........................................35 + 12. References ....................................................35 + 12.1. Normative References .....................................35 + 12.2. Informative References ...................................36 + Appendix A. Operation over FDDI, Token Ring, and ATM LANE .........38 + A.1. Operation over FDDI .......................................38 + A.2. Operation over Token Ring .................................38 + A.3. Operation over ATM LANE ...................................40 + +1. Introduction + + This memo defines the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) for + IPv4 and IPv6. It is version three (3) of the protocol. It is based + on VRRP (version 2) for IPv4 that is defined in [RFC3768] and in + [VRRP-IPv6]. VRRP specifies an election protocol that dynamically + assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP + routers on a LAN. The VRRP router controlling the IPv4 or IPv6 + address(es) associated with a virtual router is called the Master, + and it forwards packets sent to these IPv4 or IPv6 addresses. VRRP + Master routers are configured with virtual IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, + and VRRP Backup routers infer the address family of the virtual + addresses being carried based on the transport protocol. Within a + VRRP router, the virtual routers in each of the IPv4 and IPv6 address + families are a domain unto themselves and do not overlap. The + election process provides dynamic failover in the forwarding + responsibility should the Master become unavailable. + + VRRP provides a function similar to the proprietary protocols "Hot + Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)" [RFC2281] and "IP Standby Protocol" + [IPSTB]. + +1.1. A Note on Terminology + + This document discusses both IPv4 and IPv6 operation, and with + respect to the VRRP protocol, many of the descriptions and procedures + are common. In this document, it would be less verbose to be able to + refer to "IP" to mean either "IPv4 or IPv6". However, historically, + the term "IP" usually refers to IPv4. For this reason, in this + specification, the term "IPvX" (where X is 4 or 6) is introduced to + mean either "IPv4" or "IPv6". In this text, where the IP version + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 4] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + matters, the appropriate term is used and the use of the term "IP" is + avoided. + +1.2. IPv4 + + There are a number of methods that an IPv4 end-host can use to + determine its first-hop router towards a particular IPv4 destination. + These include running (or snooping) a dynamic routing protocol such + as Routing Information Protocol [RFC2453] or OSPF version 2 + [RFC2328], running an ICMP router discovery client [RFC1256], or + using a statically configured default route. + + Running a dynamic routing protocol on every end-host may be + infeasible for a number of reasons, including administrative + overhead, processing overhead, security issues, or lack of a protocol + implementation for some platforms. Neighbor or router discovery + protocols may require active participation by all hosts on a network, + leading to large timer values to reduce protocol overhead in the face + of large numbers of hosts. This can result in a significant delay in + the detection of a lost (i.e., dead) neighbor; such a delay may + introduce unacceptably long "black hole" periods. + + The use of a statically configured default route is quite popular; it + minimizes configuration and processing overhead on the end-host and + is supported by virtually every IPv4 implementation. This mode of + operation is likely to persist as dynamic host configuration + protocols [RFC2131] are deployed, which typically provide + configuration for an end-host IPv4 address and default gateway. + However, this creates a single point of failure. Loss of the default + router results in a catastrophic event, isolating all end-hosts that + are unable to detect any alternate path that may be available. + + The Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) is designed to + eliminate the single point of failure inherent in the static default- + routed environment. VRRP specifies an election protocol that + dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the + VRRP routers on a LAN. The VRRP router controlling the IPv4 + address(es) associated with a virtual router is called the Master and + forwards packets sent to these IPv4 addresses. The election process + provides dynamic failover in the forwarding responsibility should the + Master become unavailable. Any of the virtual router's IPv4 + addresses on a LAN can then be used as the default first hop + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 5] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + router by end-hosts. The advantage gained from using VRRP is a + higher availability default path without requiring configuration of + dynamic routing or router discovery protocols on every end-host. + +1.3. IPv6 + + IPv6 hosts on a LAN will usually learn about one or more default + routers by receiving Router Advertisements sent using the IPv6 + Neighbor Discovery (ND) protocol [RFC4861]. The Router + Advertisements are multicast periodically at a rate that the hosts + will learn about the default routers in a few minutes. They are not + sent frequently enough to rely on the absence of the Router + Advertisement to detect router failures. + + Neighbor Discovery (ND) includes a mechanism called Neighbor + Unreachability Detection to detect the failure of a neighbor node + (router or host) or the forwarding path to a neighbor. This is done + by sending unicast ND Neighbor Solicitation messages to the neighbor + node. To reduce the overhead of sending Neighbor Solicitations, they + are only sent to neighbors to which the node is actively sending + traffic and only after there has been no positive indication that the + router is up for a period of time. Using the default parameters in + ND, it will take a host about 38 seconds to learn that a router is + unreachable before it will switch to another default router. This + delay would be very noticeable to users and cause some transport + protocol implementations to time out. + + While the ND unreachability detection could be made quicker by + changing the parameters to be more aggressive (note that the current + lower limit for this is 5 seconds), this would have the downside of + significantly increasing the overhead of ND traffic, especially when + there are many hosts all trying to determine the reachability of one + of more routers. + + The Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol for IPv6 provides a much + faster switchover to an alternate default router than can be obtained + using standard ND procedures. Using VRRP, a Backup router can take + over for a failed default router in around three seconds (using VRRP + default parameters). This is done without any interaction with the + hosts and a minimum amount of VRRP traffic. + +1.4. Requirements Language + + The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", + "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this + document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119]. + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 6] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +1.5. Scope + + The remainder of this document describes the features, design goals, + and theory of operation of VRRP. The message formats, protocol + processing rules, and state machine that guarantee convergence to a + single Virtual Router Master are presented. Finally, operational + issues related to MAC address mapping, handling of ARP requests, + generation of ICMP redirect messages, and security issues are + addressed. + +1.6. Definitions + + VRRP Router A router running the Virtual Router + Redundancy Protocol. It may participate as + one or more virtual routers. + + Virtual Router An abstract object managed by VRRP that acts + as a default router for hosts on a shared + LAN. It consists of a Virtual Router + Identifier and either a set of associated + IPv4 addresses or a set of associated IPv6 + addresses across a common LAN. A VRRP Router + may back up one or more virtual routers. + + IP Address Owner The VRRP router that has the virtual router's + IPvX address(es) as real interface + address(es). This is the router that, when + up, will respond to packets addressed to one + of these IPvX addresses for ICMP pings, TCP + connections, etc. + + Primary IP Address In IPv4, an IPv4 address selected from the + set of real interface addresses. One + possible selection algorithm is to always + select the first address. In IPv4 mode, VRRP + advertisements are always sent using the + primary IPv4 address as the source of the + IPv4 packet. In IPv6, the link-local address + of the interface over which the packet is + transmitted is used. + + Virtual Router Master The VRRP router that is assuming the + responsibility of forwarding packets sent to + the IPvX address(es) associated with the + virtual router, answering ARP requests + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 7] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + for the IPv4 address(es), and answering ND + requests for the IPv6 address(es). Note that + if the IPvX address owner is available, then + it will always become the Master. + + Virtual Router Backup The set of VRRP routers available to assume + forwarding responsibility for a virtual + router should the current Master fail. + +2. Required Features + + This section outlines the set of features that were considered + mandatory and that guided the design of VRRP. + +2.1. IPvX Address Backup + + Backup of an IPvX address or addresses is the primary function of + VRRP. While providing election of a Virtual Router Master and the + additional functionality described below, the protocol should + strive to: + + o Minimize the duration of black holes. + + o Minimize the steady-state bandwidth overhead and processing + complexity. + + o Function over a wide variety of multiaccess LAN technologies + capable of supporting IPvX traffic. + + o Allow multiple virtual routers on a network for load balancing. + + o Support multiple logical IPvX subnets on a single LAN segment. + +2.2. Preferred Path Indication + + A simple model of Master election among a set of redundant routers is + to treat each router with equal preference and claim victory after + converging to any router as Master. However, there are likely to be + many environments where there is a distinct preference (or range of + preferences) among the set of redundant routers. For example, this + preference may be based upon access link cost or speed, router + performance or reliability, or other policy considerations. The + protocol should allow the expression of this relative path preference + in an intuitive manner and guarantee Master convergence to the most + preferential router currently available. + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 8] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +2.3. Minimization of Unnecessary Service Disruptions + + Once Master election has been performed, any unnecessary transitions + between Master and Backup routers can result in a disruption in + service. The protocol should ensure after Master election that no + state transition is triggered by any Backup router of equal or lower + preference as long as the Master continues to function properly. + + Some environments may find it beneficial to avoid the state + transition triggered when a router that is preferred over the current + Master becomes available. It may be useful to support an override of + the immediate convergence to the preferred path. + +2.4. Efficient Operation over Extended LANs + + Sending IPvX packets (that is, sending either IPv4 or IPv6) on a + multiaccess LAN requires mapping from an IPvX address to a MAC + address. The use of the virtual router MAC address in an extended + LAN employing learning bridges can have a significant effect on the + bandwidth overhead of packets sent to the virtual router. If the + virtual router MAC address is never used as the source address in a + link-level frame, then the station location is never learned, + resulting in flooding of all packets sent to the virtual router. To + improve the efficiency in this environment, the protocol should: + 1) use the virtual router MAC address as the source in a packet sent + by the Master to trigger station learning; 2) trigger a message + immediately after transitioning to the Master to update the station + learning; and 3) trigger periodic messages from the Master to + maintain the station learning cache. + +2.5. Sub-Second Operation for IPv4 and IPv6 + + Sub-second detection of Master VRRP router failure is needed in both + IPv4 and IPv6 environments. Earlier work proposed that sub-second + operation was for IPv6; this specification leverages that earlier + approach for IPv4 and IPv6. + + One possible problematic scenario when using small + VRRP_Advertisement_Intervals may occur when a router is delivering + more packets onto the LAN than can be accommodated, and so a queue + builds up in the router. It is possible that packets being + transmitted onto the VRRP-protected LAN could see larger queueing + delay than the smallest VRRP Advertisement_Interval. In this case, + the Master_Down_Interval will be small enough so that normal queuing + delays might cause a VRRP Backup to conclude that the Master is down, + and therefore promote itself to Master. Very shortly afterwards, the + delayed VRRP packets from the Master cause a switch back to Backup + status. Furthermore, this process can repeat many times per second, + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 9] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + causing significant disruption to traffic. To mitigate this problem, + priority forwarding of VRRP packets should be considered. It should + be possible for a VRRP Master to observe that this situation is + occurring frequently and at least log the problem. + +3. VRRP Overview + + VRRP specifies an election protocol to provide the virtual router + function described earlier. All protocol messaging is performed + using either IPv4 or IPv6 multicast datagrams; thus, the protocol can + operate over a variety of multiaccess LAN technologies supporting + IPvX multicast. Each link of a VRRP virtual router has a single + well-known MAC address allocated to it. This document currently only + details the mapping to networks using the IEEE 802 48-bit MAC + address. The virtual router MAC address is used as the source in all + periodic VRRP messages sent by the Master router to enable bridge + learning in an extended LAN. + + A virtual router is defined by its virtual router identifier (VRID) + and a set of either IPv4 or IPv6 address(es). A VRRP router may + associate a virtual router with its real address on an interface. + The scope of each virtual router is restricted to a single LAN. A + VRRP router may be configured with additional virtual router mappings + and priority for virtual routers it is willing to back up. The + mapping between the VRID and its IPvX address(es) must be coordinated + among all VRRP routers on a LAN. + + There is no restriction against reusing a VRID with a different + address mapping on different LANs, nor is there a restriction against + using the same VRID number for a set of IPv4 addresses and a set of + IPv6 addresses; however, these are two different virtual routers. + + To minimize network traffic, only the Master for each virtual router + sends periodic VRRP Advertisement messages. A Backup router will not + attempt to preempt the Master unless it has higher priority. This + eliminates service disruption unless a more preferred path becomes + available. It's also possible to administratively prohibit all + preemption attempts. The only exception is that a VRRP router will + always become Master of any virtual router associated with addresses + it owns. If the Master becomes unavailable, then the highest- + priority Backup will transition to Master after a short delay, + providing a controlled transition of the virtual router + responsibility with minimal service interruption. + + The VRRP protocol design provides rapid transition from Backup to + Master to minimize service interruption and incorporates + optimizations that reduce protocol complexity while guaranteeing + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 10] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + controlled Master transition for typical operational scenarios. The + optimizations result in an election protocol with minimal runtime + state requirements, minimal active protocol states, and a single + message type and sender. The typical operational scenarios are + defined to be two redundant routers and/or distinct path preferences + among each router. A side effect when these assumptions are violated + (i.e., more than two redundant paths, all with equal preference) is + that duplicate packets may be forwarded for a brief period during + Master election. However, the typical scenario assumptions are + likely to cover the vast majority of deployments, loss of the Master + router is infrequent, and the expected duration in Master election + convergence is quite small ( << 1 second ). Thus, the VRRP + optimizations represent significant simplifications in the protocol + design while incurring an insignificant probability of brief network + degradation. + +4. Sample Configurations + +4.1. Sample Configuration 1 + + The following figure shows a simple network with two VRRP routers + implementing one virtual router. + + +-----------+ +-----------+ + | Rtr1 | | Rtr2 | + |(MR VRID=1)| |(BR VRID=1)| + | | | | +VRID=1 +-----------+ +-----------+ +IPvX A--------->* *<---------IPvX B + | | + | | +----------------+------------+-----+----------+----------+----------+-- + ^ ^ ^ ^ + | | | | +default rtr IPvX addrs-------> (IPvX A) (IPvX A) (IPvX A) (IPvX A) + | | | | + IPvX H1->* IpvX H2->* IPvX H3->* IpvX H4->* + +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ + | H1 | | H2 | | H3 | | H4 | + +-----+ +-----+ +--+--+ +--+--+ + Legend: + --+---+---+-- = Ethernet, Token Ring, or FDDI + H = Host computer + MR = Master Router + BR = Backup Router + * = IPvX Address; X is 4 everywhere in IPv4 case + X is 6 everywhere in IPv6 case + (IPvX) = default router for hosts + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 11] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + Eliminating all mention of VRRP (VRID=1) from the figure above leaves + it as a typical deployment. + + In the IPv4 case (that is, IPvX is IPv4 everywhere in the figure), + each router is permanently assigned an IPv4 address on the LAN + interface (Rtr1 is assigned IPv4 A and Rtr2 is assigned IPv4 B), and + each host installs a static default route through one of the routers + (in this example they all use Rtr1's IPv4 A). + + In the IPv6 case (that is, IPvX is IPv6 everywhere in the figure), + each router has a link-local IPv6 address on the LAN interface (Rtr1 + is assigned IPv6 Link-Local A and Rtr2 is assigned IPv6 Link- + Local B), and each host learns a default route from Router + Advertisements through one of the routers (in this example, they all + use Rtr1's IPv6 Link-Local A). + + Moving to an IPv4 VRRP environment, each router has the exact same + permanently assigned IPv4 address. Rtr1 is said to be the IPv4 + address owner of IPv4 A, and Rtr2 is the IPv4 address owner of + IPv4 B. A virtual router is then defined by associating a unique + identifier (the virtual router ID) with the address owned by a + router. + + Moving to an IPv6 VRRP environment, each router has the exact same + Link-Local IPv6 address. Rtr1 is said to be the IPv6 address owner + of IPv6 A, and Rtr2 is the IPv6 address owner of IPv6 B. A virtual + router is then defined by associating a unique identifier (the + virtual router ID) with the address owned by a router. + + Finally, in both the IPv4 and IPv6 cases, the VRRP protocol manages + virtual router failover to a Backup router. + + The IPv4 example above shows a virtual router configured to cover the + IPv4 address owned by Rtr1 (VRID=1, IPv4_Address=A). When VRRP is + enabled on Rtr1 for VRID=1, it will assert itself as Master, with + priority = 255, since it is the IP address owner for the virtual + router IP address. When VRRP is enabled on Rtr2 for VRID=1, it will + transition to Backup, with priority = 100 (the default priority is + 100), since it is not the IPv4 address owner. If Rtr1 should fail, + then the VRRP protocol will transition Rtr2 to Master, temporarily + taking over forwarding responsibility for IPv4 A to provide + uninterrupted service to the hosts. When Rtr1 returns to service, it + will re-assert itself as Master. + + The IPv6 example above shows a virtual router configured to cover the + IPv6 address owned by Rtr1 (VRID=1, IPv6_Address=A). When VRRP is + enabled on Rtr1 for VRID=1, it will assert itself as Master, with + priority = 255, since it is the IPv6 address owner for the virtual + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 12] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + router IPv6 address. When VRRP is enabled on Rtr2 for VRID=1, it + will transition to Backup, with priority = 100 (the default priority + is 100), since it is not the IPv6 address owner. If Rtr1 should + fail, then the VRRP protocol will transition Rtr2 to Master, + temporarily taking over forwarding responsibility for IPv6 A to + provide uninterrupted service to the hosts. + + Note that in both cases, in this example IPvX B is not backed up; it + is only used by Rtr2 as its interface address. In order to back up + IPvX B, a second virtual router must be configured. This is shown in + the next section. + +4.2. Sample Configuration 2 + + The following figure shows a configuration with two virtual routers + with the hosts splitting their traffic between them. + + +-----------+ +-----------+ + | Rtr1 | | Rtr2 | + |(MR VRID=1)| |(BR VRID=1)| + |(BR VRID=2)| |(MR VRID=2)| +VRID=1 +-----------+ +-----------+ VRID=2 +IPvX A -------->* *<---------- IPvX B + | | + | | +----------------+------------+-----+----------+----------+----------+-- + ^ ^ ^ ^ + | | | | +default rtr IPvX addrs -----> (IPvX A) (IPvX A) (IPvX B) (IPvX B) + | | | | + IPvX H1->* IpvX H2->* IPvX H3->* IpvX H4->* + +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ + | H1 | | H2 | | H3 | | H4 | + +-----+ +-----+ +--+--+ +--+--+ + Legend: + ---+---+---+-- = Ethernet, Token Ring, or FDDI + H = Host computer + MR = Master Router + BR = Backup Router + * = IPvX Address; X is 4 everywhere in IPv4 case + X is 6 everywhere in IPv6 case + (IPvX) = default router for hosts + + In the IPv4 example above (that is, IPvX is IPv4 everywhere in the + figure), half of the hosts have configured a static route through + Rtr1's IPv4 A, and half are using Rtr2's IPv4 B. The configuration + of virtual router VRID=1 is exactly the same as in the first example + (see Section 4.1), and a second virtual router has been added to + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 13] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + cover the IPv4 address owned by Rtr2 (VRID=2, IPv4_Address=B). In + this case, Rtr2 will assert itself as Master for VRID=2 while Rtr1 + will act as a Backup. This scenario demonstrates a deployment + providing load splitting when both routers are available, while + providing full redundancy for robustness. + + In the IPv6 example above (that is, IPvX is IPv6 everywhere in the + figure), half of the hosts have learned a default route through + Rtr1's IPv6 A, and half are using Rtr2's IPv6 B. The configuration + of virtual router VRID=1 is exactly the same as in the first example + (see Section 4.1), and a second virtual router has been added to + cover the IPv6 address owned by Rtr2 (VRID=2, IPv6_Address=B). In + this case, Rtr2 will assert itself as Master for VRID=2 while Rtr1 + will act as a Backup. This scenario demonstrates a deployment + providing load splitting when both routers are available, while + providing full redundancy for robustness. + + Note that the details of load balancing are out of scope of this + document. However, in a case where the servers need different + weights, it may not make sense to rely on router advertisements alone + to balance the host load between the routers. + +5. Protocol + + The purpose of the VRRP packet is to communicate to all VRRP routers + the priority and the state of the Master router associated with the + VRID. + + When VRRP is protecting an IPv4 address, VRRP packets are sent + encapsulated in IPv4 packets. They are sent to the IPv4 multicast + address assigned to VRRP. + + When VRRP is protecting an IPv6 address, VRRP packets are sent + encapsulated in IPv6 packets. They are sent to the IPv6 multicast + address assigned to VRRP. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 14] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +5.1. VRRP Packet Format + + This section defines the format of the VRRP packet and the relevant + fields in the IP header. + + 0 1 2 3 + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | IPv4 Fields or IPv6 Fields | + ... ... + | | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + |Version| Type | Virtual Rtr ID| Priority |Count IPvX Addr| + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + |(rsvd) | Max Adver Int | Checksum | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | | + + + + | IPvX Address(es) | + + + + + + + + + + + + + | | + + + + | | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + +5.1.1. IPv4 Field Descriptions + +5.1.1.1. Source Address + + This is the primary IPv4 address of the interface the packet is being + sent from. + +5.1.1.2. Destination Address + + The IPv4 multicast address as assigned by the IANA for VRRP is: + + 224.0.0.18 + + This is a link-local scope multicast address. Routers MUST NOT + forward a datagram with this destination address, regardless of its + TTL. + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 15] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +5.1.1.3. TTL + + The TTL MUST be set to 255. A VRRP router receiving a packet with + the TTL not equal to 255 MUST discard the packet. + +5.1.1.4. Protocol + + The IPv4 protocol number assigned by the IANA for VRRP is 112 + (decimal). + +5.1.2. IPv6 Field Descriptions + +5.1.2.1. Source Address + + This is the IPv6 link-local address of the interface the packet is + being sent from. + +5.1.2.2. Destination Address + + The IPv6 multicast address assigned by the IANA for VRRP is: + + FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:12 + + This is a link-local scope multicast address. Routers MUST NOT + forward a datagram with this destination address, regardless of its + Hop Limit. + +5.1.2.3. Hop Limit + + The Hop Limit MUST be set to 255. A VRRP router receiving a packet + with the Hop Limit not equal to 255 MUST discard the packet. + +5.1.2.4. Next Header + + The IPv6 Next Header protocol assigned by the IANA for VRRP is 112 + (decimal). + +5.2. VRRP Field Descriptions + +5.2.1. Version + + The version field specifies the VRRP protocol version of this packet. + This document defines version 3. + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 16] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +5.2.2. Type + + The type field specifies the type of this VRRP packet. The only + packet type defined in this version of the protocol is: + + 1 ADVERTISEMENT + + A packet with unknown type MUST be discarded. + +5.2.3. Virtual Rtr ID (VRID) + + The Virtual Rtr ID field identifies the virtual router this packet is + reporting status for. + +5.2.4. Priority + + The priority field specifies the sending VRRP router's priority for + the virtual router. Higher values equal higher priority. This field + is an 8-bit unsigned integer field. + + The priority value for the VRRP router that owns the IPvX address + associated with the virtual router MUST be 255 (decimal). + + VRRP routers backing up a virtual router MUST use priority values + between 1-254 (decimal). The default priority value for VRRP routers + backing up a virtual router is 100 (decimal). + + The priority value zero (0) has special meaning, indicating that the + current Master has stopped participating in VRRP. This is used to + trigger Backup routers to quickly transition to Master without having + to wait for the current Master to time out. + +5.2.5. Count IPvX Addr + + This is the number of either IPv4 addresses or IPv6 addresses + contained in this VRRP advertisement. The minimum value is 1. + +5.2.6. Rsvd + + This field MUST be set to zero on transmission and ignored on + reception. + +5.2.7. Maximum Advertisement Interval (Max Adver Int) + + The Maximum Advertisement Interval is a 12-bit field that indicates + the time interval (in centiseconds) between ADVERTISEMENTS. The + default is 100 centiseconds (1 second). + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 17] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + Note that higher-priority Master routers with slower transmission + rates than their Backup routers are unstable. This is because low- + priority nodes configured to faster rates could come online and + decide they should be Masters before they have heard anything from + the higher-priority Master with a slower rate. When this happens, it + is temporary: once the lower-priority node does hear from the higher- + priority Master, it will relinquish mastership. + +5.2.8. Checksum + + The checksum field is used to detect data corruption in the VRRP + message. + + The checksum is the 16-bit one's complement of the one's complement + sum of the entire VRRP message starting with the version field and a + "pseudo-header" as defined in Section 8.1 of [RFC2460]. The next + header field in the "pseudo-header" should be set to 112 (decimal) + for VRRP. For computing the checksum, the checksum field is set to + zero. See RFC1071 for more detail [RFC1071]. + +5.2.9. IPvX Address(es) + + This refers to one or more IPvX addresses associated with the virtual + router. The number of addresses included is specified in the "Count + IP Addr" field. These fields are used for troubleshooting + misconfigured routers. If more than one address is sent, it is + recommended that all routers be configured to send these addresses in + the same order to make it easier to do this comparison. + + For IPv4 addresses, this refers to one or more IPv4 addresses that + are backed up by the virtual router. + + For IPv6, the first address must be the IPv6 link-local address + associated with the virtual router. + + This field contains either one or more IPv4 addresses, or one or more + IPv6 addresses, that is, IPv4 and IPv6 MUST NOT both be carried in + one IPvX Address field. + +6. Protocol State Machine + +6.1. Parameters Per Virtual Router + + VRID Virtual Router Identifier. Configurable + item in the range 1-255 (decimal). There + is no default. + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 18] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + Priority Priority value to be used by this VRRP + router in Master election for this + virtual router. The value of 255 + (decimal) is reserved for the router that + owns the IPvX address associated with the + virtual router. The value of 0 (zero) is + reserved for the Master router to + indicate it is releasing responsibility + for the virtual router. The range 1-254 + (decimal) is available for VRRP routers + backing up the virtual router. Higher + values indicate higher priorities. The + default value is 100 (decimal). + + IPv4_Addresses One or more IPv4 addresses associated + with this virtual router. Configured + item with no default. + + IPv6_Addresses One or more IPv6 addresses associated + with this virtual router. Configured + item with no default. The first address + must be the Link-Local address associated + with the virtual router. + + Advertisement_Interval Time interval between ADVERTISEMENTS + (centiseconds). Default is 100 + centiseconds (1 second). + + Master_Adver_Interval Advertisement interval contained in + ADVERTISEMENTS received from the Master + (centiseconds). This value is saved by + virtual routers in the Backup state and + used to compute Skew_Time and + Master_Down_Interval. The initial value + is the same as Advertisement_Interval. + + Skew_Time Time to skew Master_Down_Interval in + centiseconds. Calculated as + + (((256 - priority) * Master_Adver_Interval) / 256) + + Master_Down_Interval Time interval for Backup to declare + Master down (centiseconds). + Calculated as + + (3 * Master_Adver_Interval) + Skew_time + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 19] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + Preempt_Mode Controls whether a (starting or + restarting) higher-priority Backup router + preempts a lower-priority Master router. + Values are True to allow preemption and + False to prohibit preemption. Default is + True. + + Note: The exception is that the router + that owns the IPvX address associated + with the virtual router always preempts, + independent of the setting of this flag. + + Accept_Mode Controls whether a virtual router in + Master state will accept packets + addressed to the address owner's IPvX + address as its own if it is not the IPvX + address owner. The default is False. + Deployments that rely on, for example, + pinging the address owner's IPvX address + may wish to configure Accept_Mode to + True. + + Note: IPv6 Neighbor Solicitations and + Neighbor Advertisements MUST NOT be + dropped when Accept_Mode is False. + + Virtual_Router_MAC_Address The MAC address used for the source MAC + address in VRRP advertisements and + advertised in ARP responses as the MAC + address to use for IP_Addresses. + +6.2. Timers + + Master_Down_Timer Timer that fires when ADVERTISEMENT has not + been heard for Master_Down_Interval. + + Adver_Timer Timer that fires to trigger sending of + ADVERTISEMENT based on + Advertisement_Interval. + + + + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 20] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +6.3. State Transition Diagram + + +---------------+ + +--------->| |<-------------+ + | | Initialize | | + | +------| |----------+ | + | | +---------------+ | | + | | | | + | V V | + +---------------+ +---------------+ + | |---------------------->| | + | Master | | Backup | + | |<----------------------| | + +---------------+ +---------------+ + +6.4. State Descriptions + + In the state descriptions below, the state names are identified by + {state-name}, and the packets are identified by all-uppercase + characters. + + A VRRP router implements an instance of the state machine for each + virtual router election it is participating in. + +6.4.1. Initialize + + The purpose of this state is to wait for a Startup event, that is, an + implementation-defined mechanism that initiates the protocol once it + has been configured. The configuration mechanism is out of scope of + this specification. + + (100) If a Startup event is received, then: + + (105) - If the Priority = 255 (i.e., the router owns the IPvX + address associated with the virtual router), then: + + (110) + Send an ADVERTISEMENT + + (115) + If the protected IPvX address is an IPv4 address, then: + + (120) * Broadcast a gratuitous ARP request containing the + virtual router MAC address for each IP address associated + with the virtual router. + + (125) + else // IPv6 + + (130) * For each IPv6 address associated with the virtual + router, send an unsolicited ND Neighbor Advertisement with + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 21] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + the Router Flag (R) set, the Solicited Flag (S) unset, the + Override flag (O) set, the target address set to the IPv6 + address of the virtual router, and the target link-layer + address set to the virtual router MAC address. + + (135) +endif // was protected addr IPv4? + + (140) + Set the Adver_Timer to Advertisement_Interval + + (145) + Transition to the {Master} state + + (150) - else // rtr does not own virt addr + + (155) + Set Master_Adver_Interval to Advertisement_Interval + + (160) + Set the Master_Down_Timer to Master_Down_Interval + + (165) + Transition to the {Backup} state + + (170) -endif // priority was not 255 + + (175) endif // startup event was recv + +6.4.2. Backup + + The purpose of the {Backup} state is to monitor the availability and + state of the Master router. + + (300) While in this state, a VRRP router MUST do the following: + + (305) - If the protected IPvX address is an IPv4 address, then: + + (310) + MUST NOT respond to ARP requests for the IPv4 + address(es) associated with the virtual router. + + (315) - else // protected addr is IPv6 + + (320) + MUST NOT respond to ND Neighbor Solicitation messages + for the IPv6 address(es) associated with the virtual router. + + (325) + MUST NOT send ND Router Advertisement messages for the + virtual router. + + (330) -endif // was protected addr IPv4? + + (335) - MUST discard packets with a destination link-layer MAC + address equal to the virtual router MAC address. + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 22] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + (340) - MUST NOT accept packets addressed to the IPvX address(es) + associated with the virtual router. + + (345) - If a Shutdown event is received, then: + + (350) + Cancel the Master_Down_Timer + + (355) + Transition to the {Initialize} state + + (360) -endif // shutdown recv + + (365) - If the Master_Down_Timer fires, then: + + (370) + Send an ADVERTISEMENT + + (375) + If the protected IPvX address is an IPv4 address, then: + + (380) * Broadcast a gratuitous ARP request on that interface + containing the virtual router MAC address for each IPv4 + address associated with the virtual router. + + (385) + else // ipv6 + + (390) * Compute and join the Solicited-Node multicast + address [RFC4291] for the IPv6 address(es) associated with + the virtual router. + + (395) * For each IPv6 address associated with the virtual + router, send an unsolicited ND Neighbor Advertisement with + the Router Flag (R) set, the Solicited Flag (S) unset, the + Override flag (O) set, the target address set to the IPv6 + address of the virtual router, and the target link-layer + address set to the virtual router MAC address. + + (400) +endif // was protected addr ipv4? + + (405) + Set the Adver_Timer to Advertisement_Interval + + (410) + Transition to the {Master} state + + (415) -endif // Master_Down_Timer fired + + (420) - If an ADVERTISEMENT is received, then: + + (425) + If the Priority in the ADVERTISEMENT is zero, then: + + (430) * Set the Master_Down_Timer to Skew_Time + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 23] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + (440) + else // priority non-zero + + (445) * If Preempt_Mode is False, or if the Priority in the + ADVERTISEMENT is greater than or equal to the local + Priority, then: + + (450) @ Set Master_Adver_Interval to Adver Interval + contained in the ADVERTISEMENT + + (455) @ Recompute the Master_Down_Interval + + (460) @ Reset the Master_Down_Timer to + Master_Down_Interval + + (465) * else // preempt was true or priority was less + + (470) @ Discard the ADVERTISEMENT + + (475) *endif // preempt test + + (480) +endif // was priority zero? + + (485) -endif // was advertisement recv? + + (490) endwhile // Backup state + +6.4.3. Master + + While in the {Master} state, the router functions as the forwarding + router for the IPvX address(es) associated with the virtual router. + + Note that in the Master state, the Preempt_Mode Flag is not + considered. + + (600) While in this state, a VRRP router MUST do the following: + + (605) - If the protected IPvX address is an IPv4 address, then: + + (610) + MUST respond to ARP requests for the IPv4 address(es) + associated with the virtual router. + + (615) - else // ipv6 + + (620) + MUST be a member of the Solicited-Node multicast + address for the IPv6 address(es) associated with the virtual + router. + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 24] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + (625) + MUST respond to ND Neighbor Solicitation message for + the IPv6 address(es) associated with the virtual router. + + (630) ++ MUST send ND Router Advertisements for the virtual + router. + + (635) ++ If Accept_Mode is False: MUST NOT drop IPv6 Neighbor + Solicitations and Neighbor Advertisements. + + (640) +-endif // ipv4? + + (645) - MUST forward packets with a destination link-layer MAC + address equal to the virtual router MAC address. + + (650) - MUST accept packets addressed to the IPvX address(es) + associated with the virtual router if it is the IPvX address owner + or if Accept_Mode is True. Otherwise, MUST NOT accept these + packets. + + (655) - If a Shutdown event is received, then: + + (660) + Cancel the Adver_Timer + + (665) + Send an ADVERTISEMENT with Priority = 0 + + (670) + Transition to the {Initialize} state + + (675) -endif // shutdown recv + + (680) - If the Adver_Timer fires, then: + + (685) + Send an ADVERTISEMENT + + (690) + Reset the Adver_Timer to Advertisement_Interval + + (695) -endif // advertisement timer fired + + (700) - If an ADVERTISEMENT is received, then: + + (705) -+ If the Priority in the ADVERTISEMENT is zero, then: + + (710) -* Send an ADVERTISEMENT + + (715) -* Reset the Adver_Timer to Advertisement_Interval + + (720) -+ else // priority was non-zero + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 25] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + (725) -* If the Priority in the ADVERTISEMENT is greater + than the local Priority, + + (730) -* or + + (735) -* If the Priority in the ADVERTISEMENT is equal to + the local Priority and the primary IPvX Address of the + sender is greater than the local primary IPvX Address, then: + + (740) -@ Cancel Adver_Timer + + (745) -@ Set Master_Adver_Interval to Adver Interval + contained in the ADVERTISEMENT + + (750) -@ Recompute the Skew_Time + + (755) @ Recompute the Master_Down_Interval + + (760) @ Set Master_Down_Timer to Master_Down_Interval + + (765) @ Transition to the {Backup} state + + (770) * else // new Master logic + + (775) @ Discard ADVERTISEMENT + + (780) *endif // new Master detected + + (785) +endif // was priority zero? + + (790) -endif // advert recv + + (795) endwhile // in Master + +7. Sending and Receiving VRRP Packets + +7.1. Receiving VRRP Packets + + The following functions are performed when a VRRP packet is received: + + - If the received packet is an IPv4 packet, then: + + + MUST verify that the IPv4 TTL is 255. + + - else // ipv6 recv + + + MUST verify that the IPv6 Hop Limit is 255. + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 26] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + -endif + + - MUST verify that the VRRP version is 3. + + - MUST verify that the received packet contains the complete VRRP + packet (including fixed fields, and IPvX address). + + - MUST verify the VRRP checksum. + + - MUST verify that the VRID is configured on the receiving + interface and the local router is not the IPvX address owner + (Priority = 255 (decimal)). + + If any one of the above checks fails, the receiver MUST discard the + packet, SHOULD log the event, and MAY indicate via network management + that an error occurred. + + - MAY verify that "Count IPvX Addrs" and the list of IPvX + address(es) match the IPvX Address(es) configured for the VRID. + + If the above check fails, the receiver SHOULD log the event and MAY + indicate via network management that a misconfiguration was detected. + +7.2. Transmitting VRRP Packets + + The following operations MUST be performed when transmitting a VRRP + packet: + + - Fill in the VRRP packet fields with the appropriate virtual + router configuration state + + - Compute the VRRP checksum + + - If the protected address is an IPv4 address, then: + + + Set the source MAC address to virtual router MAC Address + + + Set the source IPv4 address to interface primary IPv4 address + + - else // ipv6 + + + Set the source MAC address to virtual router MAC Address + + + Set the source IPv6 address to interface link-local IPv6 + address + + -endif + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 27] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + - Set the IPvX protocol to VRRP + + - Send the VRRP packet to the VRRP IPvX multicast group + + Note: VRRP packets are transmitted with the virtual router MAC + address as the source MAC address to ensure that learning bridges + correctly determine the LAN segment the virtual router is + attached to. + +7.3. Virtual Router MAC Address + + The virtual router MAC address associated with a virtual router is an + IEEE 802 MAC Address in the following format: + + IPv4 case: 00-00-5E-00-01-{VRID} (in hex, in Internet-standard bit- + order) + + The first three octets are derived from the IANA's Organizational + Unique Identifier (OUI). The next two octets (00-01) indicate the + address block assigned to the VRRP for IPv4 protocol. {VRID} is the + VRRP Virtual Router Identifier. This mapping provides for up to 255 + IPv4 VRRP routers on a network. + + IPv6 case: 00-00-5E-00-02-{VRID} (in hex, in Internet-standard bit- + order) + + The first three octets are derived from the IANA's OUI. The next two + octets (00-02) indicate the address block assigned to the VRRP for + IPv6 protocol. {VRID} is the VRRP Virtual Router Identifier. This + mapping provides for up to 255 IPv6 VRRP routers on a network. + +7.4. IPv6 Interface Identifiers + + IPv6 routers running VRRP MUST create their Interface Identifiers in + the normal manner (e.g., "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Ethernet + Networks" [RFC2464]). They MUST NOT use the virtual router MAC + address to create the Modified Extended Unique Identifier (EUI)-64 + identifiers. + + This VRRP specification describes how to advertise and resolve the + VRRP router's IPv6 link-local address and other associated IPv6 + addresses into the virtual router MAC address. + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 28] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +8. Operational Issues + +8.1. IPv4 + +8.1.1. ICMP Redirects + + ICMP redirects may be used normally when VRRP is running between a + group of routers. This allows VRRP to be used in environments where + the topology is not symmetric. + + The IPv4 source address of an ICMP redirect should be the address + that the end-host used when making its next-hop routing decision. If + a VRRP router is acting as Master for virtual router(s) containing + addresses it does not own, then it must determine which virtual + router the packet was sent to when selecting the redirect source + address. One method to deduce the virtual router used is to examine + the destination MAC address in the packet that triggered the + redirect. + + It may be useful to disable redirects for specific cases where VRRP + is being used to load-share traffic between a number of routers in a + symmetric topology. + +8.1.2. Host ARP Requests + + When a host sends an ARP request for one of the virtual router IPv4 + addresses, the Virtual Router Master MUST respond to the ARP request + with an ARP response that indicates the virtual MAC address for the + virtual router. Note that the source address of the Ethernet frame + of this ARP response is the physical MAC address of the physical + router. The Virtual Router Master MUST NOT respond with its physical + MAC address in the ARP response. This allows the client to always + use the same MAC address regardless of the current Master router. + + When a VRRP router restarts or boots, it SHOULD NOT send any ARP + messages using its physical MAC address for the IPv4 address it owns; + it should only send ARP messages that include virtual MAC addresses. + + This may entail the following: + + o When configuring an interface, Virtual Router Master routers + should broadcast a gratuitous ARP request containing the virtual + router MAC address for each IPv4 address on that interface. + + o At system boot, when initializing interfaces for VRRP operation, + delay gratuitous ARP requests and ARP responses until both the + IPv4 address and the virtual router MAC address are configured. + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 29] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + o When, for example, ssh access to a particular VRRP router is + required, an IP address known to belong to that router must be + used. + +8.1.3. Proxy ARP + + If Proxy ARP is to be used on a VRRP router, then the VRRP router + must advertise the virtual router MAC address in the Proxy ARP + message. Doing otherwise could cause hosts to learn the real MAC + address of the VRRP router. + +8.2. IPv6 + +8.2.1. ICMPv6 Redirects + + ICMPv6 redirects may be used normally when VRRP is running between a + group of routers [RFC4443]. This allows VRRP to be used in + environments where the topology is not symmetric (e.g., the VRRP + routers do not connect to the same destinations). + + The IPv6 source address of an ICMPv6 redirect should be the address + that the end-host used when making its next-hop routing decision. If + a VRRP router is acting as Master for virtual router(s) containing + addresses it does not own, then it must determine which virtual + router the packet was sent to when selecting the redirect source + address. A method to deduce the virtual router used is to examine + the destination MAC address in the packet that triggered the + redirect. + +8.2.2. ND Neighbor Solicitation + + When a host sends an ND Neighbor Solicitation message for the virtual + router IPv6 address, the Virtual Router Master MUST respond to the ND + Neighbor Solicitation message with the virtual MAC address for the + virtual router. The Virtual Router Master MUST NOT respond with its + physical MAC address. This allows the client to always use the same + MAC address regardless of the current Master router. + + When a Virtual Router Master sends an ND Neighbor Solicitation + message for a host's IPv6 address, the Virtual Router Master MUST + include the virtual MAC address for the virtual router if it sends a + source link-layer address option in the neighbor solicitation + message. It MUST NOT use its physical MAC address in the source + link-layer address option. + + When a VRRP router restarts or boots, it SHOULD NOT send any ND + messages with its physical MAC address for the IPv6 address it owns; + it should only send ND messages that include virtual MAC addresses. + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 30] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + This may entail the following: + + o When configuring an interface, Virtual Router Master routers + should send an unsolicited ND Neighbor Advertisement message + containing the virtual router MAC address for the IPv6 address on + that interface. + + o At system boot, when initializing interfaces for VRRP operation, + all ND Router and Neighbor Advertisements and Solicitation + messages must be delayed until both the IPv6 address and the + virtual router MAC address are configured. + + Note that on a restarting Master router where the VRRP protected + address is the interface address, (that is, priority 255) duplicate + address detection (DAD) may fail, as the Backup router may answer + that it owns the address. One solution is to not run DAD in this + case. + +8.2.3. Router Advertisements + + When a Backup VRRP router has become Master for a virtual router, it + is responsible for sending Router Advertisements for the virtual + router as specified in Section 6.4.3. The Backup routers must be + configured to send the same Router Advertisement options as the + address owner. + + Router Advertisement options that advertise special services (e.g., + Home Agent Information Option) that are present in the address owner + should not be sent by the address owner unless the Backup routers are + prepared to assume these services in full and have a complete and + synchronized database for this service. + +8.3. IPvX + +8.3.1. Potential Forwarding Loop + + If it is not the address owner, a VRRP router SHOULD NOT forward + packets addressed to the IPvX address for which it becomes Master. + Forwarding these packets would result in unnecessary traffic. Also, + in the case of LANs that receive packets they transmit (e.g., Token + Ring), this can result in a forwarding loop that is only terminated + when the IPvX TTL expires. + + One such mechanism for VRRP routers is to add/delete a reject host + route for each adopted IPvX address when transitioning to/from MASTER + state. + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 31] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +8.3.2. Recommendations Regarding Setting Priority Values + + A priority value of 255 designates a particular router as the "IPvX + address owner". Care must be taken not to configure more than one + router on the link in this way for a single VRID. + + Routers with priority 255 will, as soon as they start up, preempt all + lower-priority routers. No more than one router on the link is to be + configured with priority 255, especially if preemption is set. If no + router has this priority, and preemption is disabled, then no + preemption will occur. + + When there are multiple Backup routers, their priority values should + be uniformly distributed. For example, if one Backup router has the + default priority of 100 and another Backup Router is added, a + priority of 50 would be a better choice for it than 99 or 100, in + order to facilitate faster convergence. + +8.4. VRRPv3 and VRRPv2 Interoperation + +8.4.1. Assumptions + + 1. VRRPv2 and VRRPv3 interoperation is optional. + + 2. Mixing VRRPv2 and VRRPv3 should only be done when transitioning + from VRRPv2 to VRRPv3. Mixing the two versions should not be + considered a permanent solution. + +8.4.2. VRRPv3 Support of VRRPv2 + + As mentioned above, this support is intended for upgrade scenarios + and is NOT recommended for permanent deployments. + + An implementation MAY implement a configuration flag that tells it to + listen for and send both VRRPv2 and VRRPv3 advertisements. + + When a virtual router is configured this way and is the Master, it + MUST send both types at the configured rate, even if sub-second. + + When a virtual router is configured this way and is the Backup, it + should time out based on the rate advertised by the Master; in the + case of a VRRPv2 Master, this means it must translate the timeout + value it receives (in seconds) into centiseconds. Also, a Backup + should ignore VRRPv2 advertisements from the current Master if it is + also receiving VRRPv3 packets from it. It MAY report when a VRRPv3 + Master is *not* sending VRRPv2 packets: that suggests they don't + agree on whether they're supporting VRRPv2 routers. + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 32] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +8.4.3. VRRPv3 Support of VRRPv2 Considerations + +8.4.3.1. Slow, High-Priority Masters + + See also Section 5.2.7, "Maximum Advertisement Interval + (Max Adver Int)". + + The VRRPv2 Master router interacting with a sub-second VRRPv3 Backup + router is the most important example of this. + + A VRRPv2 implementation should not be given a higher priority than a + VRRPv2/VRRPv3 implementation it is interacting with if the VRRPv2/ + VRRPv3 rate is sub-second. + +8.4.3.2. Overwhelming VRRPv2 Backups + + It seems possible that a VRRPv3 Master router sending at centisecond + rates could potentially overwhelm a VRRPv2 Backup router with + potentially unclear results. + + In this upgrade case, a deployment should initially run the VRRPv3 + Master routers with lower frequencies (e.g., 100 centiseconds) until + the VRRPv2 routers are upgraded. Then, once the deployment has + convinced itself that VRRPv3 is working properly, the VRRPv2 support + may be unconfigured and then the desired sub-second rates configured. + +9. Security Considerations + + VRRP for IPvX does not currently include any type of authentication. + Earlier versions of the VRRP (for IPv4) specification included + several types of authentication ranging from none to strong. + Operational experience and further analysis determined that these did + not provide sufficient security to overcome the vulnerability of + misconfigured secrets, causing multiple Masters to be elected. Due + to the nature of the VRRP protocol, even if VRRP messages are + cryptographically protected, it does not prevent hostile nodes from + behaving as if they are a VRRP Master, creating multiple Masters. + Authentication of VRRP messages could have prevented a hostile node + from causing all properly functioning routers from going into Backup + state. However, having multiple Masters can cause as much disruption + as no routers, which authentication cannot prevent. Also, even if a + hostile node could not disrupt VRRP, it can disrupt ARP and create + the same effect as having all routers go into Backup. + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 33] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + Some L2 switches provide the capability to filter out, for example, + ARP and/or ND messages from end-hosts on a switch-port basis. This + mechanism could also filter VRRP messages from switch ports + associated with end-hosts and can be considered for deployments with + untrusted hosts. + + It should be noted that these attacks are not worse and are a subset + of the attacks that any node attached to a LAN can do independently + of VRRP. The kind of attacks a malicious node on a LAN can do + include promiscuously receiving packets for any router's MAC address; + sending packets with the router's MAC address as the source MAC + address in the L2 header to tell the L2 switches to send packets + addressed to the router to the malicious node instead of the router; + send redirects to tell the hosts to send their traffic somewhere + else; send unsolicited ND replies; answer ND requests; etc. All of + this can be done independently of implementing VRRP. VRRP does not + add to these vulnerabilities. + + Independent of any authentication type, VRRP includes a mechanism + (setting TTL = 255, checking on receipt) that protects against VRRP + packets being injected from another remote network. This limits most + vulnerabilities to local attacks. + + VRRP does not provide any confidentiality. Confidentiality is not + necessary for the correct operation of VRRP, and there is no + information in the VRRP messages that must be kept secret from other + nodes on the LAN. + + In the context of IPv6 operation, if SEcure Neighbor Discovery (SEND) + is deployed, VRRP is compatible with the "trust anchor" and "trust + anchor or cga" modes of SEND [RFC3971]. The SEND configuration needs + to give the Master and Backup routers the same prefix delegation in + the certificates so that Master and Backup routers advertise the same + set of subnet prefixes. However, the Master and Backup routers + should have their own key pairs to avoid private key sharing. + +10. Contributors and Acknowledgments + + The editor would like to thank V. Ullanatt for his review of an early + version. This document consists of very little new material (there + is some new text in Appendix A) and was created by merging and + "xml-izing" [VRRP-IPv6] and [RFC3768], and then adding in the changes + discussed recently on the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol working + group's mailing list. R. Hinden is the author and J. Cruz the editor + of the former. The contributors for the latter appear below. + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 34] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + The IPv6 text in this specification is based on [RFC2338]. The + authors of RFC2338 are S. Knight, D. Weaver, D. Whipple, R. Hinden, + D. Mitzel, P. Hunt, P. Higginson, M. Shand, and A. Lindem. + + The author of [VRRP-IPv6] would also like to thank Erik Nordmark, + Thomas Narten, Steve Deering, Radia Perlman, Danny Mitzel, Mukesh + Gupta, Don Provan, Mark Hollinger, John Cruz, and Melissa Johnson for + their helpful suggestions. + + The IPv4 text in this specification is based on [RFC3768]. The + authors of that specification would like to thank Glen Zorn, Michael + Lane, Clark Bremer, Hal Peterson, Tony Li, Barbara Denny, Joel + Halpern, Steve Bellovin, Thomas Narten, Rob Montgomery, Rob Coltun, + Radia Perlman, Russ Housley, Harald Alvestrand, Steve Bellovin, Ned + Freed, Ted Hardie, Russ Housley, Bert Wijnen, Bill Fenner, and Alex + Zinin for their comments and suggestions. + +11. IANA Considerations + + IANA has assigned an IPv6 link-local scope multicast address for VRRP + for IPv6. The IPv6 multicast address is as follows: + + FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:12 + + The values assigned address should be entered into Section 5.1.2.2. + + The IANA has reserved a block of IANA Ethernet unicast addresses for + VRRP for IPv6 in the range + + 00-00-5E-00-02-00 to 00-00-5E-00-02-FF (in hex) + + Similar assignments are documented at: + + http://www.iana.org + +12. References + +12.1. Normative References + + [ISO.10038.1993] International Organization for Standardization, + "Information technology - Telecommunications and + information exchange between systems - Local area + networks - Media access control (MAC) bridges", ISO + Standard 10038, 1993. + + [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate + Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997. + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 35] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + [RFC2460] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, + Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, + December 1998. + + [RFC3768] Hinden, R., "Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol + (VRRP)", RFC 3768, April 2004. + + [RFC4291] Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "IP Version 6 Addressing + Architecture", RFC 4291, February 2006. + + [RFC4443] Conta, A., Deering, S., and M. Gupta, Ed., + "Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the + Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", + RFC 4443, March 2006. + + [RFC4861] Narten, T., Nordmark, E., Simpson, W., and H. + Soliman, "Neighbor Discovery for IP version 6 + (IPv6)", RFC 4861, September 2007. + +12.2. Informative References + + [VRRP-IPv6] Hinden, R. and J. Cruz, "Virtual Router Redundancy + Protocol for IPv6", Work in Progress, March 2007. + + [IPSTB] Higginson, P. and M. Shand, "Development of Router + Clusters to Provide Fast Failover in IP Networks", + Digital Technical Journal, Volume 9 Number 3, + Winter 1997. + + [IPX] Novell Incorporated, "IPX Router Specification + Version 1.10", October 1992. + + [RFC1071] Braden, R., Borman, D., Partridge, C., and W. + Plummer, "Computing the Internet checksum", RFC + 1071, September 1988. + + [RFC1256] Deering, S., Ed., "ICMP Router Discovery Messages", + RFC 1256, September 1991. + + [RFC1469] Pusateri, T., "IP Multicast over Token-Ring Local + Area Networks", RFC 1469, June 1993. + + [RFC2131] Droms, R., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", + RFC 2131, March 1997. + + [RFC2281] Li, T., Cole, B., Morton, P., and D. Li, "Cisco Hot + Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)", RFC 2281, March + 1998. + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 36] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + [RFC2328] Moy, J., "OSPF Version 2", STD 54, RFC 2328, April + 1998. + + [RFC2338] Knight, S., Weaver, D., Whipple, D., Hinden, R., + Mitzel, D., Hunt, P., Higginson, P., Shand, M., and + A. Lindem, "Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol", + RFC 2338, April 1998. + + [RFC2453] Malkin, G., "RIP Version 2", STD 56, RFC 2453, + November 1998. + + [RFC2464] Crawford, M., "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over + Ethernet Networks", RFC 2464, December 1998. + + [RFC3971] Arkko, J., Ed., Kempf, J., Zill, B., and P. + Nikander, "SEcure Neighbor Discovery (SEND)", RFC + 3971, March 2005. + + [TKARCH] IBM Incorporated, "IBM Token-Ring Network, + Architecture Specification, Publication + SC30-3374-02, Third Edition", September 1989. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 37] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + +Appendix A. Operation over FDDI, Token Ring, and ATM LANE + +A.1. Operation over FDDI + + FDDI interfaces remove from the FDDI ring frames that have a source + MAC address matching the device's hardware address. Under some + conditions, such as router isolations, ring failures, protocol + transitions, etc., VRRP may cause there to be more than one Master + router. If a Master router installs the virtual router MAC address + as the hardware address on a FDDI device, then other Masters' + ADVERTISEMENTS will be removed from the ring during the Master + convergence, and convergence will fail. + + To avoid this, an implementation SHOULD configure the virtual router + MAC address by adding a unicast MAC filter in the FDDI device, rather + than changing its hardware MAC address. This will prevent a Master + router from removing any ADVERTISEMENTS it did not originate. + +A.2. Operation over Token Ring + + Token Ring has several characteristics that make running VRRP + difficult. These include the following: + + o In order to switch to a new Master located on a different bridge + Token-Ring segment from the previous Master when using source- + route bridges, a mechanism is required to update cached source- + route information. + + o No general multicast mechanism is supported across old and new + Token-Ring adapter implementations. While many newer Token-Ring + adapters support group addresses, Token-Ring functional-address + support is the only generally available multicast mechanism. Due + to the limited number of Token-Ring functional addresses, these + may collide with other usage of the same Token-Ring functional + addresses. + + Due to these difficulties, the preferred mode of operation over Token + Ring will be to use a Token-Ring functional address for the VRID + virtual MAC address. Token-Ring functional addresses have the two + high-order bits in the first MAC address octet set to B'1'. They + range from 03-00-00-00-00-80 to 03-00-02-00-00-00 (canonical format). + However, unlike multicast addresses, there is only one unique + functional address per bit position. The functional addresses + 03-00-00-10-00-00 through 03-00-02-00-00-00 are reserved by the + Token-Ring Architecture [TKARCH] for user-defined applications. + However, since there are only 12 user-defined Token-Ring functional + addresses, there may be other non-IPvX protocols using the same + functional address. Since the Novell IPX [IPX] protocol uses the + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 38] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + 03-00-00-10-00-00 functional address, operation of VRRP over Token + Ring will avoid use of this functional address. In general, Token- + Ring VRRP users will be responsible for resolution of other user- + defined Token-Ring functional address conflicts. + + VRIDs are mapped directly to Token-Ring functional addresses. In + order to decrease the likelihood of functional-address conflicts, + allocation will begin with the largest functional address. Most non- + IPvX protocols use the first or first couple user-defined functional + addresses, and it is expected that VRRP users will choose VRIDs + sequentially, starting with 1. + + VRID Token-Ring Functional Address + ---- ----------------------------- + 1 03-00-02-00-00-00 + 2 03-00-04-00-00-00 + 3 03-00-08-00-00-00 + 4 03-00-10-00-00-00 + 5 03-00-20-00-00-00 + 6 03-00-40-00-00-00 + 7 03-00-80-00-00-00 + 8 03-00-00-01-00-00 + 9 03-00-00-02-00-00 + 10 03-00-00-04-00-00 + 11 03-00-00-08-00-00 + + Or, more succinctly, octets 3 and 4 of the functional address are + equal to (0x4000 >> (VRID - 1)) in non-canonical format. + + Since a functional address cannot be used as a MAC-level source + address, the real MAC address is used as the MAC source address in + VRRP advertisements. This is not a problem for bridges, since + packets addressed to functional addresses will be sent on the + spanning-tree explorer path [ISO.10038.1993]. + + The functional-address mode of operation MUST be implemented by + routers supporting VRRP on Token Ring. + + Additionally, routers MAY support the unicast mode of operation to + take advantage of newer Token-Ring adapter implementations that + support non-promiscuous reception for multiple unicast MAC addresses + and to avoid both the multicast traffic and usage conflicts + associated with the use of Token-Ring functional addresses. Unicast + mode uses the same mapping of VRIDs to virtual MAC addresses as + Ethernet. However, one important difference exists. ND + request/reply packets contain the virtual MAC address as the source + MAC address. The reason for this is that some Token-Ring driver + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 39] + +RFC 5798 VRRPv3 for IPv4 and IPv6 March 2010 + + + implementations keep a cache of MAC address/source-routing + information independent of the ND cache. + + Hence, these implementations have to receive a packet with the + virtual MAC address as the source address in order to transmit to + that MAC address in a source-route-bridged network. + + Unicast mode on Token Ring has one limitation that should be + considered. If there are VRID routers on different source-route- + bridge segments, and there are host implementations that keep their + source-route information in the ND cache and do not listen to + gratuitous NDs, these hosts will not update their ND source-route + information correctly when a switchover occurs. The only possible + solution is to put all routers with the same VRID on the same source- + route-bridge segment and use techniques to prevent that bridge + segment from being a single point of failure. These techniques are + beyond the scope of this document. + + For both the multicast and unicast mode of operation, VRRP + advertisements sent to 224.0.0.18 should be encapsulated as described + in [RFC1469]. + +A.3. Operation over ATM LANE + + Operation of VRRP over ATM LANE on routers with ATM LANE interfaces + and/or routers behind proxy LAN Emulation Clients (LECs) are beyond + the scope of this document. + +Author's Address + + Stephen Nadas (editor) + Ericsson + 900 Chelmsford St., T3 4th Floor + Lowell, MA 01851 + USA + + Phone: +1 978 275 7448 + EMail: stephen.nadas@ericsson.com + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Nadas Standards Track [Page 40] + |