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HSRP — pull the uplink, watch the standby take over
Enterprise Intermediate 5 devices 5 checked tasks 100 points Plan lab
Two routers share one gateway address. The one with the higher priority holds it — until its own uplink fails, at which point it should hand over rather than keep advertising a way out it no longer has. That hand-over is what tracking is for. You build it in a browser, type real commands at each device, and every task below is
checked against the running configuration — so you find out it is wrong before anybody else does.
Open this lab in the simulator
The simulator runs in your browser with nothing to install. This lab is part of the full simulator: open it free for 7 days with a new account, then with a plan. It needs an account, which keeps your progress.
The scenario
Two routers share one gateway address. The one with the higher priority holds it — until its own uplink fails, at which point it should hand over rather than keep advertising a way out it no longer has. That hand-over is what tracking is for.
Your role: a network engineer on the enterprise team. Level: Intermediate Done when: all 5 goals show as passed (100 points).
Network status
Devices: 3 routers, 1 switch, 1 PC, cabled as drawn. No Layer 1 or Layer 2 faults: every link is connected and up. R1 starts with addresses (G0/0 10.0.0.1/24, G0/1 198.51.100.2/30). R2 starts with addresses (G0/0 10.0.0.2/24, G0/1 198.51.100.6/30). Upstream starts with addresses (G0/0 198.51.100.1/30, G0/1 198.51.100.5/30). PC1 is a host with 10.0.0.10/24, gateway 10.0.0.254. SW1 starts with an empty configuration. Known problems
None: nothing is misconfigured. The network is simply not finished: what the goals list is what you have to build or secure. Goals
Both routers are in HSRP group 1 for 10.0.0.254 (20 pts) R1 is Active and R2 is Standby (20 pts) A tracked object follows R1’s uplink, and it is up (25 pts) R1’s effective priority is its configured 110 (20 pts) The PC reaches the virtual address (15 pts) The activity, in order
Both routers are in HSRP group 1 for 10.0.0.254 Why: Hosts point at the virtual IP, so when the active router dies the standby answers and nobody reconfigures anything. Verify with: show standby brief R1 is Active and R2 is Standby Why: Hosts point at the virtual IP, so when the active router dies the standby answers and nobody reconfigures anything. Verify with: show standby brief A tracked object follows R1’s uplink, and it is up Why: Each goal is a state the lab can check on the running device. Verify with: show running-config R1’s effective priority is its configured 110 Why: Each goal is a state the lab can check on the running device. Verify with: show running-config The PC reaches the virtual address Why: A ping needs a route in BOTH directions. This is the end-to-end proof that everything before it worked. Verify with: ping 10.0.0.254 Tips
Work in the order given: later goals depend on the earlier ones. After every change, run the verify command before moving on; do not guess. Stuck? Read the verify output first. It names the interface, neighbour or route that is wrong. Why this matters
Two routers share one gateway address. The one with the higher priority holds it — until its own uplink fails, at which point it should hand over rather than keep advertising a way out it no longer has. That hand-over is what tracking is for.
What you will be able to do
Both routers are in HSRP group 1 for 10.0.0.254
R1 is Active and R2 is Standby
A tracked object follows R1’s uplink, and it is up
R1’s effective priority is its configured 110
The network
ISR 2921, P Router, Catalyst 2960-24TT, PC — 5 devices in all, already cabled.
Gi0/0 10.0.0.1/24 Fa0/1 Gi0/0 10.0.0.2/24 Fa0/2 Gi0/1 198.51.100.2/30 Gi0/0 198.51.100.1/30 Gi0/1 198.51.100.6/30 Gi0/1 198.51.100.5/30 Fa0/10 Fa0 R1 R2 Upstream SW1 PC1 10.0.0.10/24 · gw 10.0.0.254 Drawn from this lab: devices, cables, ports and the addresses already set. Device Model Address already set
R1 ISR 2921 configure it R2 ISR 2921 configure it Upstream P Router configure it SW1 Catalyst 2960-24TT configure it PC1 PC 10.0.0.10 / 255.255.255.0 gw 10.0.0.254
Cabling
R1 Gi0/0 ↔ SW1 Fa0/1 R2 Gi0/0 ↔ SW1 Fa0/2 R1 Gi0/1 ↔ Upstream Gi0/0 R2 Gi0/1 ↔ Upstream Gi0/1 SW1 Fa0/10 ↔ PC1 Fa0
What is configured at the start
These are already configured when the lab opens — including, where this is a troubleshooting lab, the fault itself:
R1 interface GigabitEthernet0/0
ip address 10.0.0.1 255.255.255.0
no shutdown
exit
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 198.51.100.2 255.255.255.252
no shutdown
exit R2 interface GigabitEthernet0/0
ip address 10.0.0.2 255.255.255.0
no shutdown
exit
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 198.51.100.6 255.255.255.252
no shutdown
exit Upstream interface GigabitEthernet0/0
ip address 198.51.100.1 255.255.255.252
no shutdown
exit
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
ip address 198.51.100.5 255.255.255.252
no shutdown
exit Tasks, and how each one is checked
Every task is decided by reading the live network — a neighbour in FULL, a ping that succeeds, a line in the running configuration — not by looking for a keyword you typed. The same command shows you what the lab sees.
# Task Pts How to verify it yourself
1 Both routers are in HSRP group 1 for 10.0.0.254 20 On R1: show standby brief — the router is Active. or On R2: show standby brief — the router is Active. 2 R1 is Active and R2 is Standby 20 On R1: show standby brief — the router is Active. and On R2: show standby brief — the router is Standby. 3 A tracked object follows R1’s uplink, and it is up 25 On R1: show track 1 is Up. 4 R1’s effective priority is its configured 110 20 Checked automatically against the device’s live state (hsrpPrio). 5 The PC reaches the virtual address 15 On PC1: ping 10.0.0.254 must succeed.
Stuck? Ask the coach
Tell the coach what you see or what you tried. It gives you a hint, not the answer, the way a senior engineer would. Included with a free trial or any plan.
Ask the coach
Reference solution
Try it yourself first — the lab checks your work either way. This is one configuration that makes every task pass, device by device:
R1 track 1 interface GigabitEthernet0/1 line-protocol
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
standby version 2
standby 1 ip 10.0.0.254
standby 1 priority 110
standby 1 preempt
standby 1 track 1 decrement 20
exit R2 interface GigabitEthernet0/0
standby version 2
standby 1 ip 10.0.0.254
standby 1 priority 100
standby 1 preempt
exit Where this is examined
This lab practises these topics in the zNetLaB certification courses:
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