Which one to use while deciding between HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP? This is really a matter of the type of equipment at your disposal, network design complexity, or sometimes personal preference. I have already written articles explaining HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP separately. All three are First Hop Redundancy Protocols and network layer protocols and are used to provide redundancy in the network.

Table of Contents

The main difference is that VRRP is industry-standard while HSRP and GLBP are Cisco-proprietary protocols. VRRP and HSRP target a single layer3 ethernet switch or a router to be the active one in a group, whereas GLBP can distribute the responsibility among up to four routers by configuring load balancing schemes. It is mostly recommended to use GLBP in a four-router setup where load balancing is required; the rest everywhere else HSRP or VRRP is more than sufficient to make things work.

GLBP also has a weighting mechanism so that the primary router gets the majority of the traffic, whereas other routers will be load-balancing. Ultimately it depends on your manufacturer’s support. If you are running a Cisco router, you can configure either VRRP, HSRP, or GLBP, but if you have a different vendor device, then you are mostly stuck with VRRP in this case.

I have tried my best to compare these three protocols in the below table. Please check it out and let me know if you have questions.

HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP Protocol Similarities and Differences

Q: HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP - A Quick Guide

Which one to use while deciding between HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP? This is really a matter of the type of equipment at your disposal, network design complexity, or sometimes personal preference. I have already written articles explaining HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP separately. All three are First Hop Redundancy Protocols and

Number	Criteria	VRRP	HSRP	GLBP
1.	Open Standard or Proprietary	Open IEEE Standard	Cisco Proprietary Protocol	Cisco Proprietary Protocol
2.	First Hop Redundancy Protocol or Not ?	It is an FHRP	It is an FHRP	It is an FHRP
3.	Timers	Default Hello – 1 Sec Hold Time – Calculated Automatically and Can’t be configured – VRRP unlike HSRP can be configured to inherit the timer values configured on the VRRP Master.	Default Hello – 3 Secs Default Hold/Dead Time – 10 Secs	Default Hello – 3 Secs Default Hold/DeadTime – 10 Secs
4.	RFC	5798	2281	No RFC
5.	Authentication	Plain text and MD5	Plain text and MD5	Plain text and MD5
6.	Preemption	Preemption is enabled by default	Preemption is NOT enabled by default	Preemption is NOT enabled by default for AVGs. Preemption is enabled by default for AVFs.
7.	Router Roles	Concept of master and backup router roles	Cisco HSRP router roles are – Active and Standby	GLBP Router roles are – AVG, AVF and AVS
8.	Versions	No Versions	Two HSRP Version – V1 and V2	No Versions
9.	Criteria to decide which router will become Master/Active	Based on Highest Priority – If Priority is a tie then the highest IP address becomes Master Router	Based on Highest Priority – If Priority is a tie then the highest IP address becomes Master Router	Based on Highest Priority – If Priority is a tie then the highest IP address becomes Master Router
10.	Packets Delivery	VRRP uses its own IP protocol 112 with multicast destination address 224.0.0.18.	HSRP Version 1 – Packets are sent to the multicast address 224.0.0.2 with TTL 1, which uses UDP port 1985. HSRP Version 2 – Packets are sent to the multicast address 224.0.0.102 with TTL 1, using UDP port 1985.	GLBP packets are sent to the multicast address 224.0.0.102 with a TTL of 1, which uses UDP port 3222 (source and destination).
11.	Virtual MAC Address Format	Format: 0000.5e00.01xx – where XX is the VRRP group number in hex	Format: 0000.0c07.acXX – where XX is the HSRP group number in HEX	Format: 0007.b4XX.XXYY Where XX.XX = 6 zero bits(empty) and 10 bits for the Group number. Where YY = AVF number.
12.	Load Balancing	Load Balancing Not Supported – Load Sharing can be done by configuring multiple groups in a single subnet/Interface	Load Balancing Not Supported – Load Sharing can be done by configuring multiple groups in a single subnet/Interface	Load Balancing Supported - 3 Load Balancing Schemes – Round-Robin (Default), Host-Dependent, Weighted
13.	Sample Config	VRRP Configuration Example – > interface Fa0/0 > ip address ip-address mask > vrrp group description text > vrrp group preempt [delay minimum seconds] > vrrp {group} ip {IP} vrrp {group} timers advertise [msec] {sec/msec} > vrrp {group} timers learn vrrp {group} priority {1-255} > vrrp {group} authentication	HSRP Configuration Example – > interface fa0/0 > standby [group] ip {virtual-ip} > standby [group] timers {hello} {hold-time} > standby [group] priority {1-255} > standby [group] preempt > standby {group} authentication > standby {group} track {object} decrement {no}	GLBP Configuration Example – > interface Fa0/0 > glbp group ip [ip-address [secondary ] > glbp group timers [msec ] hellotime [msec ] holdtime > glbp group timers redirect redirect timeout > glbp group load-balancing [host-dependent \| round-robin \| weighted ] > glbp group priority level > glbp group preempt [delay minimum seconds] > no glbp {group} forwarder preempt [delay sec] > glbp group weighting track {no} [decrement] > glbp group client-cache maximum number [timeout minutes]
14.	Virtual IP Address	To assign a default gateway to the hosts of a subnet or network, all FHRP protocols, including HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP, use the concept of virtual IP address.	To assign a default gateway to the hosts of a subnet or network, all FHRP protocols, including HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP, use the concept of virtual IP address.	To assign a default gateway to the hosts of a subnet or network, all FHRP protocols, including HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP, use the concept of virtual IP address.
15.	Ipv6 support	It has a v6 Support in newer codes,- Check with Vendor.	It has v6 Support.	It has v6 Support.
16.	Object Tracking Support	Supports Object Tracking – Check with Vendor	Supports Object Tracking	Supports Object Tracking

HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP

Definitions and Acronyms used in the post

GLBP : Gateway Load Balancing Protocol
VRRP : Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
HSRP : Hot Standby Router Protocol
FHRP: First Hop Redundancy Protocol
AVG : Active Virtual Gateway
AVS : Active Virtual Standby
AVFs : Active Virtual Forwarders
ARP: Address Resolution Protocol

Conclusion

In this post, we looked into similarities and differences between HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP; all of these protocols provide gateway redundancy and load sharing or balancing features.

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Frequently Asked Questions on HSRP vs VRRP vs GLBP.

What is the difference between hsrp and vrrp?

The fundamental difference between VRRP and HSRP and GLBP is that VRRP is an industry-standard, whereas HSRP and GLBP are Cisco-proprietary protocols. If you are using a Cisco device, you have the option of configuring VRRP, HSRP, or GLBP; however, if you are using a device from a different manufacturer, you are mostly limited to VRRP in this situation. VRRP, in contrast to HSRP, can be configured to inherit the timer values that have been configured on the VRRP Master.

What is the purpose of hsrp and vrrp?

The primary function of HSRP and VRRP is to allow a router to take over the responsibilities of another router in the event that the other router fails. Both protocols are nearly identical, and each uses a strong heartbeat message between a main and a secondary device to monitor each other and shift users of an active router to standby router if that active router fails.

What is difference between HSRP VRRP and GLBP?

Which one to select when choosing between HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP is largely depends on the type of equipment available, the complexity of the network design, and occasionally personal choice. The primary distinction is that VRRP is an industry-standard protocol, whereas HSRP and GLBP are Cisco-proprietary protocols. VRRP and HSRP designate a single router as the active one in a group, whereas GLBP can share duty among up to four routers via load balancing algorithms. It is generally advised to employ GLBP in a four-router configuration if load balancing is necessary; otherwise, HSRP or VRRP would suffice. GLBP also includes a weighting system, which ensures that the primary router receives the majority of the traffic while the other routers load-balance. Finally, it is dependent on the support provided by your manufacturer. If you’re using Cisco, you can configure VRRP, HSRP, or GLBP, but if you’re using a different vendor device, you’re mainly locked with VRRP.

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Afroz Ahmad

I'm Afroz, a Network Engineer and CCIE with 17 years of experience in Computer Networking, Data Centers, Telecom, Internet Services and ISPs. Currently, I work as a Network Designer for a leading ISP equipment vendor. I share my expertise through my blog and courses, aiming to share my knowledge and simplify complex networking concepts for both beginners and experienced professionals.