Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Carp is flooding my network with VRRP packets (Yes, that doesn't make sense)

    HA/CARP/VIPs
    6
    23
    7.4k
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • DerelictD
      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
      last edited by

      A bridge does not look at ARP. It sees a frame to ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff and floods it out all ports except the one it was received on. It has no idea whether it is ARP, DHCP, etc (unless a higher-layer snooping is in effect). If your bridges are pulling MAC addresses out of ARP replies and adding them to the mac-address-table on that port then they probably shouldn't be doing what they are doing…

      This is an ARP reply for a CARP VIP:

      Ethernet II, Src: d2:a1:91:e7:2b:cb, Dst: 00:08:a2:09:99:ae
          Destination: 00:08:a2:09:99:ae
          Source: d2:a1:91:e7:2b:cb
          Type: ARP (0x0806)
      Address Resolution Protocol (reply)
          Hardware type: Ethernet (1)
          Protocol type: IPv4 (0x0800)
          Hardware size: 6
          Protocol size: 4
          Opcode: reply (2)
          Sender MAC address: 00:00:5e:00:01:e4
          Sender IP address: 172.25.228.17
          Target MAC address: 00:08:a2:09:99:ae
          Target IP address: 172.25.228.1

      Note the ethernet source address in the frame that will be added to the mac-address-table on the receiving port is the interface address (d2:a1:91:e7:2b:cb). The CARP MAC (00:00:5e:00:01:e4) will be added to the ARP table on 172.25.228.1 for layer 3 address 172.25.228.17. But the CARP MAC will not be added to the bridge's mac-address-table since it was not the source address of the received frame.

      There is nothing there that will cause the CARP MAC to be added to a bridge's mac-address-table. That information only comes from the CARP advertisements:

      Ethernet II, Src: 00:00:5e:00:01:e4, Dst: 01:00:5e:00:00:12
          Destination: 01:00:5e:00:00:12
          Source: 00:00:5e:00:01:e4
          Type: IPv4 (0x0800)
      Internet Protocol Version 4, Src: 172.25.228.19, Dst: 224.0.0.18
          0100 …. = Version: 4
          .... 0101 = Header Length: 20 bytes (5)
          Differentiated Services Field: 0x10 (DSCP: Unknown, ECN: Not-ECT)
          Total Length: 56
          Identification: 0x0000 (0)
          Flags: 0x02 (Don't Fragment)
          Fragment offset: 0
          Time to live: 255
          Protocol: VRRP (112)
          Header checksum: 0x0b06 [validation disabled]
          [Header checksum status: Unverified]
          Source: 172.25.228.19
          Destination: 224.0.0.18
          [Source GeoIP: Unknown]
          [Destination GeoIP: Unknown]
      Common Address Redundancy Protocol
          Version 2, Packet type 1 (Advertisement)
          Virtual Host ID: 228
          Advertisment Skew: 100
          Auth Len: 7
          Demotion indicator: 0
          Adver Int: 1
          Checksum: 0xc368 [correct]
          Counter: 7823498306054967289
          HMAC: 0a33b43b1d6659e415c5786881438c6a0ca6bc5a

      @RFC3768:

      Note: VRRP packets are transmitted with the virtual router MAC
        address as the source MAC address to ensure that learning bridges
        correctly determine the LAN segment the virtual router is
        attached to.

      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
        last edited by

        Ahhh!!!! Doh!!  You are right the arp reply will have a source of the physical nic sending it on the frame, but the info for the vip will be contained in the reply!

        Thanks!  Brain fart on my end for sure ;)  Your packet captures very helpful in knocking out the stupid fog ;)

        But even with downstream switches you can filter the those multicast packets from end point ports, and only allow it to the switches and the carp interfaces if he is worried about the "flooding" ;)

        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • DerelictD
          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
          last edited by

          Certainly. As long as the switches see the CARP MAC so they can stick it in the table for the ISL/trunk port. Else they will flood it every time they see it. My hunch is stuff would break.

          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • D
            DarkMasta
            last edited by

            Hi
            One Packet per Second is normal?
            i have 16 Packets per second(in one vlan so if i have 20 VLANS, i have 20*16 Packets only vor VRRP) and little netgear switches have problem to handle this traffic.
            Is this a failure in my network or normal and i must filter it?

            Thank you

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • dotdashD
              dotdash
              last edited by

              @DarkMasta:

              i have 16 Packets per second(in one vlan so if i have 20 VLANS, i have 20*16 Packets only vor VRRP) and little netgear switches have problem to handle this traffic.

              Ok, so that would be 320 pps. Even a cheap Netgear switch is rated at 1,448,000 pps. To repeat Derelict, don't hassle it.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • DerelictD
                Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                last edited by

                If they are all different CARP VIPs then that is how your network is designed so you need switches that can deal with it.

                I have a hard time believing that any switch (even a Netgear) can't handle 320 CARP advertisements per second.

                Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • GruensFroeschliG
                  GruensFroeschli
                  last edited by

                  The switch doesn't really care about the frames being CARP.

                  If it's a "dumb" switch it only looks at the lowest bit of the first byte of the destination-mac: the multicast-bit.
                  –> a dumb switch can't actually distinguish a broadcast-frame from a multicast-frame (broadcast is just a special multicast-address)

                  The more intelligent switches can analyze the multicast frames a bit more in depth (usually on L3 with IGMP), but as long as it's still a L2 multicast frame it doesn't really care if it's CARP or something else.

                  We do what we must, because we can.

                  Asking questions the smart way: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • D
                    DarkMasta
                    last edited by

                    If they are all different CARP VIPs then that is how your network is designed so you need switches that can deal with it.

                    No, and this is the only reason why i am so worried, i have multiple Packets (same VRID) in each VLAN per second and i read somthing about pfsense CARP send only one packet per second.
                    Can it be that this happening because i have a LCAP Lagg(1 pfsense has 4 cable connected on two Stack Switches, so both pfsense are connected on two switches with 8 cables)?

                    Thank you

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • DerelictD
                      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                      last edited by

                      Post a packet capture of this please.

                      advbase 1 advskew 0, the default on a primary node, will result in about 1.003 seconds between advertisements PER CARP VIP.

                      If you are seeing more than that you are probably seeing some incorrect flooding or looping in your switching gear.

                      If you only capture CARP in Diagnostics > Packet Capture CARP will be decoded. If you need to subsequently vire a capture just select CARP again and click View Capture.

                      Wireshark can be coerced to decode CARP instead of VRRP. Right-click a VRRP packet and select Decode As. Set protocol 112 to CARP there.

                      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • D
                        DarkMasta
                        last edited by

                        Special, pfsense gives me one packet per second but if i capture with a client i have multiple packets per second.
                        I add both capture as attachment, i hope this helps.

                        CARP.pcap
                        CARP_Local.pcapng

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • GruensFroeschliG
                          GruensFroeschli
                          last edited by

                          You don't happen to run 12 CARP IPs on the same ID do you?

                          We do what we must, because we can.

                          Asking questions the smart way: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • DerelictD
                            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                            last edited by

                            Where was the CARP.pcap capture taken?

                            Where was the CARP_Local.pcapng capture taken?

                            You can see by the ip.id those packets are duplicated.

                            I still suspect something in your switching gear somewhere.

                            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • D
                              DarkMasta
                              last edited by

                              You don't happen to run 12 CARP IPs on the same ID do you.

                              No, only WAN has the same vhid because of IP Alias(vhid 13).
                              All vlan has a different vhid.

                              Where was the CARP.pcap capture taken?

                              With Pfsense on Management Interface (vhid 4) with Diagnostics -> Packet Capture

                              Where was the CARP_Local.pcapng capture taken?

                              With my Computer, also in the vhid 4 Network but 4-5 Switchs between Computer and pfsense

                              You can see by the ip.id those packets are duplicated.
                              I still suspect something in your switching gear somewhere.

                              Yeah…very special

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • DerelictD
                                Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                last edited by

                                Well, I know what it's not… pfSense.

                                It's always the switching layer, bro.

                                Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • First post
                                  Last post
                                Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.