Static
Static routes are manually configured entries in the router’s RIB that define how traffic should reach specific destinations. Unlike dynamic routing protocols, static routes are not automatically updated when the network topology changes.
Static routes are best suited for simple network topologies or to override dynamic routing protocol behavior for a limited number of routes.
The RIB stores all routing information, including manually configured static routes and any dynamically learned routes. From the RIB, the router derives unicast routes to build the FIB.
IPv4 unicast routes
IPv4 unicast routes direct traffic destined for a single IPv4 host or subnet toward a specific next hop. Use the following commands to configure IPv4 unicast routes for a specific remote subnet.
Configure the next-hop IP address for the specified subnet.
You can configure multiple next-hop IP addresses for the same destination subnet.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254
Disable the route via the specified next-hop IP address.
This command temporarily deactivates the route while preserving the configured subnet, next-hop, and distance parameters.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254 disable
Configure the administrative distance for the route via the specified next-hop IP address.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255. The default distance is 1.
Note
Routes with a distance of 255 are disabled and not used for packet forwarding.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254 distance 10
IPv4 interface routes
IPv4 interface routes direct traffic destined for a single IPv4 host or subnet out of a specific local interface. Use the following commands to configure IPv4 interface routes for a specific remote subnet.
Configure the next-hop interface for the specified subnet.
You can configure multiple next-hop interfaces for the same destination subnet.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 interface eth0
Disable the route via the specified next-hop interface.
This command temporarily deactivates the route while preserving the configured subnet, interface, and distance parameters.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 interface eth0 disable
Configure the administrative distance for the route via the specified next-hop interface.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255. The default distance is 1.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 interface eth0 distance 10
IPv4 BFD
BFD monitors the reachability of a static route’s next-hop IP address. Use the following commands to configure BFD parameters for your IPv4 static routes.
Enable BFD monitoring for the route via the specified next-hop IP address.
The system uses the next-hop IP address as the BFD peer destination.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254 bfd
Apply the settings from a designated BFD profile to the BFD session that monitors the specified next-hop IP address.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254 bfd profile custom-profile
Enable a multi-hop BFD session to monitor the reachability of the specified next-hop IP address.
The system initiates the BFD session from the specified local source IPv4 address.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 next-hop 10.0.0.254 bfd multi-hop source-address 172.16.1.1
DHCP interface routes
DHCP interface routes direct traffic destined for a single IPv4 host or subnet toward a next-hop gateway obtained from a DHCP-enabled interface. Use the following command to configure DHCP interface routes.
Configure a static route that derives its next-hop IP address from the specified DHCP-enabled interface.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 dhcp-interface eth0
IPv4 reject routes
IPv4 reject routes explicitly drop traffic destined for a single IPv4 host or subnet and return an ICMP unreachable message to the sending device. Use the following commands to configure IPv4 reject routes.
Configure a reject route for the specified subnet.
The system discards traffic destined for this subnet and returns an ICMP destination unreachable message to the sending device.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 reject
Configure the administrative distance for the reject route.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 reject distance 200
Configure a numeric tag for the reject route.
The allowed range is 1 to 4294967295.
Example:
set protocols static route 192.0.2.0/24 reject tag 100
IPv4 blackhole routes
Blackhole routes silently discard traffic destined for a specific subnet. Unlike a reject route, which notifies the sender with an ICMP destination unreachable message, a blackhole route drops the packets without generating any response.
Configure a blackhole route for the specified subnet.
The system silently discards matching packets without sending an ICMP response to the source.
Example:
set protocols static route 10.0.0.0/8 blackhole
Configure the administrative distance for the blackhole route.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255.
Example:
set protocols static route 10.0.0.0/8 blackhole distance 200
Configure a numeric tag for the blackhole route.
The allowed range is 1 to 4294967295.
Example:
set protocols static route 10.0.0.0/8 blackhole tag 100
IPv6 unicast routes
IPv6 unicast routes direct traffic destined for a single IPv6 host or subnet toward a specific next hop. Use the following commands to configure IPv6 unicast routes for a specific remote subnet.
Configure the next-hop IPv6 address for the specified subnet.
You can configure multiple next-hop IPv6 addresses for the same destination subnet.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1
Disable the route via the specified next-hop IPv6 address.
This command temporarily deactivates the route while preserving the configured subnet, next-hop, and distance parameters.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1 disable
Configure the administrative distance for the route via the specified next-hop IPv6 address.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255. The default distance is 1.
Note
Routes with a distance of 255 are disabled and not used for packet forwarding.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1 distance 10
Configure an IPv6 unicast route that utilizes Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) to reach the destination subnet.
Use a forward slash (/) to separate multiple IPv6 segment identifiers
(SIDs) in your sequence.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1000::/36 next-hop 2001:db8:201::ffff segments '2001:db8:aaaa::7/2002::4/2002::3/2002::2'
vyos@vyos:~$ show ipv6 route
Codes: K - kernel route, C - connected, S - static, R - RIPng,
O - OSPFv3, I - IS-IS, B - BGP, N - NHRP, T - Table,
v - VNC, V - VNC-Direct, A - Babel, F - PBR,
f - OpenFabric,
> - selected route, * - FIB route, q - queued, r - rejected, b - backup
t - trapped, o - offload failure
C>* 2001:db8:201::/64 is directly connected, eth0.201, 00:00:46
S>* 2001:db8:1000::/36 [1/0] via 2001:db8:201::ffff, eth0.201, seg6 2001:db8:aaaa::7,2002::4,2002::3,2002::2, weight 1, 00:00:08
IPv6 interface routes
IPv6 interface routes direct traffic destined for a single IPv6 host or subnet out of a specific local interface. Use the following commands to configure IPv6 interface routes for a specific remote subnet.
Configure the next-hop interface for the specified subnet.
You can configure multiple next-hop interfaces for the same destination subnet.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 interface eth0
Disable the route via the specified next-hop interface.
This command temporarily deactivates the route while preserving the configured subnet, interface, and distance parameters.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 interface eth0 disable
Configure the administrative distance for the route via the specified next-hop interface.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255. The default distance is 1.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 interface eth0 distance 10
Configure an IPv6 interface route that utilizes Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) to reach a destination subnet.
Use a forward slash (/) to separate multiple IPv6 segment identifiers
(SIDs) in your sequence.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1000::/36 interface eth0 segments '2001:db8:aaaa::7/2002::4/2002::3/2002::2'
IPv6 BFD
BFD monitors the reachability of a static route’s next-hop IPv6 address. Use the following commands to configure BFD parameters for your IPv6 static routes.
Enable BFD monitoring for the route via the specified next-hop IPv6 address.
The system uses the next-hop IPv6 address as the BFD peer destination.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1 bfd
Apply the settings from a designated BFD profile to the BFD session that monitors the specified next-hop IPv6 address.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1 bfd profile custom-profile
Enable a multi-hop BFD session to monitor the reachability of the specified next-hop IPv6 address.
The system initiates the BFD session from the specified local source IPv6 address.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 next-hop 2001:db8:100::1 bfd multi-hop source-address 2001:db8:200::1
IPv6 reject routes
IPv6 reject routes explicitly drop traffic destined for a single IPv6 host or subnet and return an ICMPv6 unreachable message to the sending device. Use the following commands to configure IPv6 reject routes.
Configure a reject route for the specified subnet.
The system discards traffic destined for this subnet and returns an ICMPv6 destination unreachable message to the sending device.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 reject
Configure the administrative distance for the reject route.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 reject distance 200
Configure a numeric tag for the reject route.
The allowed range is 1 to 4294967295.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 reject tag 100
IPv6 blackhole routes
Blackhole routes silently discard traffic destined for a specific subnet. Unlike a reject route, which notifies the sender with an ICMPv6 destination unreachable message, a blackhole route drops the packets without generating any response.
Configure a blackhole route for the specified subnet.
The system silently discards matching packets without sending an ICMPv6 response to the source.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 blackhole
Configure the administrative distance for the blackhole route.
Routes with a lower administrative distance are prioritized over routes with a higher distance.
The allowed range is 1 to 255.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 blackhole distance 200
Configure a numeric tag for the blackhole route.
The allowed range is 1 to 4294967295.
Example:
set protocols static route6 2001:db8:1::/64 blackhole tag 100
Alternate routing tables
Alternate routing tables are utilized to implement both Policy-Based Routing (PBR) and Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF).