Brocade FastIron Ethernet Switch Layer 3 Routing Configuration Guide - Manual (Page 594)

Comparison of VRRP and VRRP-E
This section compares router redundancy protocols.
VRRP
VRRP is a standards-based protocol, described in RFC 2338. The Brocade implementation of VRRP
contains the features in RFC 2338. The Brocade implementation also provides the following additional
features:
• Track ports - A Brocade feature that enables you to diagnose the health of all the Layer 3 switch
ports used by the backed-up VRID, instead of only the port connected to the client subnet.
• Suppression of RIP advertisements on Backup routers for the backed-up interface - You can enable
the Layer 3 switches to advertise only the path to the Master router for the backed-up interface.
Normally, a VRRP Backup router includes route information for the interface it is backing up in RIP
advertisements.
Brocade Layer 3 switches configured for VRRP can interoperate with third-party routers using VRRP.
VRRP-E
VRRP-E is a Brocade protocol that provides the benefits of VRRP without the limitations. VRRP-E is
unlike VRRP in the following ways:
• There is no "Owner" router. You do not need to use an IP address configured on one of the Layer 3
switches as the virtual router ID (VRID), which is the address you are backing up for redundancy.
The VRID is independent of the IP interfaces configured in the Layer 3 switches. As a result, the
protocol does not have an "Owner" as VRRP does.
• There is no restriction on which router can be the default Master router. In VRRP, the "Owner" (the
Layer 3 switch on which the IP interface that is used for the VRID is configured) must be the default
Master.
Brocade Layer 3 switches configured for VRRP-E can interoperate only with other Brocade Layer 3
switches.
Architectural differences between VRRP and VRRP-E
The protocols have the following architectural differences.
Management protocol
• VRRP - VRRP routers send VRRP Hello and Hello messages to IP Multicast address 224.0.0.18.
• VRRP-E - VRRP-E sends messages to destination MAC address 01-00-5E-00-00-02 and
destination IP address 224.0.0.2 (the standard IP multicast address for "all routers").
Virtual router IP address (the address you are backing up)
• VRRP - The virtual router IP address is the same as an IP address or virtual interface configured on
one of the Layer 3 switches, which is the "Owner" and becomes the default Master.
• VRRP-E - The virtual router IP address is the gateway address you want to back up, but does not
need to be an IP interface configured on one of the Layer 3 swicth ports or a virtual interface.
Comparison of VRRP and VRRP-E
594 FastIron Ethernet Switch Layer 3 Routing Configuration Guide
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