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Cisco 8500L and GLBP support

zumbi
Level 1
Level 1

Hello Colleagues,

I would like to check one small thing about new Cisco router C8500L-8S4X. I have checked all possible tools and available documents but there is no clear answers anywhere. Does it support GLBP - Gateway Load Balancing Protocol? From one hand there is no such feature available inside  feature navigator for this type of devices from other it is running on standard IOS XE 17.x where support for this protocol is available without any hardware limitation. Can you please help me to clarify this question? Maybe someone already have such device onsite and may check it directly?

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Hi @zumbi ,

Happy to share some good news:

Router# show version 
Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.09.03a
Cisco IOS Software [Cupertino], c8000aes Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-UNIVERSALK9-M), Version 17.9.3a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc2)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2023 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Wed 29-Mar-23 12:27 by mcpre

[ ... cut ... ]

cisco C8500L-8S4X (1RU) processor with 625551K/6147K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID ...
Router operating mode: Autonomous
8 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
4 Ten Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
32768K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
15728640K bytes of physical memory.
15151103K bytes of eUSB flash at bootflash:.
15269887K bytes of USB hard disk at harddisk:.

Configuration register is 0x2102

Router# show platform
Chassis type: C8500L-8S4X

Slot      Type                State                 Insert time (ago) 
--------- ------------------- --------------------- ----------------- 
0         C8500L-8S4X         ok                    00:12:15      
 0/0      8xSFP               ok                    00:11:12      
 0/1      4xSFP+              ok                    00:11:12      
R0        C8500L-8S4X         ok, active            00:12:15      
F0        C8500L-8S4X         ok, active            00:12:15      
P0        PWR-CH1-400WAC      fail, badinput        00:11:46      
P1        PWR-CH1-400WAC      ok                    00:11:46      
P2        C8500L-FAN-1R       f0, fail              00:11:46      

Slot      CPLD Version        Firmware Version                        
--------- ------------------- --------------------------------------- 
0         20090320            17.8(2r)                            
R0        20090320            17.8(2r)                            
F0        20090320            17.8(2r)                            

Router# show ip interface brief
Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
GigabitEthernet0/0/0   10.0.1.1        YES manual up                    up      
GigabitEthernet0/0/1   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/2   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/3   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/4   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/5   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/6   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/7   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/0                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/1                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/2                10.0.2.1        YES manual up                    up      
Te0/1/3                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0       unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Router# show glbp brief
Interface   Grp  Fwd Pri State    Address         Active router   Standby router
Gi0/0/0     1    -   100 Active   10.0.1.254      local           unknown
Gi0/0/0     1    1   -   Active   0007.b400.0101  local           -
Te0/1/2     2    -   100 Active   10.0.2.254      local           unknown
Te0/1/2     2    1   -   Active   0007.b400.0201  local           -

Router# show glbp capability
C8500L-8S4X                                 * means interface may support GLBP
                                            |
Interface          Type                     |  Potential Max Groups
Gi0/0/0            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/1            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/2            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/3            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/4            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/5            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/6            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/7            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/0            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/1            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/2            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/3            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
GigabitEthernet0   27  RP management port   *  ?    (0x5622A5E4E4C0, 0x5622AAF23BB0)
LIIN0              27  LIIN                    -   

So, working!

Best regards,
Peter

 

View solution in original post

12 Replies 12

Hi @zumbi  on the protocol documentation this device is not mentioned. 

Feature Specifications for the Gateway Load Balancing Protocol

 
Feature History
 
Release
Modification

12.2(14)S

This feature was introduced.

12.2(15)T

This feature was integrated into Cisco IOS Release 12.2(15)T

Supported Platforms

Cisco 1700 series, Cisco 2600 series, Cisco 3620, Cisco 3631, Cisco 3640, Cisco 3660, Cisco 3725, Cisco 3745, Cisco 7100 series, Cisco 7200 series, Cisco 7400 series, Cisco 7500 series

What excatly your router platform number 

zumbi
Level 1
Level 1

Hello colleagues,

@Flavio Miranda I think you took this info from the pretty old arctilce on cisco.com. Technically it is possible to use this protocol on Cisco ISR and ASR devices withtout any limitations. 

@MHM Cisco World I am looking for Cisco C8500L-8S4X and its ability to use this protocol.

Peter Paluch
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

Hello @zumbi ,

I don't have a C8500L accessible right now, but I've tested the

C8500-12X running IOS XE 17.9.3a

and there, GLBP for IPv4 was available as usual.

If you need a targeted verification on C8500L, I'll need some more time to get my hands on one.

@Flavio Miranda - You were right to refer to the documentation but unfortunately it's badly out of date, at least the document you shared. The platforms there are some 10-15 years old and all based on IOS, not on IOS XE.

Best regards,
Peter

 

 

Sorry I already check cisco feature in 8500l there is no

glbp

Thanks 

MHM

MHM,

Did you check a real box or just a feature navigator tool? Those tools are sadly not fully reliable. GLBP support is mostly in software and IOS XE supports it in general; what depends is whether the hardware of the router allows multiple MAC addresses for a NIC (which I assume C8500L does because it has nonetheless to support HSRP and VRRP, to say the least), and whether our BU decided to support that particular protocol on the platform even both software and hardware are capable of it; that's politics. But for now, I'm leaning toward C8500L supporting GLBP, and I'm trying to find a free one around in the lab to try it out. As sad as it is, documentation and Feature Navigator Tool are not the definitive resources.

Best regards,
Peter

 

Unfortunately I have only cisco navigator to check.

Thanks 

MHM

Hi @zumbi ,

Happy to share some good news:

Router# show version 
Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.09.03a
Cisco IOS Software [Cupertino], c8000aes Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-UNIVERSALK9-M), Version 17.9.3a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc2)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2023 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Wed 29-Mar-23 12:27 by mcpre

[ ... cut ... ]

cisco C8500L-8S4X (1RU) processor with 625551K/6147K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID ...
Router operating mode: Autonomous
8 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
4 Ten Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
32768K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
15728640K bytes of physical memory.
15151103K bytes of eUSB flash at bootflash:.
15269887K bytes of USB hard disk at harddisk:.

Configuration register is 0x2102

Router# show platform
Chassis type: C8500L-8S4X

Slot      Type                State                 Insert time (ago) 
--------- ------------------- --------------------- ----------------- 
0         C8500L-8S4X         ok                    00:12:15      
 0/0      8xSFP               ok                    00:11:12      
 0/1      4xSFP+              ok                    00:11:12      
R0        C8500L-8S4X         ok, active            00:12:15      
F0        C8500L-8S4X         ok, active            00:12:15      
P0        PWR-CH1-400WAC      fail, badinput        00:11:46      
P1        PWR-CH1-400WAC      ok                    00:11:46      
P2        C8500L-FAN-1R       f0, fail              00:11:46      

Slot      CPLD Version        Firmware Version                        
--------- ------------------- --------------------------------------- 
0         20090320            17.8(2r)                            
R0        20090320            17.8(2r)                            
F0        20090320            17.8(2r)                            

Router# show ip interface brief
Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
GigabitEthernet0/0/0   10.0.1.1        YES manual up                    up      
GigabitEthernet0/0/1   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/2   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/3   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/4   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/5   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/6   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0/0/7   unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/0                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/1                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
Te0/1/2                10.0.2.1        YES manual up                    up      
Te0/1/3                unassigned      YES NVRAM  down                  down    
GigabitEthernet0       unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Router# show glbp brief
Interface   Grp  Fwd Pri State    Address         Active router   Standby router
Gi0/0/0     1    -   100 Active   10.0.1.254      local           unknown
Gi0/0/0     1    1   -   Active   0007.b400.0101  local           -
Te0/1/2     2    -   100 Active   10.0.2.254      local           unknown
Te0/1/2     2    1   -   Active   0007.b400.0201  local           -

Router# show glbp capability
C8500L-8S4X                                 * means interface may support GLBP
                                            |
Interface          Type                     |  Potential Max Groups
Gi0/0/0            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/1            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/2            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/3            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/4            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/5            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/6            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Gi0/0/7            27  8xSFP                *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/0            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/1            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/2            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
Te0/1/3            89  4xSFP+               *  1024 (0x5622ABBE2F00, 0x5622ABBE2F00)
GigabitEthernet0   27  RP management port   *  ?    (0x5622A5E4E4C0, 0x5622AAF23BB0)
LIIN0              27  LIIN                    -   

So, working!

Best regards,
Peter

 

Happy  news indeed 

Have a nice summer 

MHM

"As sad as it is, documentation and Feature Navigator Tool are not the definitive resources."

Indeed, and for many years, I've only found the definitive answer being trying it on the actual platform with your desired IOS variant, and even that isn't 100% as sometimes features get into a release but this was unintended, and if the feature appears present, especially when not documented, if it doesn't work correctly, the "fix" might be pull it from the next release.  Unfortunately, even if documented, and found not present or not working, the "fix" might be to add a release note, this feature isn't supported.

BTW, I don't want to sound particularity "negative" about Cisco, if fact, my experience with Cisco, compared to many other network vendors, their (documented) features usually work as described, and if not, they usually fix them.

Also with Cisco, compared to many other network vendors, their equipment is "feature" rich, and even with common "features", they might be doing much more "under the covers", then other network vendors do.  (An example of the latter, Cisco's OSPFv2 implementation does things, not in the RFCs, and which don't the violated RFCs, but their OSPF works "better".  [BTW "better" isn't just sales "cow chips", you might look into Cisco's OSPF exponential stability timers, hourly LSA pacing, iSPF, etc.  Much, if you try to explain to management, boils down to, less likely to "crash" in operation.])

One of the "interesting" internal debates, was a large international enterprise I was working at, understood the above, and fought to only use Cisco network devices, but the question was, does this really matter for "vanilla" L2 switches, just doing "vanilla" L2 switching, when "vanilla" brand "X" switches cost so much less than Cisco switches?

zumbi
Level 1
Level 1

@Peter Paluch thank you very much!!!!

@zumbi ,

With pleasure < 3

Best regards,
Peter