IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

Open Shortest Path First version 3 (OSPFv3) is an IPv4 and IPv6 link-state routing protocol that supports IPv6 and IPv4 unicast address families (AFs).

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Prerequisites for IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

  • Complete the OSPFv3 network strategy and planning for your IPv6 network. For example, you must decide whether multiple areas are required.

  • Enable IPv6 unicast routing.

  • Enable IPv6 on the interface.

Restrictions for IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

When running a dual-stack IP network with OSPF version 2 for IPv4 and OSPFv3, be careful when changing the defaults for commands used to enable OSPFv3. Changing these defaults may affect your OSPFv3 network, possibly adversely.

Information About IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

How OSPFv3 Works

OSPFv3 is a routing protocol for IPv4 and IPv6. It is a link-state protocol, as opposed to a distance-vector protocol. Think of a link as being an interface on a networking device. A link-state protocol makes its routing decisions based on the states of the links that connect source and destination machines. The state of a link is a description of that interface and its relationship to its neighboring networking devices. The interface information includes the IPv6 prefix of the interface, the network mask, the type of network it is connected to, the devices connected to that network, and so on. This information is propagated in various type of link-state advertisements (LSAs).

A device’s collection of LSA data is stored in a link-state database. The contents of the database, when subjected to the Dijkstra algorithm, result in the creation of the OSPF routing table. The difference between the database and the routing table is that the database contains a complete collection of raw data; the routing table contains a list of shortest paths to known destinations via specific device interface ports.

OSPFv3, which is described in RFC 5340, supports IPv6 and IPv4 unicast AFs.

Comparison of OSPFv3 and OSPF Version 2

Much of OSPF version 3 is the same as in OSPF version 2. OSPFv3, which is described in RFC 5340, expands on OSPF version 2 to provide support for IPv6 routing prefixes and the larger size of IPv6 addresses.

In OSPFv3, a routing process does not need to be explicitly created. Enabling OSPFv3 on an interface will cause a routing process, and its associated configuration, to be created.

In OSPFv3, each interface must be enabled using commands in interface configuration mode. This feature is different from OSPF version 2, in which interfaces are indirectly enabled using the device configuration mode.

When using a nonbroadcast multiaccess (NBMA) interface in OSPFv3, you must manually configure the device with the list of neighbors. Neighboring devices are identified by their device ID.

In IPv6, you can configure many address prefixes on an interface. In OSPFv3, all address prefixes on an interface are included by default. You cannot select some address prefixes to be imported into OSPFv3; either all address prefixes on an interface are imported, or no address prefixes on an interface are imported.

Unlike OSPF version 2, multiple instances of OSPFv3 can be run on a link.

OSPF automatically prefers a loopback interface over any other kind, and it chooses the highest IP address among all loopback interfaces. If no loopback interfaces are present, the highest IP address in the device is chosen. You cannot tell OSPF to use any particular interface.

LSA Types for OSPFv3

The following list describes LSA types, each of which has a different purpose:

  • Device LSAs (Type 1)—Describes the link state and costs of a device’s links to the area. These LSAs are flooded within an area only. The LSA indicates if the device is an Area Border Router (ABR) or Autonomous System Boundary Router (ASBR), and if it is one end of a virtual link. Type 1 LSAs are also used to advertise stub networks. In OSPFv3, these LSAs have no address information and are network-protocol-independent. In OSPFv3, device interface information may be spread across multiple device LSAs. Receivers must concatenate all device LSAs originated by a given device when running the SPF calculation.

  • Network LSAs (Type 2)—Describes the link-state and cost information for all devices attached to the network. This LSA is an aggregation of all the link-state and cost information in the network. Only a designated device tracks this information and can generate a network LSA. In OSPFv3, network LSAs have no address information and are network-protocol-independent.

  • Interarea-prefix LSAs for ABRs (Type 3)—Advertises internal networks to devices in other areas (interarea routes). Type 3 LSAs may represent a single network or a set of networks summarized into one advertisement. Only ABRs generate summary LSAs. In OSPFv3, addresses for these LSAs are expressed as prefix, prefix length instead of address, mask. The default route is expressed as a prefix with length 0.

  • Interarea-device LSAs for ASBRs (Type 4)—Advertises the location of an ASBR. Devices that are trying to reach an external network use these advertisements to determine the best path to the next hop. Type 4 LSAs are generated by ABRs on behalf of ASBRs.

  • Autonomous system external LSAs (Type 5)—Redistributes routes from another autonomous system, usually from a different routing protocol into OSPFv3. In OSPFv3, addresses for these LSAs are expressed as prefix , prefix length instead of address , mask . The default route is expressed as a prefix with length 0.

  • Link LSAs (Type 8)—Have local-link flooding scope and are never flooded beyond the link with which they are associated. Link LSAs provide the link-local address of the device to all other devices attached to the link, inform other devices attached to the link of a list of prefixes to associate with the link, and allow the device to assert a collection of Options bits to associate with the network LSA that will be originated for the link.

  • Intra-Area-Prefix LSAs (Type 9)—A device can originate multiple intra-area-prefix LSAs for each device or transit network, each with a unique link-state ID. The link-state ID for each intra-area-prefix LSA describes its association to either the device LSA or the network LSA and contains prefixes for stub and transit networks.

An address prefix occurs in almost all newly defined LSAs. The prefix is represented by three fields: PrefixLength, PrefixOptions, and Address Prefix. In OSPFv3, addresses for these LSAs are expressed as prefix , prefix length instead of address , mask . The default route is expressed as a prefix with length 0. Type 3 and Type 9 LSAs carry all prefix (subnet) information that, in OSPFv2, is included in device LSAs and network LSAs. The Options field in certain LSAs (device LSAs, network LSAs, interarea-device LSAs, and link LSAs) has been expanded to 24 bits to provide support for OSPFv3.

In OSPFv3, the sole function of the link-state ID in interarea-prefix LSAs, interarea-device LSAs, and autonomous-system external LSAs is to identify individual pieces of the link-state database. All addresses or device IDs that are expressed by the link-state ID in OSPF version 2 are carried in the body of the LSA in OSPFv3.

The link-state ID in network LSAs and link LSAs is always the interface ID of the originating device on the link being described. For this reason, network LSAs and link LSAs are now the only LSAs whose size cannot be limited. A network LSA must list all devices connected to the link, and a link LSA must list all of the address prefixes of a device on the link.

Load Balancing in OSPFv3

When a device learns multiple routes to a specific network via multiple routing processes (or routing protocols), it installs the route with the lowest administrative distance in the routing table. Sometimes the device must select a route from among many learned via the same routing process with the same administrative distance. In this case, the device chooses the path with the lowest cost (or metric) to the destination. Each routing process calculates its cost differently and the costs may need to be manipulated in order to achieve load balancing.

OSPFv3 performs load balancing automatically in the following way. If OSPFv3 finds that it can reach a destination through more than one interface and each path has the same cost, it installs each path in the routing table. The only restriction on the number of paths to the same destination is controlled by the maximum-paths command. The default maximum paths is 16, and the range is from 1 to 64.

Addresses Imported into OSPFv3

When importing the set of addresses specified on an interface on which OSPFv3 is running into OSPFv3, you cannot select specific addresses to be imported. Either all addresses are imported, or no addresses are imported.

OSPFv3 Customization

You can customize OSPFv3 for your network, but you likely will not need to do so. The defaults for OSPFv3 are set to meet the requirements of most customers and features. If you must change the defaults, refer to the IPv6 command reference to find the appropriate syntax.


Caution

Be careful when changing the defaults. Changing defaults will affect your OSPFv3 network, possibly adversely.

Force SPF in OSPFv3

When the process keyword is used with the clear ipv6 ospf command, the OSPFv3 database is cleared and repopulated, and then the SPF algorithm is performed. When the force-spf keyword is used with the clear ipv6 ospf command, the OSPFv3 database is not cleared before the SPF algorithm is performed.

How to Configure Load Balancing in OSPFv3

Configuring the OSPFv3 Device Process

Once you have completed step 3 and entered OSPFv3 router configuration mode, you can perform any of the subsequent steps in this task as needed to configure OSPFv3 Device configuration.

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. enable
  2. configure terminal
  3. router ospfv3 [process-id ]
  4. area area-ID [default-cost | nssa | stub ]
  5. auto-cost reference-bandwidth Mbps
  6. default {area area-ID [range ipv6-prefix | virtual-link router-id ]} [default-information originate [always | metric | metric-type | route-map ] | distance | distribute-list prefix-list prefix-list-name {in | out } [interface ] | maximum-paths paths | redistribute protocol | summary-prefix ipv6-prefix ]
  7. ignore lsa mospf
  8. interface-id snmp-if-index
  9. log-adjacency-changes [detail ]
  10. passive-interface [default | interface-type interface-number ]
  11. queue-depth {hello | update } {queue-size | unlimited }
  12. router-id router-id

DETAILED STEPS

  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1

enable

Example:


Device> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Example:


Device# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

router ospfv3 [process-id ]

Example:


Device(config)# router ospfv3 1

Enters router configuration mode for the IPv4 or IPv6 address family.

Step 4

area area-ID [default-cost | nssa | stub ]

Example:


Device(config-router)# area 1

Configures the OSPFv3 area.

Step 5

auto-cost reference-bandwidth Mbps

Example:


Device(config-router)# auto-cost reference-bandwidth 1000

Controls the reference value OSPFv3 uses when calculating metrics for interfaces in an IPv4 OSPFv3 process.

Step 6

default {area area-ID [range ipv6-prefix | virtual-link router-id ]} [default-information originate [always | metric | metric-type | route-map ] | distance | distribute-list prefix-list prefix-list-name {in | out } [interface ] | maximum-paths paths | redistribute protocol | summary-prefix ipv6-prefix ]

Example:


Device(config-router)# default area 1

Returns an OSPFv3 parameter to its default value.

Step 7

ignore lsa mospf

Example:


Device(config-router)# ignore lsa mospf

Suppresses the sending of syslog messages when the device receives LSA Type 6 multicast OSPFv3 packets, which are unsupported.

Step 8

interface-id snmp-if-index

Example:


Device(config-router)# interface-id snmp-if-index

Configures OSPFv3 interfaces with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) MIB-II interface Index (ifIndex) identification numbers in IPv4 and IPv6.

Step 9

log-adjacency-changes [detail ]

Example:


Device(config-router)# log-adjacency-changes

Configures the device to send a syslog message when an OSPFv3 neighbor goes up or down.

Step 10

passive-interface [default | interface-type interface-number ]

Example:


Device(config-router)# passive-interface default

Suppresses sending routing updates on an interface when an IPv4 OSPFv3 process is used.

Step 11

queue-depth {hello | update } {queue-size | unlimited }

Example:


Device(config-router)# queue-depth update 1500

Configures the number of incoming packets that the IPv4 OSPFv3 process can keep in its queue.

Step 12

router-id router-id

Example:


Device(config-router)# router-id 10.1.1.1

Enter this command to use a fixed router ID.

Forcing an SPF Calculation

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. enable
  2. clear ospfv3 [process-id ] force-spf
  3. clear ospfv3 [process-id ] process
  4. clear ospfv3 [process-id ] redistribution
  5. clear ipv6 ospf [process-id ] {process | force-spf | redistribution }

DETAILED STEPS

  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1

enable

Example:


Device> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

clear ospfv3 [process-id ] force-spf

Example:


Device# clear ospfv3 1 force-spf

Runs SPF calculations for an OSPFv3 process.

  • If the clear ospfv3 force-spf command is configured, it overwrites the clear ipv6 ospf configuration.

  • Once the clear ospfv3 force-spf command has been used, the clear ipv6 ospf command cannot be used.

Step 3

clear ospfv3 [process-id ] process

Example:


Device# clear ospfv3 2 process

Resets an OSPFv3 process.

  • If the clear ospfv3 force-spf command is configured, it overwrites the clear ipv6 ospf configuration.

  • Once the clear ospfv3 force-spf command has been used, the clear ipv6 ospf command cannot be used.

Step 4

clear ospfv3 [process-id ] redistribution

Example:


Device# clear ospfv3 redistribution

Clears OSPFv3 route redistribution.

  • If the clear ospfv3 force-spf command is configured, it overwrites the clear ipv6 ospf configuration.

  • Once the clear ospfv3 force-spf command has been used, the clear ipv6 ospf command cannot be used.

Step 5

clear ipv6 ospf [process-id ] {process | force-spf | redistribution }

Example:


Device# clear ipv6 ospf force-spf

Clears the OSPFv3 state based on the OSPFv3 routing process ID, and forces the start of the SPF algorithm.

  • If the clear ospfv3 force-spf command is configured, it overwrites the clear ipv6 ospf configuration.

  • Once the clear ospfv3 force-spf command has been used, the clear ipv6 ospf command cannot be used.

Verifying OSPFv3 Configuration and Operation

This task is optional, and the commands can be entered in any order, as needed.

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. enable
  2. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] border-routers
  3. show ospfv3 [process-id [area-id ]] [address-family ] database [database-summary | internal | external [ipv6-prefix ] [link-state-id ] | grace | inter-area prefix [ipv6-prefix | link-state-id ] | inter-area router [destination-router-id | link-state-id ] | link [interface interface-name | link-state-id ] | network [link-state-id ] | nssa-external [ipv6-prefix ] [link-state-id ] | prefix [ref-lsa {router | network } | link-state-id ] | promiscuous | router [link-state-id ] | unknown [{area | as | link } [link-state-id ]] [adv-router router-id ] [self-originate ]
  4. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] events [generic | interface | lsa | neighbor | reverse | rib | spf ]
  5. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] flood-list interface-type interface-number
  6. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] graceful-restart
  7. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] interface [type number ] [brief ]
  8. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] neighbor [interface-type interface-number ] [neighbor-id ] [detail ]
  9. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] request-list [neighbor ] [interface ] [interface-neighbor ]
  10. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] retransmission-list [neighbor ] [interface ] [interface-neighbor ]
  11. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] statistic [detail ]
  12. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] summary-prefix
  13. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] timers rate-limit
  14. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] traffic [interface-type interface-number ]
  15. show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] virtual-links

DETAILED STEPS

  Command or Action Purpose
Step 1

enable

Example:


Device> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] border-routers

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 border-routers

Displays the internal OSPFv3 routing table entries to an ABR and ASBR.

Step 3

show ospfv3 [process-id [area-id ]] [address-family ] database [database-summary | internal | external [ipv6-prefix ] [link-state-id ] | grace | inter-area prefix [ipv6-prefix | link-state-id ] | inter-area router [destination-router-id | link-state-id ] | link [interface interface-name | link-state-id ] | network [link-state-id ] | nssa-external [ipv6-prefix ] [link-state-id ] | prefix [ref-lsa {router | network } | link-state-id ] | promiscuous | router [link-state-id ] | unknown [{area | as | link } [link-state-id ]] [adv-router router-id ] [self-originate ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 database

Displays lists of information related to the OSPFv3 database for a specific device.

Step 4

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] events [generic | interface | lsa | neighbor | reverse | rib | spf ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 events

Displays detailed information about OSPFv3 events.

Step 5

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] flood-list interface-type interface-number

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 flood-list

Displays a list of OSPFv3 LSAs waiting to be flooded over an interface.

Step 6

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] graceful-restart

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 graceful-restart

Displays OSPFv3 graceful restart information.

Step 7

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] interface [type number ] [brief ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 interface

Displays OSPFv3-related interface information.

Step 8

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] neighbor [interface-type interface-number ] [neighbor-id ] [detail ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 neighbor

Displays OSPFv3 neighbor information on a per-interface basis.

Step 9

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] request-list [neighbor ] [interface ] [interface-neighbor ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 request-list

Displays a list of all LSAs requested by a device.

Step 10

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [area-id ] [address-family ] retransmission-list [neighbor ] [interface ] [interface-neighbor ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 retransmission-list

Displays a list of all LSAs waiting to be re-sent.

Step 11

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] statistic [detail ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 statistic

Displays OSPFv3 SPF calculation statistics.

Step 12

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] summary-prefix

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 summary-prefix

Displays a list of all summary address redistribution information configured under an OSPFv3 process.

Step 13

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] timers rate-limit

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 timers rate-limit

Displays all of the LSAs in the rate limit queue.

Step 14

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] traffic [interface-type interface-number ]

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 traffic

Displays OSPFv3 traffic statistics.

Step 15

show ospfv3 [process-id ] [address-family ] virtual-links

Example:


Device# show ospfv3 virtual-links

Displays parameters and the current state of OSPFv3 virtual links.

Configuration Examples for Load Balancing in OSPFv3

Example: Configuring the OSPFv3 Device Process

Device# show ospfv3 database 
            OSPFv3 Device with ID (172.16.4.4) (Process ID 1)
                Device Link States (Area 0)
ADV Device         Age         Seq#        Fragment ID   Link count  Bits
172.16.4.4         239         0x80000003  0             1           B
172.16.6.6         239         0x80000003  0             1           B
            Inter Area Prefix Link States (Area 0)
ADV Device         Age         Seq#        Prefix
172.16.4.4         249         0x80000001  FEC0:3344::/32
172.16.4.4         219         0x80000001  FEC0:3366::/32
172.16.6.6         247         0x80000001  FEC0:3366::/32
172.16.6.6         193         0x80000001  FEC0:3344::/32
172.16.6.6         82          0x80000001  FEC0::/32
            Inter Area Device Link States (Area 0)
ADV Device         Age         Seq#        Link ID    Dest DevID
172.16.4.4         219         0x80000001  50529027   172.16.3.3
172.16.6.6         193         0x80000001  50529027   172.16.3.3
          
            Link (Type-8) Link States (Area 0)
ADV Device         Age         Seq#        Link ID    Interface
172.16.4.4         242         0x80000002  14         PO4/0
172.16.6.6         252         0x80000002  14         PO4/0
            Intra Area Prefix Link States (Area 0)
ADV Device         Age         Seq#        Link ID    Ref-lstype  Ref-LSID
172.16.4.4         242         0x80000002  0          0x2001      0
172.16.6.6         252         0x80000002  0          0x2001      0

        
      
Device# show ospfv3 neighbor
 
OSPFv3 Device with ID (10.1.1.1) (Process ID 42)
Neighbor ID     Pri   State           Dead Time   Interface ID    Interface
10.4.4.4        1    FULL/  -        00:00:39    12              vm1
OSPFv3 Device with ID (10.2.1.1) (Process ID 100)
Neighbor ID     Pri   State           Dead Time   Interface ID    Interface
10.5.4.4          1    FULL/  -        00:00:35    12              vm1

Example: Forcing SPF Configuration

The following example shows how to trigger SPF to redo the SPF and repopulate the routing tables: 


clear ipv6 ospf force-spf

Additional References

Related Documents

Related Topic

Document Title

IPv6 addressing and connectivity

IPv6 Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS commands

Cisco IOS Master Commands List, All Releases

IPv6 commands

Cisco IOS IPv6 Command Reference

Cisco IOS IPv6 features

Cisco IOS IPv6 Feature Mapping

IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

“Configuring OSPF” module

Standards and RFCs

Standard/RFC

Title

RFCs for IPv6

IPv6 RFCs

MIBs

MIB

MIBs Link

To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

Technical Assistance

Description

Link

The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html

Feature Information for IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Table 1. Feature Information for IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

IPv6 Routing: OSPFv3

Cisco IOS Release 15.2(6)E

OSPF version 3 for IPv6 expands on OSPF version 2 to provide support for IPv6 routing prefixes and the larger size of IPv6 addresses.