HSRP

In computer networking, a gateway is a node (a router) on a TCP/IP network that serves as an access point to another
network. A default gateway is the node on the computer network that the network software uses when an IP address
does not match any other routes in the routing table. It is usually the IP address of the router to which your PC network
is connected.
In home computing configurations, an ISP often provides a physical device which both connects local hardware to the
Internet and serves as a gateway. Such devices include DSL routers and cable routers.

So if the default gateway goes down the whole network would be on outraged as all our systems are dependent on it.

HSRP comes for the rescue!!!!!
Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is a Cisco proprietary redundancy protocol for establishing a fault-tolerant default
gateway,
Cisco proprietary protocol.
Method of providing IP address sharing and redundancy for default gateways.
The protocol consists of a:
Virtual MAC address
IP address
Shared between two routers:
Active Router
Standby Router
Routers exchange HSRP hello messages at regular intervals.










How it works?

Systems are configured with one default-gateway . The Active router and Standby router responds to the same default-
gateway ip address and advertises the HSRP format mac-adresss to the client systems. First elections are held for the
role of Acitve and Standy router. Active router forwards all the packects received from the clients systems. Standby
router monitors the activity of the Active router. If the Active router goes down , standby router takes it role and
forwards the packet.
Both the routers are configured under 1 HSRP group id.




Topology Diagram











One standby router
The backup router in case the active router fails for the subnet.
It will then forward traffic destined to the virtual IP address.

One virtual router
The virtual router is not an actual router.
Represents the HSRP group acting as one virtual router.
It is the default gateway as far as hosts on the subnet are concerned.




One active router
The active router forwards traffic destined to the virtual IP address (default-gateway).





HSRP Mac-Address format

0000.0c07.ac.01



By viewing the Mac-address of the default gateway we can easily determine that the routers are configured with HSRP
protocol.

In this scenario default gateway IP address is 172.16.10.1. Our systems Arp-cache memory is mapped with default-
gateway and Mac- address of the virtual router.
If the HSRP group number of router A is 01, the MAC address that corresponds to the virtual IP address is
0000.0c07.ac01.
If the HSRP group number of router A is 47, the MAC address that corresponds to the virtual IP address is
0000.0c07.ac2f.
Group number (47) converted to hexadecimal (2f).
Vendor Code. HSRP HSRP Group
Number

The active router assumes and maintains its active role through the transmission of hello messages (default
every 3 seconds).
Sent by active and standby routers.
Multicast 224.0.0.2 (all routers) using UDP port 1985
The router with the highest standby priority becomes the active router.
0 to 255
Default = 100 (configurable)
Otherwise, the router with the highest IP address.

When the active router fails:
Standby takes over.
If there are other routers participating in the group, those routers then contend to be the new standby
router.