FHRP Vs. HSRP: What is the Difference Between Them?

FHRP (First Hop Redundancy Protocol) and HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) are two network protocols that are often confused with each other. While they are indeed related, they are not exactly the same. Both protocols are used to achieve redundancy in telecommunications networks, ensuring high availability and uninterrupted internet connectivity.

This redundancy is especially important for critical services, such as servers that require constant access for an organization to operate. For example, a local area network (LAN) hosting a bank’s server should implement redundancy to provide high availability, as the bank’s network must function 24/7.

In this blog post, we will explore FHRP vs. HSRP, explaining each technology and highlighting how they differ.

What is FHRP?

First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP) is a group of protocols designed to provide redundancy for the default gateway of a network. The “first hop” refers to the first point where traffic leaves a network, which is typically the default router. FHRP ensures that if the primary router fails, a backup router automatically takes over in order to ensure minimal disruption to network traffic.

Hsrp network topology

There are several FHRP protocols, including:

  • HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol)—developed by Cisco.
  • VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) is an open standard.
  • GLBP (Gateway Load Balancing Protocol)

What is HSRP?

Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is a Cisco proprietary protocol, which is a type of FHRP protocol. HSRP provides high network availability by allowing multiple routers to serve as the default gateway to a particular LAN. At every point, one of the routers will be the active default gateway, while the other will standby as backup. In the event of failure of the active default gateway, one of the standby routers will take over without causing any disruption to the network. This is achieved by configuring a virtual IP address on each of the router in the HSRP group. This IP address will now serve as the default gateway IP address on each of the host devices in that particular LAN.

Hsrp network topology

Key Features of HSRP:

  • Priority-based failover: Routers can be assigned priorities, and the router with the highest priority becomes the active router.
  • Hello messages: These are used to monitor the status of the active and standby routers to ensure quick failover when necessary.
  • Preemption: If a higher-priority router becomes available again, it can preempt the current active router and take over its role.

FHRP vs. HSRP

While HSRP is a specific implementation of an FHRP, the two terms are not synonymous. Here are the differences and similarities between HSRP and FHRP.

FeatureFHRP (General)HSRP (Specific Protocol)
TypeGroup of redundancy protocolsCisco proprietary redundancy protocol
Protocols IncludedHSRP, VRRP, GLBP, etc.Part of FHRP family
StandardCan include open standards (e.g., VRRP)Cisco proprietary
Redundancy MechanismEnsures failover for the default gatewayUses active and standby routers
Load BalancingSome protocols (e.g., GLBP) provide thisNo load balancing in HSRP
ScalabilityDepends on the specific protocolTypically used in smaller setups
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Key Differences

  1. Scope: FHRP is a broader term that encompasses various protocols like HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP. HSRP, on the other hand, is specific to Cisco and doesn’t represent all FHRP implementations. This means that HSRP is a type of FHRP.
  2. Proprietary vs. Open Standard: While HSRP is proprietary to Cisco, FHRP includes open standard options like VRRP, which is widely used in multi-vendor environments.
  3. Load Balancing: FHRP includes protocols like GLBP that can provide load balancing. However, HSRP does not support load balancing.
  4. Failover Mechanism: Both FHRP protocols like HSRP and VRRP utilize a virtual IP address to provide seamless failover, but HSRP’s election process involves the use of “hello” packets and priority settings to determine the active and standby routers.

Use Cases

  • HSRP is commonly used in Cisco-exclusive network environments where the focus is on failover and redundancy. It is often implemented in smaller networks where failover is more important than load balancing.
  • FHRP protocols like GLBP are preferred in environments where both load balancing and redundancy are required. Open standard protocols like VRRP are often used in mixed-vendor environments.

Conclusion

FHRP is a family of protocols designed to ensure network redundancy , whereas HSRP is a specific protocol within that family.

HSRP is a Cisco proprietary and is mostly used in a network where the focus is on failover and redundancy, but FHRP includes protocols like GLBP, which can provide load balancing in addition to providing redundancy.

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So overall, the difference between HSRP and FHRP is that FHRP is a broader term for network redundancy protocols, while HSRP is a specific type of FHRP.

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