Full form: First Hop Redundancy Protocol
Also known as: First Hop Redundancy Protocol
Quick Definition
A category of protocols that provide a virtual gateway IP shared across multiple routers for redundancy.
FHRP is an umbrella term for protocols that eliminate the single-point-of-failure of having one physical router as a default gateway. Members of the FHRP category include HSRP (Cisco proprietary), VRRP (open standard), and GLBP (Cisco proprietary with load balancing). All FHRPs work by advertising a virtual IP address and virtual MAC that hosts configure as their default gateway, while multiple physical routers compete to service traffic through that virtual address.
HSRP and VRRP both use an active/standby model. GLBP is different — it provides load balancing by using multiple virtual MACs, allowing all routers to actively forward traffic simultaneously.
A Cisco proprietary FHRP that provides a virtual IP gateway shared by an active and standby router.
An open-standard FHRP where routers elect a Master that owns the virtual IP and responds to ARP requests.
A Cisco proprietary FHRP that provides redundancy and load balancing using multiple virtual MACs.
FHRP is an umbrella term for protocols that eliminate the single-point-of-failure of having one physical router as a default gateway. Members of the FHRP category include HSRP (Cisco proprietary), VRRP (open standard), and GLBP (Cisco proprietary with load balancing). All FHRPs work by advertising a virtual IP address and virtual MAC that hosts configure as their default gateway, while multiple physical routers compete to service traffic through that virtual address.
HSRP and VRRP both use an active/standby model. GLBP is different — it provides load balancing by using multiple virtual MACs, allowing all routers to actively forward traffic simultaneously.
FHRP falls under the Routing domain of the 200-301 exam. Understanding it in context with related terms like hsrp and vrrp is essential for answering scenario-based questions correctly.