Configuring unicast reverse path forwarding on a port

About this task

You can use the Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) feature to reduce the problems that are caused by the introduction of malformed or forged (spoofed) IP source addresses into a network. When you enable uRPF, the switch performs a check to determine if the source IP address of the packet is verifiable. If the address is not verifiable, the system drops the packet.

uRPF runs in two modes:

  • strict mode

  • loose mode (exist-only mode)

Before you begin

  • You must enable the urpf-mode boot flag. See Enable urpf-mode Boot Flag.
    Note

    Note

    When you try to configure uRPF on an interface, that is, enable or change the urpf operating mode with the urpf-mode boot flag disabled, a consistency check error message is displayed: Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding configuration is not supported when urpf-mode boot flag is disabled.

  • You must log on to the GigabitEthernet Interface Configuration mode in CLI.

Procedure

  1. Enter GigabitEthernet Interface Configuration mode:

    enable

    configure terminal

    interface GigabitEthernet {slot/port[/sub-port][-slot/port[/sub-port]][,...]}

    Note

    Note

    If the platform supports channelization and the port is channelized, you must also specify the sub-port in the format slot/port/sub-port.

  2. Set or change the urpf operating mode on a port:

    For IPv4, enter: ip rvs-path-chk mode {strict|exist-only}

    For IPv6, enter: ipv6 rvs-path-chk mode {strict|exist-only}

  3. Verify the configuration on the port:

    For IPv4, enter: show ip interface gigabitethernet

    For IPv6, enter: show ipv6 interface gigabitethernet

Example

Example for IPv4:
Switch:1> enable
Switch:1# configure terminal
Switch:1(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/10
Check whether the source IP address of the incoming packet exists in the FIB table:
Switch:1(config-if)# ip rvs-path-chk mode strict
Verify the configuration on the port:
Switch:1(config-if)# show ip interface gigabitethernet

=============================================================================================
                                         Brouter Port Ip
=============================================================================================
PORT VRF   IP_ADDRESS    NET_MASK      BROADCAST REASM   ADVERTISE DIRECT  RPC     RPCMODE
NUM  NAME                                        MAXSIZE WHEN_DOWN BCAST
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1  Glob~ 192.0.2.1     255.255.255.0 ones      1500    disable   disable disable exist-only
1/10 spbo~ 198.51.100.1  255.255.255.0 ones      1500    disable   disable disable exist-only


PORT  VRF
NUM   NAME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1   GlobalRouter
1/10  spboip
Example for IPv6:
Switch:1> enable
Switch:1# configure terminal
Switch:1(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 4/16
Check whether the source IP address of the incoming packet exists in the FIB table:
Switch:1(config-if)# ipv6 rvs-path-chk mode strict
Verify the configuration on the port:
Switch:1(config-if)#show ipv6 interface gigabitethernet

==========================================================================================================================
                                             Port Ipv6 Interface
==========================================================================================================================
IFINDX BROUTER PHYSICAL          ADMIN   OPER  TYPE  MTU  HOP REACHABLE   RETRANSMIT  MCAST    IPSEC    RPC      RPCMODE
INDX           ADDRESS           STATE   STATE            LMT TIME        TIME        STATUS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
192    4/16    e4:5d:52:3c:65:02 enable  down  ETHER 1500 2   30000       1000        disable  disable  disable  existonly

====================================================================================================
                               Port Ipv6 Address
====================================================================================================
IPV6 ADDRESS                            BROUTER      TYPE    ORIGIN    STATUS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2001:DB8:0:0:0:0:0:ffff/64                   4/16          UNICAST MANUAL    INACCESSIBLE INF      INF
2001:DB8:0:0:e65d:52ff:fe3c:6502/64          4/16          UNICAST LINKLAYER INACCESSIBLE INF      INF

1 out of 5 Total Num of Interface Entries displayed.
2 out of 10 Total Num of Address Entries displayed.

Variable Definitions

The following table defines parameters for the ip rvs-path-chk mode and ipv6 rvs-path-chk mode commands.

Variable

Value

mode{strict|exist-only}

Specifies the mode for Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF). In strict mode, uRPF checks whether the source IP address of the incoming packet exists in the FIB. If the incoming interface is not the best reverse path, the packet check fails and uRPF drops the packet. In exist-only mode, uRPF checks whether the source IP address of the incoming packet exists in the FIB. The packet is dropped only if the source address is not reachable via any interface on that router.
9037147-00 Rev AB