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This chapter describes how to configure committed access rate (CAR) and Distributed CAR (DCAR).
For complete conceptual information, see the section "Committed Access Rate" in the "Classification Overview" chapter and the section "Policing with CAR" in the "Policing and Shaping Overview" chapter in this book.
For a complete description of the CAR commands in this chapter, refer to the Cisco IOS Quality of Service Solutions Command Reference. To locate documentation of other commands that appear in this chapter, use the command reference master index, or search online.
CAR is supported on the following platforms:
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Note CAR and DCAR can only be used with IP traffic. Non-IP traffic is not rate limited. CAR and DCAR can be configured on an interface or subinterface. However, CAR and DCAR are not supported on the Fast EtherChannel, tunnel, or PRI interfaces, nor on any interface that does not support Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF). CEF must be enabled on the interface before you configure CAR or DCAR. |
The CAR and DCAR services limit the input or output transmission rate on an interface or subinterface based on a flexible set of criteria. CAR is often configured on interfaces at the edge of a network to limit traffic into or out of the network.
You can set CAR rate policies that are associated with one of the following:
Each interface can have multiple CAR policies, corresponding to different types of traffic. For example, low-priority traffic may be limited to a lower rate than high-priority traffic. With multiple rate policies, the router examines each policy in the order entered until the packet matches. If a match is not found, the default action is to send.
The rate policies can be independent; each rate policy deals with a different type of traffic. Alternatively, rate policies can be cascading; a packet can be compared to multiple different rate policies in succession. You can configure up to 100 rate policies on a subinterface.
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Note Because of the linear search for the matching rate-limit statement, the CPU load increases with the number of rate policies. |
To configure CAR, perform the tasks in the following sections. The first two sections are required; the remaining sections are optional.
See the end of this chapter for the section "CAR and DCAR Configuration Examples."
To configure CAR (or DCAR on Cisco 7000 series with RSP7000 or Cisco 7500 series routers with a VIP2-40 or greater interface processor) for all IP traffic, use the following commands beginning in global configuration mode:
| Command | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
Step 1 | interface interface-type interface-number | Specifies the interface or subinterface. This command puts the router in interface configuration mode. |
Step 2 | rate-limit {input | output} bps burst-normal burst-max conform-action action exceed-action action | Specifies a basic CAR policy for all IP traffic. See Table 4 for a description of conform and exceed action keywords. |
Step 3 | end | Exits interface configuration mode. |
Basic CAR and DCAR functionality requires the following criteria to be defined:
Conform and exceed actions are described in Table 4.
| Keyword | Description |
|---|---|
continue | Evaluate the next rate-limit command. |
drop | Drop the packet. |
set-prec-continue new-prec | Set the IP Precedence and evaluate the next rate-limit command. |
set-prec-transmit new-prec | Set the IP Precedence and send the packet. |
transmit | Send the packet. |
See the sections "Configuring CAR and DCAR Policies" and "Configuring a Class-Based DCAR Policy" to understand how to configure other CAR and DCAR policy options. See the sections "Subrate IP Services Example" and "Input and Output Rate Limiting on an Interface Example" for examples of how to configure CAR for all IP traffic.
| Command | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
Step 1 | interface interface-type interface-number | Specifies the interface or subinterface. This command puts the router in interface configuration mode. |
Step 2 | rate-limit {input | output} [access-group [rate-limit] acl-index] bps burst-normal burst-max conform-action action exceed-action action | Specifies the rate policy for each particular class of traffic. See Table 4 for a description of conform- and exceed-action keywords. Repeat this command for each different class of traffic. |
Step 3 | access-list rate-limit acl-index {precedence | mac-address | mask prec-mask} | (Optional) Specifies a rate-limited access list. Repeat this command if you wish to specify a new access list. |
Step 4 | access-list acl-index {deny | permit} source
[source-wildcard]
or access-list acl-index {deny | permit} protocol source source-wildcard destination destination-wildcard [precedence precedence] | (Optional) Specifies a standard or extended access list. Repeat this command to further configure the access list or specify a new access list. |
Step 5 | end | Exits interface configuration mode. |
The following sections describe requirements for specific policies.
Use the access-list rate-limit command to classify packets using either IP Precedence or MAC addresses. You can then apply CAR policies using the rate-limit command to individual rate-limited access lists. Packets with different IP Precedences or MAC addresses are treated differently by the CAR service. See the section "Rate Limiting in an IXP Example" for an example of how to configure a CAR policy using MAC addresses.
Use the access-list command to define CAR policy based on access list. The acl-index argument is an access list number. Use a number from 1 to 99 to classify packets by precedence or precedence mask. Use a number from 100 to 199 to classify by MAC address.
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Note If an access list is not present, the rate-limit command will act as if no access list is defined and all traffic will be rate limited accordingly. |
See the section "Rate Limiting by Access List Example" for an example of how to configure a CAR policy using IP access lists.
To configure a class-based DCAR policy, use the following commands beginning in interface configuration mode. The tasks listed in this section are required unless noted as optional.
| Command | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
Step 1 | interface interface-type interface-number | Specifies the interface or subinterface. This command puts the router in interface configuration mode. |
Step 2 | rate-limit {input | output} [access-group [rate-limit] acl-index] bps burst-normal burst-max conform-action action exceed-action action | Specifies the rate policy for each particular class of traffic. See Table 4 for policy conform- and exceed-action keywords. Repeat this command for each different class of traffic. |
Step 3 | random-detect precedence precedence min-threshold max-threshold mark-prob-denominator | Configures WRED and specifies parameters for packets with specific IP Precedence. |
Step 4 | access-list acl-index {deny | permit} source
[source-wildcard]
or access-list acl-index {deny | permit} protocol
source source-wildcard destination
destination-wildcard [precedence precedence] | (Optional) Specifies a standard or extended access list. Repeat this command to further configure the access list or specify a new access list. |
Step 5 | end | Exits interface configuration mode. |
Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
show access-lists |
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show access-lists rate-limit [access-list-number] |
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show interfaces [interface-type interface-number] rate-limit |
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The following sections provide CAR and DCAR configuration examples:
For information on how to configure CAR and DCAR, see the section "Committed Access Rate Configuration Task List" in this chapter.
The following example illustrates how to configure a basic CAR policy that allows all IP traffic. In the example, the network operator delivers a physical T3 link to the customer, but offers a less expensive 20 Mbps subrate service. The customer pays only for the subrate bandwidth, which can be upgraded with additional access bandwidth based on demand. The CAR policy limits the traffic rate available to the customer and delivered to the network to the agreed upon rate limit, plus the ability to temporarily burst over the limit.
interface hssi 0/0/0 rate-limit output 20000000 24000 32000 conform-action transmit exceed-action drop ip address 10.1.0.9 255.255.255.0
In this example, a customer is connected to an Internet service provider (ISP) by a T3 link. The ISP wants to rate limit the customer's transmissions to 20 Mbps of the 45 Mbps. In addition, the customer is allowed to send bursts of 24000 bytes. All packets exceeding this limit are dropped. The following commands are configured on the ISP's High-Speed Serial Interface (HSSI) connected to the customer:
interface Hssi0/0/0 description 45Mbps to R1 rate-limit input 20000000 24000 24000 conform-action transmit exceed-action drop ip address 200.200.14.250 255.255.255.252 rate-limit output 20000000 24000 24000 conform-action transmit exceed-action drop
To verify the configuration and monitor CAR statistics, use the show interfaces rate-limit command:
Router# show interfaces hssi 0/0/0 rate-limit Hssi0/0/0 45Mbps to R1 Input matches: all traffic params: 20000000 bps, 24000 limit, 24000 extended limit conformed 8 packets, 428 bytes; action: transmit exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: drop last packet: 8680ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 00:03:59 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps Output matches: all traffic params: 20000000 bps, 24000 limit, 24000 extended limit conformed 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: transmit exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: drop last packet: 8680ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 00:03:59 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps
The following example uses rate limiting to control traffic in an Internet Exchange Point (IXP). Because an IXP comprises many neighbors around an FDDI ring, MAC address rate-limited access lists are used to control traffic from a particular ISP. Traffic from one ISP (at MAC address 00e0.34b0.7777) is compared to a rate limit of 80 Mbps of the 100 Mbps available on the FDDI connection. Traffic that conforms to this rate is sent. Nonconforming traffic is dropped.
interface Fddi2/1/0 rate-limit input access-group rate-limit 100 800000000 64000 80000 conform-action transmit exceed-action drop ip address 200.200.6.1 255.255.255.0 ! access-list rate-limit 100 00e0.34b0.7777
To verify the configuration and monitor the CAR statistics, use the show interfaces rate-limit command:
Router# show interfaces fddi2/1/0 rate-limit Fddi2/1/0 Input matches: access-group rate-limit 100 params: 800000000 bps, 64000 limit, 80000 extended limit conformed 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: transmit exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: drop last packet: 4737508ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 01:05:47 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps
The following example shows how CAR can be used to limit the rate by application to ensure capacity for other traffic including mission-critical applications:
Figure 3 illustrates the configuration. Notice that two access lists are created to classify the Web and FTP traffic so that they can be handled separately by CAR.

interface Hssi0/0/0 description 45Mbps to R2 rate-limit output access-group 101 20000000 24000 32000 conform-action set-prec- transmit 5 exceed-action set-prec-transmit 0 rate-limit output access-group 102 10000000 24000 32000 conform-action set-prec-transmit 5 exceed-action drop rate-limit output 8000000 16000 24000 conform-action set-prec-transmit 5 exceed-action drop ip address 10.1.0.9 255.255.255.0 ! access-list 101 permit tcp any any eq www access-list 102 permit tcp any any eq ftp
To verify the configuration and monitor CAR statistics, use the show interfaces rate-limit command:
Router# show interfaces hssi 0/0/0 rate-limit Hssi0/0/0 45Mbps to R2 Input matches: access-group 101 params: 20000000 bps, 24000 limit, 32000 extended limit conformed 3 packets, 189 bytes; action: set-prec-transmit 5 exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: set-prec-transmit 0 last packet: 309100ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 00:08:00 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps matches: access-group 102 params: 10000000 bps, 24000 limit, 32000 extended limit conformed 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: set-prec-transmit 5 exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: drop last packet: 19522612ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 00:07:18 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps matches: all traffic params: 8000000 bps, 16000 limit, 24000 extended limit conformed 5 packets, 315 bytes; action: set-prec-transmit 5 exceeded 0 packets, 0 bytes; action: drop last packet: 9632ms ago, current burst: 0 bytes last cleared 00:05:43 ago, conformed 0 bps, exceeded 0 bps
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Posted: Mon Aug 21 21:22:19 PDT 2000
Copyright 1989-2000©Cisco Systems Inc.