Traffic Shaping On Cisco IOS

9/20/22, 12:21 PM Traffic Shaping on Cisco IOS
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Traffic Shaping on Cisco IOS 
Lesson Contents
Course Contents
1. Configuration CCNP ENCOR 350-401
2. Conclusion
 Unit 1: Switching
 Unit 2: Routing
In a previous lesson I explained how we can use shaping to enforce lower bitrates. In this
 Unit 3: Wireless
lesson, I will explain how to configure shaping. This is the topology we will use:
 Unit 4: Multicast
 Unit 5: Network Architecture
 Unit 6: Services
 6.1 NTP
 6.2 NAT/PAT
 6.3 First Hop Redundancy Protocols
 6.4 Quality of Service (QoS)
Introduction to Quality of Service

(QoS)
IntServ and RSVP
IP Precedence and DSCP Values
QoS Classification
QoS Marking
QoS Low Latency Queuing (LLQ)
QoS on LAN Switches
QoS Trust Boundary
Classification and Marking on

Switches
Introduction to Shaping
Above we have two routers connected to each other with a serial and FastEthernet link. Shaping Configuration
We’ll use both interfaces to play with shaping. The computers are used for iPerf which is Introduction to Policing
a great application to test the maximum achievable bandwidth. The computer on the left Policing Configuration
side is our client, on the right side we have the server. Right now we are using the serial  Unit 7: Network Assurance
 Unit 8: Security
interfaces thanks to the following static routes:
 Unit 9: Automation
 Unit 10: Virtualization

R1#
 Unit 11: Practice Exam

ip route 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.2
R2#
ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.1
Let’s take a look at some examples!
1. Configuration
https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccnp-encor-350-401/traffic-shaping-on-cisco-ios 1/12
24:22
We will start with some low bandwidth settings. Let’s set the clock rate of the serial
interface to 128 Kbps:
R2(config)#interface Serial 0/0/0
R2(config-if)#clock rate 128000
Let’s start iPerf on the server:
SERVER# iperf -s
------------------------------------------------------------
Server listening on TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 85.3 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
That’s all we have to do on the server side, it will listen on the default port with a window
size of 85.3 Kbyte. Here’s what we will do on the client side:
CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 192.168.2.2, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[ 4] local 192.168.1.1 port 44344 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001
The “-P” parameter tells the client to establish eight connections. I’m using multiple
connections so we get a nice average bandwidth. Here’s what you will see on the server:
Server#
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.0-136.2 sec 256 KBytes 15.4 Kbits/sec
[SUM] 0.0-172.9 sec 2.50 MBytes 121 Kbits/sec
Above you see the individual connections and the [SUM] is the combined throughput of
all connections. 121 Kbps comes pretty close to the clock rate of 128 Kbps which we
configured.
Let’s configure shaping to limit the throughput of Iperf. This is done with the MQC
(Modular Quality of Service) framework which makes the configuration very simple. First
we need to configure an access-list which matches our traffic:
R1(config)#ip access-list extended IPERF_CLIENT_SERVER
R1(config-ext-nacl)#permit ip host 192.168.1.1 host 192.168.2.2
The access-list above will match all traffic from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.2. Now we need
to create a class-map:
R1(config)#class-map IPERF
R1(config-cmap)#match access-group name IPERF_CLIENT_SERVER
The class map is called IPERF and matches our access-list. Now we can configure a policy-
map:
R1(config)#policy-map SHAPE_AVERAGE
R1(config-pmap)#class IPERF
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape ?
adaptive Enable Traffic Shaping adaptation to BECN
average configure token bucket: CIR (bps) [Bc (bits) [Be

(bits)]],
send out Bc only per interval
fecn-adapt Enable Traffic Shaping reflection of FECN as BECN
fr-voice-adapt Enable rate adjustment depending on voice presence
peak configure token bucket: CIR (bps) [Bc (bits) [Be

(bits)]],
send out Bc+Be per interval
In the policy-map we select the class-map, above you can see the options for shaping.
We’ll start with a simple example:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average ?
<8000-154400000> Target Bit Rate (bits/sec). (postfix k, m, g

optional;
decimal point allowed)
percent % of interface bandwidth for Committed information

rate
We will go for shape average where we have to specify the target bit rate. Let’s go for 64
Kbps (64000 bps):
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 64000 ?
<32-154400000> bits per interval, sustained. Recommend not to

configure, the
algorithm will fi
When you configure the target bit rate, there’s an option to specify the bits per interval.
Cisco IOS recommends you not to configure this manually so for now, we’ll stick to
configuring the bit rate. This means Cisco IOS will automatically calculate the Bc and Tc:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 64000
That’s all there is to it. Now we can activate our policy-map on the interface:
R1(config-if)#service-policy output SHAPE_AVERAGE
Everything is now in place, let’s try iPerf again:
CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
Here’s the sum on the server:
SERVER#
[SUM] 0.0-300.5 sec 2.12 MBytes 59.3 Kbits/sec
Great, that’s close to 64 Kbps. Here’s what it looks like on our router:
R1#show policy-map interface Serial 0/0/0
Serial0/0/0
Service-policy output: SHAPE_AVERAGE
Class-map: IPERF (match-all)
1916 packets, 2815928 bytes
5 minute offered rate 41000 bps, drop rate 0 bps
Match: access-group name IPERF_CLIENT_SERVER
Queueing
queue limit 64 packets
(queue depth/total drops/no-buffer drops) 0/324/0
(pkts output/bytes output) 1592/2330664
shape (average) cir 64000, bc 256, be 256
target shape rate 64000
Class-map: class-default (match-any)
Match: any
Above you can see that we have matched packets on our policy-map. Cisco IOS decided
to use 256 bits for the Bc value.
The example above is of a Cisco 2800 router running IOS 15.1 which only
 shows you the calculated Bc value. Older Cisco IOS versions show a lot more
detailed information, including the calculated Tc value.
How did it come up with this value? The Tc can be calculated like this:
Tc = Bc / CIR
This is what the formula looks like:
256 / 64000 = 0.004.
By using a Bc value of 256 bits, our Tc becomes 4 ms.
Let’s look at some more examples, I’ll also explain how to change the Be and Tc values.
Let’s set the clock rate to 256 Kbps and shape to 128 Kbps:
Now we only have to change our shaping configuration:
Here’s what it looks like on the router:
Serial0/0/0
Queueing
This time we have a Bc of 512 bits. Why?
512 / 128000 = 0.004
Once again we have a Tc value of 4 ms. Let’s try iPerf again:
CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
Here’s the result:
SERVER#
Seems our shaper is working fine, we get close to 128 Kbps. Let’s bump up the clock rate
again:
We’ll shape to 50% of the available bandwidth again:
Serial0/0/0
Queueing
This time we see a Bc value of 1024:
1024 / 256000 = 0.004
Once again, Cisco IOS sets the Bc value so we end up with a Tc value of 4 ms. Let’s try
iPerf again:
CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
SERVER#
This is looking good, our traffic is limited to 246 Kbps.
What about faster interfaces? Let’s try something with our FastEthernet interfaces
between R1 and R2. Let’s change the static route so that R1 and R2 don’t use the serial
links anymore:
R1(config)#no ip route 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.2
R1(config)#ip route 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.21.2
R2(config)#no ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.1
R2(config)#ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.21.1
Let’s see what kind of throughput we get without any shaper configured:
CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
SERVER#
[SUM] 0.0-10.2 sec 116 MBytes 95.4 Mbits/sec
The output above is what we would expect from a 100 Mbit link. Let’s shape this to 1
Mbit:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 1m
Instead of specifying the shape value in bits, you can also use “k” or “m” to specify Kbps
or Mbps. Let’s activate it:
R1(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/0
R1(config-if)#service-policy output SHAPE_AVERAGE
What Bc value did the router calculate this time?
R1#show policy-map interface FastEthernet 0/0
FastEthernet0/0
0 packets, 0 bytes
Queueing
We see a Bc value of 4000:
4000 / 1000000 = 0.004 ms.
Once again, the router prefers a Tc of 4 ms.
The most recent Cisco IOS versions always prefer a Tc of 4 ms and will
 calculate the Bc value accordingly. On older Cisco IOS versions it’s possible
that you see higher Bc values with a Tc of 125 ms.
Let’s test Iperf again:
CLIENT~# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8
SERVER#
Great, our traffic is now shaped to 955 Kbps which is close enough to 1 Mbps.
So far we used the default Bc and Tc values that the router calculated for us. What if we
have a requirement where we have to configure one of these values manually?
We can’t configure the Tc directly but we can change the Bc. Let’s say that we have a
requirement where we have to set the Tc to 10 ms. How do we approach this?
Here’s the formula to calculate the Tc:

Bc = Tc * CIR
So in our case we want 10 ms:
10 ms * 1000 Kbps = 10.000 bits
Let’s configure our Bc value to 10.000 bits:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 1m ?
<32-154400000> bits per interval, sustained. Recommend not to

configure, the
algorithm will fi
First we set the targetted bit rate and then we set the Bc value:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 1m 10000
That should do it, let’s check the router:
FastEthernet0/0
Queueing
That’s all there is to it. Let’s try one more example, let’s say we want a Tc of 125 ms:
125 ms * 1000 Kbps = 125.000 bits
Let’s configure this:
R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 1000000 125000
FastEthernet0/0
Queueing
That’s it, you have now seen how to configure shaping and how to influence the Tc by
setting different Bc values.
2. Conclusion
Thanks to the MQC, configuring shaping on Cisco IOS routers is pretty straightforward.
You have now learned how to configure shaping and also how to influence the Tc by
setting the correct Bc value.
In the next lesson, I will explain how “peak” shaping works which works a bit different
compared to “average” shaping.
Configurations
Want to take a look for yourself? Here you will find the final configuration of each device.
R1
hostname R1
ip cef
interface FastEthernet0/0
ip address 192.168.21.1 255.255.255.0
ip address 192.168.1.254 255.255.255.0
interface Serial0/0/0
ip address 192.168.12.1 255.255.255.0
ip route 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.21.2
end
R2
hostname R2
ip cef
ip address 192.168.21.2 255.255.255.0
ip address 192.168.2.254 255.255.255.0
interface Serial0/0/0
ip address 192.168.12.2 255.255.255.0
ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.21.1
end
I hope you enjoyed this lesson, if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment
below.
« Previous Lesson
Introduction to Shaping
Next Lesson
Introduction to Policing »
 Tags: IOS, Shaping
Forum Replies

johnfrades
this is what im waiting for! thanks! will read this!

wuchester
Been waiting for this! thank you…

mangatoea
Thanks Rene!
This is exactly what i needed to better understand this.
Also nice to know that newer ios versions adopt the Tc value as 4ms now, i.s.o 125ms before.
That makes it good for all in regards to voice and video or latency sensitive traffic!

ReneMolenaar
Hi Edwin,
That’s good to hear! I agree that 125 ms was a bit too much. Decreasing the Tc could increase the CPU load, I haven’t really tested this but it might be
something to keep in mind…next time I’m messing around with shaping I’ll see what the impact is
Rene

jonstatic1982
I work with Carrier Ethernet circuits that have policed Committed Burst Size variables. If I understand this correctly, I should be to shape the traffic using
shape average (CIR) (CBSx8) (EBS) x 8. According to MEF, a good rule of thumb for CBS is 8x mtu. We typically have an EBS of 0. Would it be appropriate to
divide the CBS by two use that value for CBS and EBS or is another strategy more better?
 51 more replies! Ask a question or join the discussion by visiting our Community Forum
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9/20/22, 12:21 PM Traffic Shaping on Cisco IOS

You are here: Home » Cisco » CCNP ENCOR 350-401

Traffic Shaping on Cisco IOS 

 Unit 5: Network Architecture

 6.3 First Hop Redundancy Protocols

 6.4 Quality of Service (QoS)

Introduction to Quality of Service

IntServ and RSVP

IP Precedence and DSCP Values

QoS Low Latency Queuing (LLQ)

QoS on LAN Switches

QoS Trust Boundary

Classification and Marking on

 Unit 10: Virtualization

 Unit 11: Practice Exam

ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.12.1

Let’s take a look at some examples!

R2(config)#interface Serial 0/0/0

R2(config-if)#clock rate 128000

Let’s start iPerf on the server:

Server listening on TCP port 5001

TCP window size: 85.3 KByte (default)

CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8

Client connecting to 192.168.2.2, TCP port 5001

TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default)

[ 4] local 192.168.1.1 port 44344 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 5] local 192.168.1.1 port 44345 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 6] local 192.168.1.1 port 44346 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 7] local 192.168.1.1 port 44347 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 8] local 192.168.1.1 port 44348 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 3] local 192.168.1.1 port 44343 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ 9] local 192.168.1.1 port 44349 connected with 192.168.2.2 port 5001

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth

[ 4] 0.0-136.2 sec 256 KBytes 15.4 Kbits/sec

[ 10] 0.0-137.0 sec 256 KBytes 15.3 Kbits/sec

[ 11] 0.0-138.0 sec 256 KBytes 15.2 Kbits/sec

[ 9] 0.0-138.4 sec 256 KBytes 15.1 Kbits/sec

[ 5] 0.0-148.0 sec 384 KBytes 21.3 Kbits/sec

[ 6] 0.0-166.7 sec 384 KBytes 18.9 Kbits/sec

[ 8] 0.0-171.4 sec 384 KBytes 18.4 Kbits/sec

[ 7] 0.0-172.9 sec 384 KBytes 18.2 Kbits/sec

[SUM] 0.0-172.9 sec 2.50 MBytes 121 Kbits/sec

R1(config)#ip access-list extended IPERF_CLIENT_SERVER

R1(config-ext-nacl)#permit ip host 192.168.1.1 host 192.168.2.2

R1(config-cmap)#match access-group name IPERF_CLIENT_SERVER

adaptive Enable Traffic Shaping adaptation to BECN

average configure token bucket: CIR (bps) [Bc (bits) [Be

send out Bc only per interval

fecn-adapt Enable Traffic Shaping reflection of FECN as BECN

fr-voice-adapt Enable rate adjustment depending on voice presence

peak configure token bucket: CIR (bps) [Bc (bits) [Be

send out Bc+Be per interval

<8000-154400000> Target Bit Rate (bits/sec). (postfix k, m, g

decimal point allowed)

percent % of interface bandwidth for Committed information

R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 64000 ?

<32-154400000> bits per interval, sustained. Recommend not to

R1(config-pmap-c)#shape average 64000

R1(config)#interface Serial 0/0/0

R1(config-if)#service-policy output SHAPE_AVERAGE

Everything is now in place, let’s try iPerf again:

CLIENT# iperf -c 192.168.2.2 -P 8

Here’s the sum on the server: