PBR

PBR is Policy Based Routing. This implementation supports a very simple interface to allow admins to influence routing on their router. At this time you can only match on destination and source prefixes for an incoming interface. At this point in time, this implementation will only work on Linux.

Starting PBR

Default configuration file for pbrd is pbrd.conf. The typical location of pbrd.conf is /etc/frr/pbrd.conf.

If the user is using integrated config, then pbrd.conf need not be present and the frr.conf is read instead.

PBR supports all the common FRR daemon start options which are documented elsewhere.

Nexthop Groups

Nexthop groups are a way to encapsulate ECMP information together. It's a listing of ECMP nexthops used to forward packets for when a pbr-map is matched.

nexthop-group NAME

Create a nexthop-group with an associated NAME. This will put you into a sub-mode where you can specify individual nexthops. To exit this mode type exit or end as per normal conventions for leaving a sub-mode.

nexthop [A.B.C.D|X:X::X:XX] [interface [onlink]] [nexthop-vrf NAME] [label LABELS]

Create a v4 or v6 nexthop. All normal rules for creating nexthops that you are used to are allowed here. The syntax was intentionally kept the same as creating nexthops as you would for static routes.

pbr table range (10000-4294966272) (10000-4294966272)

Set or unset the range used to assign numeric table ID's to new nexthop-group tables. Existing tables will not be modified to fit in this range, so it is recommended to configure this before adding nexthop groups.

See also

PBR Details

Showing Nexthop Group Information

show pbr nexthop-groups [NAME] [json]

Display information on a PBR nexthop-group. If NAME is omitted, all nexthop groups are shown. Setting json will provide the same information in an array of objects which obey the schema below:

Key	Description	Type
id	Unique ID	Integer
name	Name of this group	String
valid	Is this group well-formed?	Boolean
installed	... and is it installed?	Boolean
nexthops	Nexthops within this group	Array

Each element within nexthops describes a single target within this group, and its structure is described by the JSON below:

Key	Description	Type
nexthop	Name of this nexthop	String
valid	Is this nexthop well-formed?	Boolean

PBR Maps

PBR maps are a way to group policies that we would like to apply to individual interfaces. These policies when applied are matched against incoming packets. If matched the nexthop-group or nexthop is used to forward the packets to the end destination.

pbr-map NAME seq (1-700)

Create a pbr-map with NAME and sequence number specified. This command puts you into a new submode for pbr-map specification. To exit this mode type exit or end as per normal conventions for leaving a sub-mode.

match src-ip PREFIX

When a incoming packet matches the source prefix specified, take the packet and forward according to the nexthops specified. This command accepts both v4 and v6 prefixes. This command is used in conjunction of the match dst-ip PREFIX command for matching.

match dst-ip PREFIX

When a incoming packet matches the destination prefix specified, take the packet and forward according to the nexthops specified. This command accepts both v4 and v6 prefixes. This command is used in conjunction of the match src-ip PREFIX command for matching.

match src-port (1-65535)

When a incoming packet matches the source port specified, take the packet and forward according to the nexthops specified.

match dst-port (1-65535)

When a incoming packet matches the destination port specified, take the packet and forward according to the nexthops specified.

match ip-protocol [tcp|udp]

When a incoming packet matches the specified ip protocol, take the packet and forward according to the nexthops specified.

match mark (1-4294967295)

Select the mark to match. This is a linux only command and if attempted on another platform it will be denied. This mark translates to the underlying ip rule .... fwmark XXXX command.

match dscp (DSCP|0-63)

Match packets according to the specified differentiated services code point (DSCP) in the IP header; if this value matches then forward the packet according to the nexthop(s) specified. The passed DSCP value may also be a standard name for a differentiated service code point like cs0 or af11.

You may only specify one dscp per route map sequence; to match on multiple dscp values you will need to create several sequences, one for each value.

match ecn (0-3)

Match packets according to the specified explicit congestion notification (ECN) field in the IP header; if this value matches then forward the packet according to the nexthop(s) specified.

set nexthop-group NAME

Use the nexthop-group NAME as the place to forward packets when the match commands have matched a packet.

set nexthop [A.B.C.D|X:X::X:XX] [interface] [nexthop-vrf NAME]

Use this individual nexthop as the place to forward packets when the match commands have matched a packet.

set vrf unchanged|NAME

If unchanged is set, the rule will use the vrf table the interface is in as its lookup. If NAME is specified, the rule will use that vrf table as its lookup.

Not supported with NETNS VRF backend.

show pbr map [NAME] [detail|json]

Display pbr maps either all or by NAME. If detail is set, it will give information about the rules unique ID used internally and some extra debugging information about install state for the nexthop/nexthop group. Setting json will provide the same information in an array of objects which obey the schema below:

Key	Description	Type
name	Map name	String
valid	Is the map well-formed?	Boolean
policies	Rules to match packets against	Array

Each element of the policies array is composed of a handful of objects representing the policies associated with this map. Each policy is described as below (not all fields are required):

Key	Description	Type
id	Unique ID	Integer
sequenceNumber	Order of this policy within the map	Integer
ruleNumber	Rule number to install into	Integer
vrfUnchanged	Use interface's VRF	Boolean
installed	Is this policy installed?	Boolean
installedReason	Why (or why not?)	String
matchSrc	Match packets with this source address	String
matchDst	... or with this destination address	String
matchMark	... or with this marker	Integer
vrfName	Associated VRF (if relevant)	String
nexthopGroup	This policy's nexthop group (if relevant)	Object

Finally, the nexthopGroup object above cotains information we know about the configured nexthop for this policy:

Key	Description	Type
tableId	Nexthop table ID	Integer
name	Name of the nexthop group	String
installed	Is this nexthop group installed?	Boolean
installedInternally	Do we think this group is installed?	Integer

PBR Policy

After you have specified a PBR map, in order for it to be turned on, you must apply the PBR map to an interface. This policy application to an interface causes the policy to be installed into the kernel.

pbr-policy NAME

This command is available under interface sub-mode. This turns on the PBR map NAME and allows it to work properly.

Note

This will not dynamically create PBR maps on sub-interfaces (i.e. vlans) even if one is on the master. Each must have the PBR map explicitly added to the interface.

show pbr interface [NAME] [json]

Enumerates all interfaces which pbrd is keeping track of. Passing json will return an array of interfaces; each returned interface will adhere to the JSON schema below:

Key	Description	Type
name	Interface name	String
index	Device Index	Integer
policy	PBR map for this interface	String
valid	Is the map well-formed?	Boolean

PBR Debugs

debug pbr events|map|nht|zebra

Debug pbr in pbrd daemon. You specify what types of debugs to turn on.

debug zebra pbr

Debug pbr in zebra daemon.

PBR Details

Under the covers a PBR map is translated into two separate constructs in the Linux kernel.

The PBR map specified creates a ip rule ... that is inserted into the Linux kernel that points to a table to use for forwarding once the rule matches.

The creation of a nexthop or nexthop-group is translated to a default route in a table with the nexthops specified as the nexthops for the default route.

Sample configuration

nexthop-group TEST
  nexthop 4.5.6.7
  nexthop 5.6.7.8
!
pbr-map BLUE seq 100
  match dst-ip 9.9.9.0/24
  match src-ip 10.10.10.0/24
  set nexthop-group TEST
!
int swp1
  pbr-policy BLUE