Hands-On Lab: Configuring VRRP

Lab Objective

Configure VRRP on two routers sharing a virtual IP address, verify Master and Backup roles form correctly, and confirm automatic failover occurs when the Master router fails.

Lab Purpose

VRRP serves the same purpose as HSRP, covered in an earlier lab, but as a vendor-neutral open standard, making it the correct choice whenever a redundancy group needs to include non-Cisco equipment. This lab highlights the terminology differences engineers must recognize when moving between the two protocols.

Lab Topology

R1 (intended Master) ---- Gi0/1 ---- Switch1
R2 (intended Backup) ---- Gi0/1 ---- Switch1

R1: 192.168.17.1/24 (this address will
    also serve as the virtual IP)
R2: 192.168.17.3/24

PC: 192.168.17.10/24, gateway 192.168.17.1

Task 1: Configure Basic Addressing

Configure both routers' interfaces on the shared segment.

Task 2: Configure VRRP on Both Routers

Configure VRRP group 1 on both routers, using R1's own real interface address (192.168.17.1) directly as the virtual IP.

Task 3: Set Priority on R1

Set R1's VRRP priority higher than the default so it becomes Master.

Task 4: Verify Master and Backup Roles

Confirm R1 shows as Master and R2 as Backup.

Task 5: Simulate a Failure and Verify Failover

Shut down R1's interface and confirm R2 automatically becomes Master.

Solution and Verification

R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/1
R1(config-if)# ip address 192.168.17.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)# no shutdown

R2(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/1
R2(config-if)# ip address 192.168.17.3 255.255.255.0
R2(config-if)# no shutdown

R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/1
R1(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 192.168.17.1
R1(config-if)# vrrp 1 priority 150

-- Notice the virtual IP matches R1's own
-- real interface address exactly -- a
-- capability unique to VRRP, distinct from
-- HSRP which always requires a separate
-- dedicated virtual address

R2(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/1
R2(config-if)# vrrp 1 ip 192.168.17.1

R1# show vrrp brief

Interface  Grp  Pri  Time  Own  Pre  State    Master addr   Group addr
Gi0/1      1    150  3609  Y    Y    Master   192.168.17.1  192.168.17.1

-- The "Own" column shows "Y", confirming R1
-- owns the actual IP address being used as
-- the virtual address

R2# show vrrp brief

Interface  Grp  Pri  Time  Own  Pre  State    Master addr   Group addr
Gi0/1      1    100  3609  N    Y    Backup   192.168.17.1  192.168.17.1

R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/1
R1(config-if)# shutdown

R2# show vrrp brief

Interface  Grp  Pri  Time  Own  Pre  State    Master addr   Group addr
Gi0/1      1    100  3609  N    Y    Master   192.168.17.3  192.168.17.1
-- R2 automatically became Master

Key Takeaway

VRRP uses "Master" and "Backup" instead of HSRP's "Active" and "Standby" terminology, and its preempt behavior is enabled by default (unlike HSRP, which requires the preempt keyword to be explicitly configured) — both are worth remembering when moving between protocols, since assuming identical default behavior between HSRP and VRRP is a common source of unexpected configuration results.