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CCNP ENCOR lab 19 of 36

HSRP: redundant gateways with load sharing and tracking

Give the warehouse VLANs a gateway that survives the loss of a distribution switch or its uplink: HSRP version 2 with one active switch per VLAN, pre-emption, MD5 authentication, fast timers and interface tracking.

Run this lab

It needs Lite: its 6 nodes are set to 6 vCPU and 4,864 MB in total. That fits the free demo too.

In your workspace: Shared, then CCNP ENCOR 350-401 guided labs, then 19 - HSRP - redundant gateways with load sharing and tracking

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Level
Intermediate
Time
About 60 minutes
Nodes need
6 vCPU, 4,864 MB
Smallest plan
Lite

The scenario

The warehouse PCs use 10.10.10.1 (staff, VLAN 10) and 10.10.20.1 (warehouse, VLAN 20) as their default gateways, but no device owns those addresses yet: the distribution switches use .2 and .3. The design calls for a first-hop redundancy protocol so that either distribution switch can be the gateway:

  • HSRP version 2, group number = VLAN number, virtual IPs .1.
  • DSW1 is active for VLAN 10 (priority 110), DSW2 for VLAN 20 (priority 110); the other switch is standby at the default 100. Both pre-empt, so roles return after a failure.
  • Hellos every second with a 3-second hold time, and MD5 authentication with key string Fh-HSRP-2026.
  • Each switch tracks its routed uplink to R1 and drops its priority by 20 if the uplink goes down.

Spanning tree already matches: DSW1 is root for VLAN 10, DSW2 for VLAN 20. OSPF runs between R1 and both distribution switches.

DeviceInterfaceAddress
DSW1Vlan10 / Vlan2010.10.10.2 / 10.10.20.2
DSW1Gi0/2 (routed uplink)10.0.11.2/30 → R1 10.0.11.1
DSW2Vlan10 / Vlan2010.10.10.3 / 10.10.20.3
DSW2Gi0/2 (routed uplink)10.0.12.2/30 → R1 10.0.12.1
R1Lo1010.10.30.1/24 (HQ servers)
PC1 / PC2eth010.10.10.10 (VLAN 10) / 10.10.20.10 (VLAN 20), gateways .1

Topology: R1 at the top with a routed link to each distribution switch; DSW1 and DSW2 joined by an L2 trunk; ASW1 has a trunk to each; PC1 and PC2 hang off ASW1.

What you’ll practise

  • Explain first-hop redundancy, HSRP roles and states, and how HA designs use redundancy, FHRP and SSO
  • Configure HSRPv2 groups with virtual IP, priority, pre-emption, timers and MD5 authentication
  • Share load by making each distribution switch active for a different VLAN, aligned with spanning tree
  • Track an uplink so the gateway role moves when the uplink fails
  • Verify HSRP state, the virtual MAC address and failover from a host

The tasks

  1. See the gap
  2. Build the HSRP groups
  3. Decide who's active, and keep it that way
  4. Track the uplinks
  5. Test failover
  6. Check what the hosts see

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of HSRP - redundant gateways with load sharing and tracking6 nodes, 7 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.DSW1DSW2ASW1R1PC1PC2Gi1/0eth0Gi1/1eth0Gi0/2Gi0/0Gi0/2Gi0/1Gi0/1Gi0/1Gi0/1Gi0/2Gi0/0Gi0/0
6 nodes, with the interface names each link uses.
Every link, as text
  • DSW1 Gi0/0 to DSW2 Gi0/0
  • DSW1 Gi0/1 to ASW1 Gi0/1
  • DSW2 Gi0/1 to ASW1 Gi0/2
  • DSW1 Gi0/2 to R1 Gi0/0
  • DSW2 Gi0/2 to R1 Gi0/1
  • ASW1 Gi1/0 to PC1 eth0
  • ASW1 Gi1/1 to PC2 eth0
Nodes in HSRP: redundant gateways with load sharing and tracking, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
DSW1Cisco IOSvL2viosl2-adventerprisek9-m.ssa.high_iron_202009291 vCPU, 768 MB
DSW2Cisco IOSvL2viosl2-adventerprisek9-m.ssa.high_iron_202009291 vCPU, 768 MB
ASW1Cisco IOSvL2viosl2-adventerprisek9-m.ssa.high_iron_202009291 vCPU, 768 MB
R1Cisco IOSvvios-adventerprisek9-m.spa.159-3.m91 vCPU, 512 MB
PC1VPCS hostBuilt in to EVE-NGCounted as 1 vCPU, 1,024 MB
PC2VPCS hostBuilt in to EVE-NGCounted as 1 vCPU, 1,024 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder CCNP ENCOR 350-401 guided labs.

  3. Open 19 - HSRP - redundant gateways with load sharing and tracking and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

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CloudLabBox is independent of Cisco. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.