Section Overview
This section consists of six lessons, structured to build your foundational knowledge of gateway redundancy and guide you through practical applications:
- Lesson 1: HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) - Learn about Cisco's proprietary HSRP, which provides high network availability by enabling routers to operate as a group, ensuring redundancy.
- Lesson 2: VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) - Dive into the open standard VRRP, which offers similar functionality to HSRP, allowing for vendor interoperability and fault tolerance.
- Lesson 3: GLBP (Gateway Load Balancing Protocol)—Explore GLBP, Cisco's advanced protocol that provides redundancy and incorporates load balancing for optimal network performance.
Hands-On Labs
The theoretical lessons are complemented by three practical labs designed to enhance your skills and understanding of these protocols:
- LAB 1: Gateway Redundancy using HSRP - Configure and test an HSRP setup to observe how primary and standby routers interact during failover scenarios.
- LAB 2: Gateway Redundancy using VRRP - Implement VRRP configurations in a multi-vendor network environment and verify its seamless failover behavior.
- LAB 3: Gateway Redundancy using GLBP - Set up and test GLBP to see how it distributes traffic across multiple routers while maintaining redundancy.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this section, you will:
- Understand the key concepts, benefits, and operational principles of HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP.
- Gain hands-on experience configuring and troubleshooting gateway redundancy protocols.
- Be prepared to implement robust network designs that ensure continuous availability in real-world scenarios.