In today’s fast-paced digital environment, network reliability is more crucial than ever. Configuring Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) on Cisco routers ensures seamless network redundancy and minimizes downtime. This guide will teach you how to configure HSRP in Cisco routers, providing practical steps and essential tips for optimal network performance.

What is HSRP?

HSRP is a Cisco proprietary protocol that provides network redundancy for IP networks. It allows multiple routers to appear as a single virtual router, ensuring continuous network availability even if one router fails.

Configure HSRP in Cisco Router

History of HSRP

Development and Release

Cisco developed HSRP in the early 1990s to address the need for network redundancy. Before HSRP, network failover required manual reconfiguration if a router failed, which could lead to significant downtime.

Standardization Efforts

Although proprietary, HSRP inspired other redundancy protocols and set a standard for network resilience.

Evolution

HSRP has evolved over the years, with enhancements such as HSRP Version 2 (HSRPv2), which includes improvements like IPv6 support, increased group numbers, and better scalability.

How HSRP Works

HSRP operates by creating a “virtual router,” represented by a virtual IP address shared among two or more physical routers:

  • Active Router: The primary router that forwards traffic sent to the virtual IP address.
  • Standby Router: The backup router monitors the active router and takes over if the active router fails.
  • Virtual IP Address: Both routers are associated with a virtual IP address to ensure seamless failover.

HSRP prioritizes routers with a priority value (default is 100), where the highest-priority router becomes the active one. If the active router fails, the standby router immediately takes over, providing continuity of service.

Prerequisites for Configuring HSRP Cisco

Before diving into the configuration process, ensure you have the following:

  • Cisco Routers: At least two routers are capable of HSRP.
  • Network Diagram: A clear understanding of your network topology.
  • Basic Knowledge: Familiarity with Cisco IOS commands.

In this tutorial, I’m using EVE-NG. Want to learn how to install it yourself? Check out our step-by-step guide here!

how to configure HSRP in Cisco router

How to Configure HSRP in Cisco Router

Task 1: Configure Host Name on routers

Log in to the Cisco router and Configure hostnames on R1, R2, and R3 as illustrated in the
topology.

R1

Router>en
Router#config ter
Router(config)#hostname R1
R1(config)#do wr
Building configuration...
[OK]

R2

Router>en
Router#config ter
Router(config)#hostname R2
R2(config)#do wr
Building configuration...
[OK]

R3

Router>en
Router#config ter
Router(config)#hostname R3
R3(config)#do wr
Building configuration...
[OK]

Task 2: Configure IP address

configuring IP addressing on the routers’ interface as illustrated in the topology.

R1

R1(config)#interface fa 0/0
R1(config-if)#ip add 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#no shut

R2

R1(config)#interface fa 0/0
R1(config-if)#ip add 192.168.10.2 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#no shut

R3

R1(config)#interface fa 0/0
R1(config-if)#ip add 192.168.10.3 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#no shut

Task 3: HSRP Configuration and Set the Virtual IP Address

R1

R1#config t
R1(config)#int fa 0/0
R1(config-if)#standby 100 ip 192.168.10.254
R1(config-if)#standby 100 priority 100
R1(config-if)#standby 100 authentication HSRP
R1(config-if)#standby 100 timers 1 3

R2

R2#config t
R2(config)#int fa 0/0
R2(config-if)#standby 100 ip 192.168.10.254
R2(config-if)#standby 100 priority 90
R2(config-if)#standby 100 authentication HSRP
R2(config-if)#standby 100 timers 1 3

Task 4: Adding a route on R3

R3(config)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.10.254

Task 5: Verifing HSRP

For verification, execute the “show standby brief” command on R1 and R2.

Show standby brief

R1

R2

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully configured HSRP on the Cisco router. In this step-by-step guide, we have learned How to Configure HSRP in a Cisco Router. This guide provides straightforward steps that can be completed quickly.

If you found this guide helpful, or if you have any questions, please leave a comment.

FAQs

HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) allows you to configure up to 255 routers in a single HSRP group. However, in practical scenarios, it’s common to configure at least two routers to ensure network redundancy—a primary (active) router and a secondary (standby) router.

HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol)

VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) is an open standard protocol for router redundancy, while HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) is a Cisco-proprietary protocol serving a similar purpose.

HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) uses UDP for communication, specifically on port 1985.

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