Cisco Systems 78-11741-02 manual IPC-19, Destination host

Configuring IP Addressing

Configuring Address Resolution Methods

Figure 3 illustrates four routers connected to an NBMA network. Within the network are ATM or SMDS switches necessary for the routers to communicate with each other. Assume that the switches have virtual circuit (VC) connections represented by hops 1, 2, and 3 of the figure. When Router A attempts to forward an IP packet from the source host to the destination host, NHRP is triggered. On behalf of the source host, Router A sends an NHRP request packet encapsulated in an IP packet, which takes three hops across the network to reach Router D, connected to the destination host. After receiving a positive NHRP reply, Router D is determined to be the “NBMA next hop,” and Router A sends subsequent IP packets for the destination to Router D in one hop.

Figure 3 Next Hop Resolution Protocol

Router D

Destination host

NBMA next hop

Router C

Hop 3

NBMA network
Subsequent	Hop 2
IP packets

IP	NHRP
Router A	Hop 1

Router B

S3229

Source host

With NHRP, once the NBMA next hop is determined, the source either starts sending data packets to the destination (in a connectionless NBMA network such as SMDS) or establishes a virtual circuit VC connection to the destination with the desired bandwidth and quality of service (QoS) characteristics (in a connection-oriented NBMA network such as ATM).

Other address resolution methods can be used while NHRP is deployed. IP hosts that rely upon the Logical IP Subnet (LIS) model might require ARP servers and services over NBMA networks, and deployed hosts might not implement NHRP, but might continue to support ARP variations. NHRP is designed to eliminate the suboptimal routing that results from the LIS model, and can be deployed with existing ARP services without interfering with them.

NHRP is used to facilitate building a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In this context, a VPN consists of a virtual Layer 3 network that is built on top of an actual Layer 3 network. The topology you use over the VPN is largely independent of the underlying network, and the protocols you run over it are completely independent of it.

Connected to the NBMA network are one or more stations that implement NHRP, and are known as Next Hop Servers. All routers running Cisco IOS Release 10.3 or later releases can implement NHRP and, thus, can act as Next Hop Servers.

Cisco IOS IP Configuration Guide

IPC-19