Hello all, I am new to the forum and to the microTik routers and let me start by saying that I am really loving this little box (RouterBoard 450). Guys/Girls, I’m in need of some clarification on VRRP. I have a customer that has two (2) ISP connections and requires redunduncy. I have read the following and I must say there are a lot of holes in the examples.
Here is where my confusion lies, the master/owner needs to be the same IP as the LAN IP of the master router, yet the examples have different IPs and if you try to add the same IP as the LAN IP, the router advises that the IP is already in use. I assumed that the default gateway of the hosts/PCs would have to be the virtual router IP address, am I correct? otherwise how will the hosts know where to look for a backup router if the master fails and the backup LAN IP address is different from the master?
Ideally, I would really appreciate it if someone would provide a WORKING CONFIGURATION, so I can wrap my brain around this setup. I am familiar with and have been using Cisco’s HSRP, but if I can get this to work for significantly less equipment cost, then this becomes a win-win situation for both the customer and myself.
VRRP is Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol - so, you are using it to make your 1 link more stable, VRRP will migrate your 1 IP address to other router while previous Master router is out. For redundancy of 2 or more ISPs please refer to articles about Load balancing, OSPF, BGP as you are choosing wrong protocol for the task.
The answer to the question: do I have two (2) routers? Yes I do, one (1) for each ISP.
I am using VRRP to make one (1) link the preferred/default route to the internet and the other/seperate ISP connection the backup route if/when the preferred route fails. I am NOT attempting to load balance between the two ISP connections.
One circuit is a ten (10) MB connection and the other is a six (6) MB connection, the preferred/default connection is the former.
How do I achieve my objective without doing load balancing? If this can be done with just one router, even better, less cost. Remember, NO LOAD BALANCING, I want the master to route ALL TRAFFIC and in the event it fails, the backup begin to route ALL TRAFFIC until the master recovers.
VRRP is there for configuration when you have two (2) routers on one (1) link, so no matter what happens with one router, the other one will take over that link.
Thank you Janisk, this is what I am trying to accomplish. For some reason though, I keep getting generalized replies, instead of solid (no holes) examples of how to actually get VRRP up and working. I appreciate the replies, but how about someone just give me the skinny on VRRP.
My bad Chupaka, I do have two (2) internet connections, I didn’t mean to confuse anyone. I misread/misinterpreted Janisk’s reply.
I am confused why everyone seems to believe that VRRP is only for one ISP connection/link and not for two (2). I have even been advised that only one router is required with two (2) ISP connections/links. My question on that is how can you accomplish this with one ISP connection/link, when the IP address (public) will be the same on two separate interfaces on the same device, I don’t believe the device would even allow you to assign the same IP on multiple interfaces.
So, we’re back to square one, two (2) ISP connections. How do I get VRRP to work? That’s VRRP, NOT load balancing.
Please take a look at the examples on the links I provided below and tell me again, that VRRP is for only one (1) ISP connection/Link, specifically the part that says:
“We have connections to two different Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and one of them is preferred (for example, it is cheaper or faster).”
but in case of vrrp, you will switch to another internet channel only if the first router will fail. if first internet channel will fail, but first router will still work - second channel will not bring up
At last, we are on the same page. Now, you have a valid point concerning the ISP link failure issue, as apposed to hardware/router failure. This is the exactly the same as Cisco’s HSRP. However, for now, I’d just like to get VRRP working and then maybe, I could start a new topic on how to obtain a script to possibly disable the VRRP interface on the master router if it’s gateway cannot be reached, so the backup router will assume the master role. I believe the script will address the link failure issue you mentioned.
if I understand your first question in right way, then you should add persistent IPs for each router and then add third IP to VRRP interface, which will be default gateway for your customer. so you have access to main IPs for configuration and as gateway for link failover scenario, and virtual IP is default gateway for a customer for hardware failover scenario
I know the thread is a bit old, but I’m a bit confused:
I usually use VRRP when I have to switch among one or more routers (every router has got it own internet connection) in case of a router failure (let’s suppose hardware failure), so the system automatically switches to another router.
Like in this example:
But the focus is create through VRRP a router switchover among routers checking SEVERAL internet connections, so I can:
switch from master ISP to slave ISP when master ISP fails
switch form master router to slave router in case of master router hardware failure
Like this:
Right?
So I can solve the second case in this way (on every VRRP router):
