Configuring an RP

Context

A rendezvous point (RP) is configured manually or elected through the bootstrap router (BSR) mechanism. Manually configuring a static RP reduces the bandwidth used for frequent information exchange between the candidate rendezvous points (C-RPs) and BSR. RP election through the BSR mechanism simplifies configuration and improves the reliability of multicast forwarding because multiple C-RPs are configured.

On an IPv6 PIM-SM network, the embedded RP function is enabled on each device by default. When a device receives a multicast packet sent to a multicast group, it can obtain RP information from the group address. The devices with the embedded RP function do not need to know the mapping between RPs and group addresses beforehand. The range of group addresses that a device can parse can be manually changed.

You can configure a static RP and multiple C-RPs for dynamic RP election. The static RP functions as a backup RP because it has a lower priority. Ensure that all the devices on the network have the same RP information. Inconsistent RP information may cause forwarding failures on the network.

Default Settings

Table 1 lists the default settings of the C-BSR and C-RP.

**Table 1** Default settings of the C-BSR and C-RP
Parameter	Default Setting
C-BSR priority	0
C-BSR hash mask length	126
BSR message fragmentation	Disabled
Multicast group policy of a static RP	No multicast group policy configured (accepting multicast data with any group address)
Multicast group policy of a C-RP	No multicast group policy configured (accepting multicast data with any group address)
C-RP priority	192
Interval for sending C-RP Announcement messages	60s
Hold time of C-RP Announcement messages	150s
Scope ID of the administrative domain served by a C-RP	No scope ID is specified
Group address range for embedded RP	FF7x::/12 (x is 0 or any value ranging from 3 to F)

Procedure

Configure a static RP.
1. Run system-view
  The system view is displayed.
2. Run pim-ipv6
  The PIM-IPv6 view is displayed.
3. Run static-rp rp-address [ basic-acl6-number ] [ preferred ]
  Address of a static RP is specified.
  
  preferred indicates that the static RP takes precedence over a dynamic RP.
  
  All devices in the PIM-SM domain must be configured with the same static RP address so that the static RP works properly.
Configure a dynamic RP.
1. Configure a C-BSR.
  1. Run system-view
    
    The system view is displayed.
  2. Run pim-ipv6
    
    The PIM-IPv6 view is displayed.
  3. Run c-bsr ipv6-address [ hash-length [ priority ] ]
    
    A C-BSR is configured.
    
    It is recommended that you configure the C-BSR on the switch that aggregates multicast data.
    
    To avoid frequent protocol changes caused by interface flapping, using loopback interfaces is recommended.
  4. (Optional) Run bsm semantic fragmentation
    
    The BSR message fragmentation function is enabled.
    
    BSR message fragmentation resolves the problem faced by IP fragmentation where all fragments become unavailable due to the loss of fragment information. Enable BSR message fragmentation on all devices on the network. Otherwise, devices that do not fragment BSR messages may receive incomplete RP information.
2. Configure a C-RP.
  1. Run system-view
    
    The system view is displayed.
  2. Run pim-ipv6
    
    The PIM-IPv6 view is displayed.
  3. Run c-rp ipv6-address [ advertisement-interval adv-interval | { group-policy basic-acl6-number | scope scope-id } | holdtime hold-interval | priority priority ] ^*
    
    A C-RP is configured.
    
    It is recommended that you configure the C-RP on the switch that aggregates multicast data.
    
    To avoid frequent protocol changes caused by interface flapping, using loopback interfaces is recommended.
3. (Optional) Configure a BSR boundary.
  1. Run system-view
    
    The system view is displayed.
  2. Run interface interface-type interface-number
    
    The interface view is displayed.
  3. (Optional) On an Ethernet interface, run undo portswitch
    
    The interface is switched to Layer 3 mode.
    
    By default, an Ethernet interface works in Layer 2 mode.
  4. Run pim ipv6 bsr-boundary
    
    A BSR service boundary is configured.
    
    The BSR messages cannot pass through the BSR boundary. Therefore, it is recommended that you configure the BSR service boundary on interfaces at the edge of a PIM-SM domain.
Configure the embedded RP function.
1. Run system-view
  The system view is displayed.
2. Run pim-ipv6
  The PIM-IPv6 view is displayed.
3. Run embedded-rp [ basic-acl6-number ]
  The embedded RP function is enabled and the range of group addresses that can be parsed is configured.
  
  If an IPv6 ACL is specified in the command, the final group address range for embedded RP is the intersection of the group address range specified by the IPv6 ACL and the default group address range. All the devices in the PIM-SM domain must be configured with the same group address range.