Configuring IGRP

This chapter describes how to configure the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP). For a complete
description of the IGRP commands in this chapter, refer to the “IGRP Commands” chapter of the
Cisco IOS IP Command Reference, Volume 2 of 3: Routing Protocols. To locate documentation of other
commands that appear in this chapter, use the command reference master index, or search online.
IGRP is a dynamic distance-vector routing protocol designed by Cisco in the mid-1980s for routing in
an autonomous system that contains large, arbitrarily complex networks with diverse bandwidth and
delay characteristics.
For protocol-independent features, see the chapter “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent
Features” in this book.
To identify the hardware platform or software image information associated with a feature, use the
Feature Navigator on Cisco.com to search for information about the feature or refer to the software
release notes for a specific release. For more information, see the “Identifying Supported Platforms”
section in the “Using Cisco IOS Software” chapter in this book.

The Cisco IGRP Implementation

IGRP uses a combination of user-configurable metrics, including internetwork delay, bandwidth,
reliability, and load.
IGRP also advertises three types of routes: interior, system, and exterior, as shown in Figure 36. Interior
routes are routes between subnets in the network attached to a router interface. If the network attached
to a router is not subnetted, IGRP does not advertise interior routes.
System routes are routes to networks within an autonomous system. The Cisco IOS software derives
system routes from directly connected network interfaces and system route information provided by
other IGRP-speaking routers or access servers. System routes do not include subnet information.
Exterior routes are routes to networks outside the autonomous system that are considered when
identifying a gateway of last resort. The Cisco IOS software chooses a gateway of last resort from the
list of exterior routes that IGRP provides. The software uses the gateway (router) of last resort if it does
not have a better route for a packet and the destination is not a connected network. If the autonomous
system has more than one connection to an external network, different routers can choose different
exterior routers as the gateway of last resort.

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Figure 36 Interior, System, and Exterior Routes

Autonomous
Autonomous system 1 system 2

System
Subnet B

Exterior
Interior

Router Router Router

Subnet A

S1019a
IGRP Updates
By default, a router running IGRP sends an update broadcast every 90 seconds. It declares a route
inaccessible if it does not receive an update from the first router in the route within three update periods
(270 seconds). After seven update periods (630 seconds), the Cisco IOS software removes the route from
the routing table.
IGRP uses flash update and poison reverse updates to speed up the convergence of the routing algorithm.
Flash update is the sending of an update sooner than the standard periodic update interval of notifying
other routers of a metric change. Poison reverse updates are intended to defeat larger routing loops
caused by increases in routing metrics. The poison reverse updates are sent to remove a route and place
it in holddown, which keeps new routing information from being used for a certain period of time.

IGRP Configuration Task List

To configure IGRP, perform the tasks described in the following sections. The tasks in the first section
are required; the tasks in the remaining sections are optional:
• Creating the IGRP Routing Process (Required)
• Applying Offsets to Routing Metrics (Optional)
• Allowing Unicast Updates for IGRP (Optional)
• Defining Unequal-Cost Load Balancing (Optional)
• Controlling Traffic Distribution (Optional)
• Adjusting the IGRP Metric Weights (Optional)
• Adjusting Timers (Optional)

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• Disabling Holddown (Optional)

• Enforcing a Maximum Network Diameter (Optional)
• Validating Source IP Addresses (Optional)
• Enabling or Disabling Split Horizon (Optional)
Also see the examples in the “IGRP Configuration Examples” section at the end of this chapter.

Creating the IGRP Routing Process

To create the IGRP routing process, use the following commands beginning in global configuration
mode:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# router igrp as-number Enables an IGRP routing process, which places you
in router configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-router)# network network-number Associates networks with an IGRP routing process.

IGRP sends updates to the interfaces in the specified networks. If the network of an interface is not
specified, the interface will not be advertised in any IGRP update.
It is not necessary to have a registered autonomous system number to use IGRP. If you do not have a
registered number, you are free to create your own. We recommend that if you do have a registered
number, you use it to identify the IGRP process.

Applying Offsets to Routing Metrics

An offset list is the mechanism for increasing incoming and outgoing metrics to routes learned via IGRP.
Applying an offset limit is done to provide a local mechanism for increasing the value of routing metrics.
Optionally, you can limit the offset list with either an access list or an interface. To increase the value of
routing metrics, use the following command in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# offset-list [access-list-number | Applies an offset to routing metrics.
access-list-name] {in | out} offset [interface-type |
interface-number]

Allowing Unicast Updates for IGRP

Because IGRP is normally a broadcast protocol, in order for IGRP routing updates to reach nonbroadcast
networks, you must configure the Cisco IOS software to permit this exchange of routing information.
To permit information exchange, use the following command in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# neighbor ip-address Defines a neighboring router with which to exchange
routing information.

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To control the set of interfaces with which you want to exchange routing updates, you can disable the
sending of routing updates on specified interfaces by configuring the passive-interface router
configuration command. See the discussion on filtering in the “Filter Routing Information” section in
the “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent Features” chapter.

Defining Unequal-Cost Load Balancing

IGRP can simultaneously use an asymmetric set of paths for a given destination. This feature is known
as unequal-cost load balancing. Unequal-cost load balancing allows traffic to be distributed among
multiple (up to four) unequal-cost paths to provide greater overall throughput and reliability. Alternate
path variance (that is, the difference in desirability between the primary and alternate paths) is used to
determine the feasibility of a potential route. An alternate route is feasible if the next router in the path
is closer to the destination (has a lower metric value) than the current router and if the metric for the
entire alternate path is within the variance. Only paths that are feasible can be used for load balancing
and included in the routing table. These conditions limit the number of cases in which load balancing
can occur, but ensure that the dynamics of the network will remain stable.
The following general rules apply to IGRP unequal-cost load balancing:
• IGRP will accept up to four paths for a given destination network.
• The local best metric must be greater than the metric learned from the next router; that is, the next
hop router must be closer (have a smaller metric value) to the destination than the local best metric.
• The alternative path metric must be within the specified variance of the local best metric. The
multiplier times the local best metric for the destination must be greater than or equal to the metric
through the next router.
If these conditions are met, the route is deemed feasible and can be added to the routing table.
By default, the amount of variance is set to one (equal-cost load balancing). To define how much worse
an alternate path can be before that path is disallowed, use the following command in router
configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# variance multiplier Defines the variance associated with a particular path.

Note By using the variance feature, the Cisco IOS software can balance traffic across all feasible paths and
can immediately converge to a new path if one of the paths should fail.

See the “IGRP Feasible Successor Relationship Example” section at the end of this chapter.

Controlling Traffic Distribution

If variance is configured as described in the preceding section, “Defining Unequal-Cost Load
Balancing,” IGRP or Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP) will distribute traffic among multiple routes of unequal
cost to the same destination. If you want to have faster convergence to alternate routes, but you do not
want to send traffic across inferior routes in the normal case, you might prefer to have no traffic flow
along routes with higher metrics.

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To control how traffic is distributed among multiple routes of unequal cost, use the following command
in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# traffic-share balanced Distribute traffic proportionately to the ratios of metrics.

Adjusting the IGRP Metric Weights

You have the option of altering the default behavior of IGRP routing and metric computations. For
example, you can tune system behavior to allow for transmissions via satellite. Although IGRP metric
defaults were carefully selected to provide excellent operation in most networks, you can adjust the
IGRP metric. Adjusting IGRP metric weights can dramatically affect network performance, however, so
ensure that you make all metric adjustments carefully.
To adjust the IGRP metric weights, use the following command in router configuration mode. Because
of the complexity of this command, we recommend that you only use it with guidance from an
experienced system designer.

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# metric weights tos k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 Adjusts the IGRP metric.

By default, the IGRP composite metric is a 24-bit quantity that is a sum of the segment delays and the
lowest segment bandwidth (scaled and inverted) for a given route. For a network of homogeneous media,
this metric reduces to a hop count. For a network of mixed media (Ethernet, FDDI, and serial lines
running from 9600 bits per second to T1 rates), the route with the lowest metric reflects the most
desirable path to a destination.

Adjusting Timers
Routing protocols use several timers that determine such variables as the frequency of routing updates,
the length of time before a route becomes invalid, and other parameters. You can adjust these timers to
tune routing protocol performance to better suit your internetwork needs. You can make the following
timer adjustments:
• The rate (time in seconds between updates) at which routing updates are sent
• The interval of time (in seconds) after which a route is declared invalid
• The interval (in seconds) during which routing information regarding better paths is suppressed
• The amount of time (in seconds) that must pass before a route is removed from the routing table
• The amount of time for which routing updates will be postponed
It also is possible to tune the IP routing support in the software to enable faster convergence of the
various IP routing algorithms, and, hence, quicker fallback to redundant routers. The total effect is to
minimize disruptions to end users of the network in situations where quick recovery is essential.

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To adjust the timers, use the following command in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# timers basic update invalid Adjusts routing protocol timers.
holddown flush [sleeptime]

Disabling Holddown
When the Cisco IOS software learns that a network is at a greater distance than was previously known,
or it learns the network is down, the route to that network is placed in holddown. During the holddown
period, the route is advertised, but incoming advertisements about that network from any router other
than the one that originally advertised the new metric of the network will be ignored. This mechanism
is often used to help avoid routing loops in the network, but has the effect of increasing the topology
convergence time.
To disable holddowns with IGRP, use the following command in router configuration mode. All devices
in an IGRP autonomous system must be consistent in their use of holddowns.

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# no metric holddown Disables the IGRP holddown period.

Enforcing a Maximum Network Diameter

The Cisco IOS software enforces a maximum diameter to the IGRP network. Routes whose hop counts
exceed this diameter are not advertised. The default maximum diameter is 100 hops. The maximum
diameter is 255 hops.
To configure the maximum diameter, use the following command in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# metric maximum-hops hops Configures the maximum network diameter.

Validating Source IP Addresses

By default, the system validates the source IP addresses of incoming IGRP routing updates. To disable
this function, use the following command in router configuration mode:

Command Purpose
Router(config-router)# no validate-update-source Disables the checking and validation of the source
IP address of incoming routing updates.

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Enabling or Disabling Split Horizon

Normally, routers that are connected to broadcast-type IP networks and that use distance-vector routing
protocols employ the split horizon mechanism to reduce the possibility of routing loops. Split horizon
blocks information about routes from being advertised by a router out of any interface from which that
information originated. This behavior usually optimizes communications among multiple routers,
particularly when links are broken. However, with nonbroadcast networks (such as Frame Relay and
Switched Multimegabit Data Service [SMDS]), situations can arise for which this behavior is less than
ideal. For these situations, you might want to disable split horizon.
If an interface is configured with secondary IP addresses and split horizon is enabled, updates might not
be sourced by every secondary address. One routing update is sourced per network number unless split
horizon is disabled.
To enable or disable split horizon, use the following commands in interface configuration mode as
needed:

Command Purpose
Router(config-if)# ip split-horizon Enables split horizon.
Router(config-if)# no ip split-horizon Disables split horizon.

Split horizon for Frame Relay and SMDS encapsulation is disabled by default. Split horizon is not
disabled by default for interfaces using any of the X.25 encapsulations. For all other encapsulations, split
horizon is enabled by default.
See the “Split Horizon Examples” section at the end of this chapter for examples of using split horizon.

Note In general, changing the state of the default is not recommended unless you are certain that your
application requires making a change in order to advertise routes properly. Remember that if split
horizon is disabled on a serial interface (and that interface is attached to a packet-switched network),
you must disable split horizon for all routers in any relevant multicast groups on that network.

IGRP Configuration Examples

This section contains the following IGRP configuration examples:
• IGRP Feasible Successor Relationship Example
• Split Horizon Examples

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IGRP Feasible Successor Relationship Example

In Figure 37, the assigned metrics meet the conditions required for a feasible successor relationship, so
the paths in this example can be included in routing tables and be used for load balancing.

Figure 37 Assigning Metrics for IGRP Path Feasibility

Route to Network A Route to Network A

Metric = m = 10876 Metric = p = 10776

56620
Route to Network A
Router C1 Metric = n = 12776 Router C2

The feasibility test would work as follows:

• Assume that Router C1 already has a route to Network A with metric m and has just received an
update about Network A from Router C2. The best metric at Router C2 is p. The metric that Router
C1 would use through Router C2 is n.
• If both of the following two conditions are met, the route to Network A through Router C2 will be
included in the routing table of Router C1:
– If m is greater than p.
– If the multiplier (value specified by the variance router configuration command) times m is
greater than or equal to n.
• The configuration for Router C1 would be as follows:
router igrp 109
variance 10

A maximum of four paths can be in the routing table for a single destination. If there are more than four
feasible paths, the four best feasible paths are used.

Split Horizon Examples

The following configuration shows a simple example of disabling split horizon on a serial link. In this
example, the serial link is connected to an X.25 network.
interface serial 0
encapsulation x25
no ip split-horizon

In the next example, Figure 38 illustrates a typical situation in which the no ip split-horizon interface
configuration command would be useful. This figure depicts two IP subnets that are both accessible via
a serial interface on Router C (connected to Frame Relay network). In this example, the serial interface
on Router C accommodates one of the subnets via the assignment of a secondary IP address.
The Ethernet interfaces for Router A, Router B, and Router C (connected to IP networks 10.13.50.0,
10.155.120.0, and 10.20.40.0, respectively) all have split horizon enabled by default, while the serial
interfaces connected to networks 172.16.1.0 and 192.168.1.0 all have split horizon disabled by default.
The partial interface configuration specifications for each router that follow Figure 38 illustrate that the
ip split-horizon interface configuration command is not explicitly configured under normal conditions
for any of the interfaces.

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Figure 38 Disabled Split Horizon Example

Network address: Network address:

10.20.40.0 10.155.120.0
Interface address: Interface address:
10.20.40.1 10.155.120.1
E0 E2

S0
Router C Router B S2
Network address:
10.13.50.0
Interface address: Secondary
Interface address: interface address: Interface address:
10.13.50.1 192.168.1.2
172.16.1.1 192.168.1.1
E1
Network
address:
S1 Network 192.168.1.0
Router A address:
Interface address: 172.16.1.0
172.16.2.2

Frame Relay
network

S1069a
In this example, split horizon must be disabled in order for network 172.16.1.0 to be advertised into
network 192.168.1.0, and vice versa. These subnets overlap at Router C, serial interface 0. If split
horizon were enabled on serial interface 0, it would not advertise a route back into the Frame Relay
network for either of these networks.
The configurations for routers A, B, and C follow.

Router Configuration A
interface ethernet 1
ip address 10.13.50.1
!
interface serial 1
ip address 172.16.2.2
encapsulation frame-relay

Router Configuration B
interface ethernet 2
ip address 10.155.120.1
!
interface serial 2
ip address 192.168.1.2
encapsulation frame-relay

Router Configuration C
interface ethernet 0
ip address 10.20.40.1
!
interface serial 0
ip address 172.61.1.1
ip address 192.168.1.1 secondary
encapsulation frame-relay

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