Configuring IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

This module describes how to configure an IP Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Internet Control Message
Protocol (ICMP) Echo operation to monitor end-to-end response time between a Cisco router and devices
using IPv4 or IPv6. ICMP Echo is useful for troubleshooting network connectivity issues. This module also
demonstrates how the results of the ICMP Echo operation can be displayed and analyzed to determine how
the network IP connections are performing.

Finding Feature Information, page 1

Restrictions for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 1
Information About IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 2
How to Configure IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 2
Configuration Examples for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 11
Additional References for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 11
Feature Information for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations, page 12

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and
feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To
find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each
feature is supported, see the feature information table.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support.
To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Restrictions for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

We recommend using a Cisco networking device as the destination device although any networking device
that supports RFC 862, Echo protocol, can be used.

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Information About IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

Information About IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

ICMP Echo Operation

The ICMP Echo operation measures end-to-end response time between a Cisco router and any devices using
IP. Response time is computed by measuring the time taken between sending an ICMP Echo request message
to the destination and receiving an ICMP Echo reply.
In the figure below ping is used by the ICMP Echo operation to measure the response time between the source
IP SLAs device and the destination IP device. Many customers use IP SLAs ICMP-based operations, in-house
ping testing, or ping-based dedicated probes for response time measurements.

Figure 1: ICMP Echo Operation

The IP SLAs ICMP Echo operation conforms to the same IETF specifications for ICMP ping testing and the
two methods result in the same response times.

How to Configure IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

Configuring an ICMP Echo Operation

Note There is no need to configure an IP SLAs responder on the destination device.

Perform one of the following tasks:

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Configuring an ICMP Echo Operation

Configuring a Basic ICMP Echo Operation on the Source Device

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. ip sla operation-number
4. icmp-echo {destination-ip-address | destination-hostname} [source-ip {ip-address | hostname} |
source-interface interface-name]
5. frequency seconds
6. end

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Device# configure terminal

Step 3 ip sla operation-number Begins configuration for an IP SLAs operation and

enters IP SLA configuration mode.
Example:
Device(config)# ip sla 6

Step 4 icmp-echo {destination-ip-address | destination-hostname} Defines an ICMP Echo operation and enters IP SLA
[source-ip {ip-address | hostname} | source-interface ICMP Echo configuration mode.
interface-name]

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla)# icmp-echo 172.29.139.134

Step 5 frequency seconds (Optional) Sets the rate at which a specified IP SLAs
operation repeats.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# frequency 300

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 6 end Exits to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# end

What to Do Next
To add proactive threshold conditions and reactive triggering for generating traps, or for starting another
operation, to an IP SLAs operation, see the "Configuring Proactive Threshold Monitoring" section.

Configuring an ICMP Echo Operation with Optional Parameters

Perform this task on the source device.

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Configuring an ICMP Echo Operation

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. ip sla operation-number
4. icmp-echo {destination-ip-address | destination-hostname} [source-ip {ip-address | hostname} |
source-interface interface-name]
5. data-pattern hex value
6. history buckets-kept size
7. history distributions-of-statistics-kept size
8. history enhanced [interval seconds] [buckets number-of-buckets]
9. history filter {none | all | overThreshold | failures}
10. frequency seconds
11. history hours-of-statistics-kept hours
12. history lives-kept lives
13. owner owner-id
14. request-data-size bytes
15. history statistics-distribution-interval milliseconds
16. tag text
17. threshold milliseconds
18. timeout milliseconds
19. Do one of the following:
tos number
traffic-class number

20. flow-label number

21. verify-data
22. vrf vrf-name
23. end

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Device# configure terminal

Step 3 ip sla operation-number Begins configuration for an IP SLAs operation and enters
IP SLA configuration mode.
Example:
Device(config)# ip sla 6

Step 4 icmp-echo {destination-ip-address | Defines an Echo operation and enters IP SLA Echo
destination-hostname} [source-ip {ip-address | configuration mode.
hostname} | source-interface interface-name]

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla)# icmp-echo 172.29.139.134
source-ip 172.29.139.132

Step 5 data-pattern hex value (Optional) Sets the hexadecimal value for data pattern.
The range is 0 to FFFFFFFF.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# data pattern
FFFFFFFF

Step 6 history buckets-kept size (Optional) Sets the number of history buckets that are kept
during the lifetime of an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history buckets-kept
25

Step 7 history distributions-of-statistics-kept size (Optional) Sets the number of statistics distributions kept
per hop during an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history
distributions-of-statistics-kept 5

Step 8 history enhanced [interval seconds] [buckets (Optional) Enables enhanced history gathering for an IP
number-of-buckets] SLAs operation.

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history enhanced
interval 900 buckets 100

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 9 history filter {none | all | overThreshold | failures} (Optional) Defines the type of information kept in the
history table for an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history filter
failures

Step 10 frequency seconds (Optional) Sets the rate at which a specified IP SLAs
operation repeats.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# frequency 30

Step 11 history hours-of-statistics-kept hours (Optional) Sets the number of hours for which statistics are
maintained for an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history
hours-of-statistics-kept 4

Step 12 history lives-kept lives (Optional) Sets the number of lives maintained in the history
table for an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history lives-kept
5

Step 13 owner owner-id (Optional) Configures the Simple Network Management

Protocol (SNMP) owner of an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# owner admin

Step 14 request-data-size bytes (Optional) Sets the protocol data size in the payload of an
IP SLAs operation's request packet.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# request-data-size
64

Step 15 history statistics-distribution-interval milliseconds (Optional) Sets the time interval for each statistics
distribution kept for an IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# history
statistics-distribution-interval 10

Step 16 tag text (Optional) Creates a user-specified identifier for an IP SLAs

operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# tag
TelnetPollServer1

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 17 threshold milliseconds (Optional) Sets the upper threshold value for calculating
network monitoring statistics created by an IP SLAs
Example: operation.

Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# threshold 10000

Step 18 timeout milliseconds (Optional) Sets the amount of time an IP SLAs operation
waits for a response from its request packet.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# timeout 10000

Step 19 Do one of the following: (Optional) In an IPv4 network only, defines the ToS byte
in the IPv4 header of an IP SLAs operation.
tos number
or
traffic-class number
(Optional) In an IPv6 network only, defines the traffic class
byte in the IPv6 header for a supported IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-jitter)# tos 160

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-jitter)# traffic-class 160

Step 20 flow-label number (Optional) In an IPv6 network only, defines the flow label
field in the IPv6 header for a supported IP SLAs operation.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# flow-label 112233

Step 21 verify-data (Optional) Causes an IP SLAs operation to check each reply

packet for data corruption.
Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# verify-data

Step 22 vrf vrf-name (Optional) Allows monitoring within Multiprotocol Label

Switching (MPLS) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) using
Example: IP SLAs operations.

Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# vrf vpn-A

Step 23 end Exits to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Device(config-ip-sla-echo)# end

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Scheduling IP SLAs Operations

What to Do Next
To add proactive threshold conditions and reactive triggering for generating traps, or for starting another
operation, to an IP SLAs operation, see the "Configuring Proactive Threshold Monitoring" section.

Scheduling IP SLAs Operations

Before You Begin
All IP Service Level Agreements (SLAs) operations to be scheduled must be already configured.
The frequency of all operations scheduled in a multioperation group must be the same.
The list of one or more operation ID numbers to be added to a multioperation group must be limited to
a maximum of 125 characters in length, including commas (,).

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. Enter one of the following commands:
ip sla schedule operation-number [life {forever | seconds}] [start-time {[hh:mm:ss] [month day |
day month] | pending | now | after hh:mm:ss}] [ageout seconds] [recurring]
ip sla group schedule group-operation-number operation-id-numbers {schedule-period
schedule-period-range | schedule-together} [ageout seconds] [frequency
group-operation-frequency] [life {forever | seconds}] [start-time {hh:mm [:ss] [month day | day
month] | pending | now | after hh:mm [:ss]}]

4. end
5. show ip sla group schedule
6. show ip sla configuration

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Device> enable

Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Device# configure terminal

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Scheduling IP SLAs Operations

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 Enter one of the following commands: Configures the scheduling parameters for
an individual IP SLAs operation.
ip sla schedule operation-number [life {forever | seconds}]
[start-time {[hh:mm:ss] [month day | day month] | pending | Specifies an IP SLAs operation group
now | after hh:mm:ss}] [ageout seconds] [recurring] number and the range of operation
numbers for a multioperation scheduler.
ip sla group schedule group-operation-number
operation-id-numbers {schedule-period schedule-period-range
| schedule-together} [ageout seconds] [frequency
group-operation-frequency] [life {forever | seconds}] [start-time
{hh:mm [:ss] [month day | day month] | pending | now | after
hh:mm [:ss]}]

Example:
Device(config)# ip sla schedule 10 life forever start-time
now

Device(config)# ip sla group schedule 10 schedule-period

frequency

Device(config)# ip sla group schedule 1 3,4,6-9 life forever

start-time now

Device(config)# ip sla schedule 1 3,4,6-9 schedule-period

50 frequency range 80-100

Step 4 end Exits global configuration mode and returns to

privileged EXEC mode.
Example:
Device(config)# end

Step 5 show ip sla group schedule (Optional) Displays IP SLAs group schedule
details.
Example:
Device# show ip sla group schedule

Step 6 show ip sla configuration (Optional) Displays IP SLAs configuration

details.
Example:
Device# show ip sla configuration

Troubleshooting Tips
If the IP Service Level Agreements (SLAs) operation is not running and not generating statistics, add
the verify-data command to the configuration (while configuring in IP SLA configuration mode) to

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enable data verification. When data verification is enabled, each operation response is checked for
corruption. Use the verify-data command with caution during normal operations because it generates
unnecessary overhead.
Use the debug ip sla trace and debug ip sla error commands to help troubleshoot issues with an IP
SLAs operation.

What to Do Next
To add proactive threshold conditions and reactive triggering for generating traps (or for starting another
operation) to an IP Service Level Agreements (SLAs) operation, see the Configuring Proactive Threshold
Monitoring section.

Configuration Examples for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

Example Configuring an ICMP Echo Operation

The following example shows how to configure an IP SLAs operation type of ICMP Echo that will start
immediately and run indefinitely.

ip sla 6
icmp-echo 172.29.139.134 source-ip 172.29.139.132
frequency 300
request-data-size 28
tos 160
timeout 2000
tag SFO-RO
ip sla schedule 6 life forever start-time now

Additional References for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

Related Documents

Related Topic Document Title

Cisco IOS commands Cisco IOS Master Commands List, All Releases

IP SLAs commands Cisco IOS IP SLAs Command Reference

Information about Cisco IP SLAs Cisco IOS IP SLAs Overview module of the IP
SLAs Configuration Guide

Standards and RFCs

Standard/RFC Title
RFC 862 Echo Protocol

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MIBs

MIBs MIBs Link

CISCO-RTTMON-MIB To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms,
Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB
Locator found at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

Technical Assistance

Description Link
The Cisco Support and Documentation website http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html
provides online resources to download documentation,
software, and tools. Use these resources to install and
configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve
technical issues with Cisco products and technologies.
Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and
Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID
and password.

Feature Information for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This
table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release
train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support.
To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Table 1: Feature Information for IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operations

Feature Name Releases Feature Information

IP SLAs ICMP Echo Operation 12.2(31)SB2 The Cisco IOS IP SLAs Internet
Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
12.2(33)SRB1
echo operation allows you to
12.2(33)SXH measure end-to-end network
12.3(14)T response time between a Cisco
device and other devices using IP.
Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1
15.0(1)S
Cisco IOS XE 3.1.0SG

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Feature Name Releases Feature Information

IPv6 - IP SLAs (UDP Jitter, UDP 12.2(33)SB Support was added for operability
Echo, ICMP Echo, TCP Connect) 12.2(33)SRC in IPv6 networks.

12.4(20)T
Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1
Cisco IOS XE 3.1.0SG
12.2(50)SY

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