Route Map

Route maps are sophisticated policy tools that provide conditional routing decisions by combining flexible match criteria with configurable set actions, enabling complex routing policies for route redistribution, BGP path selection, and traffic engineering. They operate using sequence-based entries that define match conditions (such as prefix lists, access lists, AS paths, or communities) paired with set actions (including metric modification, next-hop assignment, community tagging, and BGP attribute manipulation). Route maps are fundamental building blocks for implementing advanced routing policies, enabling administrators to control route advertisement, path selection, and traffic flow while supporting features like conditional route filtering, multi-homed network optimization, and service provider peering policies.

Diagram

Classes

configuration (iosxe.devices)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
route_maps	List	`[route_maps]`	No

route_maps (iosxe.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
name	String	Regex: `^[^\s]*$`	Yes
entries	List	`[entries]`	No

entries (iosxe.devices.configuration.route_maps)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
seq	Integer	min: `0`, max: `65535`	Yes
operation	Choice	`deny`, `permit`	No
description	String		No
continue	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
continue_sequence_number	Integer	min: `0`, max: `65535`	No
match	Class	`[match]`	No
set	Class	`[set]`	No

match (iosxe.devices.configuration.route_maps.entries)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
interfaces	List	String	No
ipv4_address_access_lists	List	String	No
ipv4_address_prefix_lists	List	String	No
ipv4_next_hop_access_lists	List	String	No
ipv4_next_hop_prefix_lists	List	String	No
ipv6_address_access_lists	String		No
ipv6_address_prefix_lists	String		No
ipv6_next_hop_access_lists	String		No
ipv6_next_hop_prefix_lists	String		No
route_type	Class	`[route_type]`	No
source_protocol	Class	`[source_protocol]`	No
tags	List	Integer	No
track	Integer	min: `1`, max: `1000`	No
as_paths	List	Integer	No
community_lists	List	String	No
community_list_exact_match	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
extcommunity_lists	List	String	No
local_preferences	List	Integer	No

set (iosxe.devices.configuration.route_maps.entries)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
default_interfaces	List	String	No
global	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
interfaces	List	String	No
ipv4_address	String		No
ipv4_default_global_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
ipv4_default_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
ipv4_global_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
ipv4_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
ipv4_next_hop_self	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv4_next_hop_unchanged	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv4_qos_group	Integer	min: `0`, max: `99`	No
ipv6_addresses	List	String	No
ipv6_default_global_next_hop	IP		No
ipv6_default_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
ipv6_next_hop_addresses	List	IP	No
level_1	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
level_1_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
level_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
metric_change	String		No
metric_value	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
metric_delay	String		No
metric_reliability	Integer	min: `0`, max: `255`	No
metric_loading	Integer	min: `1`, max: `255`	No
metric_mtu	Integer	min: `1`, max: `4294967295`	No
metric_type	Choice	`external`, `internal`, `type-1`, `type-2`	No
tag	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
vrf	String		No
as_path_prepend_as	String		No
as_path_prepend_last_as	Integer	min: `1`, max: `10`	No
as_path_tag	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
as_path_replace_any	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
as_path_replace_as	List	String	No
community_none	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
communities	List	String	No
communities_additive	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
community_list_delete	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
community_list_standard	Integer	min: `1`, max: `99`	No
community_list_expanded	Integer	min: `100`, max: `500`	No
community_list_name	String		No
extcomunity_rt	List	String	No
extcomunity_soo	String		No
extcomunity_vpn_distinguisher	String		No
extcomunity_vpn_distinguisher_additive	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
local_preference	Integer	min: `0`, max: `4294967295`	No
weight	Integer	min: `0`, max: `65535`	No

route_type (iosxe.devices.configuration.route_maps.entries.match)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
external	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
external_type_1	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
external_type_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
internal	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
level_1	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
level_2	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
local	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

source_protocol (iosxe.devices.configuration.route_maps.entries.match)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
bgp	List	String	No
connected	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
eigrp	List	String	No
isis	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
lisp	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ospf	List	String	No
ospfv3	List	String	No
rip	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
static	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

By combining match criteria with set actions, route maps enable flexible, conditional routing policies for precise control over route advertisement and traffic flow.

Route Map Parameters

Key Components:

Route Map Name (name): The identifier for the route map.
Entry Sequence Number (entries.seq): The sequence number for each route map entry.
Operation (entries.operation): Specifies whether the entry permits or denies matched routes.
Match Criteria (entries.match): Defines conditions for route selection (e.g., prefix-list, access-list, AS-path, community-list, interface, tag, protocol, local-preference).
Set Actions (entries.set): Specifies actions to apply to matched routes (e.g., metric, metric-mtu, next-hop, local preference, community, extcommunity, AS-path prepend, tag).
Description (entries.description): Adds descriptive text to route map entries.

Key Parameters Briefly Explained:

name: Route map identifier.
entries.seq: Entry sequence number.
entries.operation: Permit or deny action.
entries.match: Match conditions for route selection.
entries.set: Actions applied to matched routes.
entries.description: Entry description.

You can use these Route Map parameters to define granular and conditional routing policies. Customize match conditions and set actions to fit your network’s traffic engineering, route redistribution, and BGP path selection requirements. Adjusting these parameters lets you precisely control how routes are advertised, filtered, and preferred across your network.

Sample Configuration

The following configuration describes how to set up route maps on a Cisco IOS-XE device, including route map entries with permit/deny actions, match conditions, and set actions for advanced routing policies.

ip prefix-list CUSTOMER-PREFIXES seq 5 permit 10.0.0.0/8 le 24
ip prefix-list BACKUP-PREFIXES seq 5 permit 172.16.0.0/16 le 24
!
route-map BGP-IN-FILTER permit 10
 description Allow specific prefixes and set local preference
 match ip address prefix-list CUSTOMER-PREFIXES
 set local-preference 200
 set community 65001:100
!
route-map BGP-IN-FILTER permit 20
 description Allow remaining prefixes with default preference
 match ip address prefix-list BACKUP-PREFIXES
 set local-preference 100
!
route-map BGP-OUT-FILTER permit 10
 description Advertise internal routes with community
 match ip address prefix-list INTERNAL-ROUTES
 set as-path prepend 65001 65001
 set community 65001:200
!
route-map BGP-OUT-FILTER permit 20
 description Set next-hop for specific interfaces
 match interface GigabitEthernet0/0/1
 set ip next-hop 192.168.1.1
 set metric 100
!
route-map BGP-OUT-FILTER deny 30
 description Deny all other routes
!
route-map EIGRP-SOURCE-FILTER permit 10
 description Match routes from specific EIGRP autonomous systems
 match source-protocol eigrp 100
 match source-protocol eigrp 200
!
route-map FILTER-BY-LOCAL-PREF permit 10
 description Match routes with specific local preference values
 match local-preference 100
 match local-preference 200
!
route-map SET-METRIC-POLICY permit 10
 description Set composite metric including MTU for redistributed routes
 match source-protocol static
 set metric 10000 100 255 1 1500
!
route-map VPN-EXTCOMMUNITY-POLICY permit 10
 description Set VPN distinguisher with additive behavior
 match ip address prefix-list VPN-ROUTES
 set extcommunity vpn-distinguisher 65001:100 additive
!
route-map STRIP-COMMUNITIES permit 10
 description Remove all communities from incoming routes
 match ip address prefix-list UNTRUSTED-PEERS
 set community none
!
route-map PREFER-PRIMARY-PATH permit 10
 description Set high weight for primary path selection
 match ip address prefix-list PRIMARY-PEER-ROUTES
 set weight 200
!
route-map PREFER-PRIMARY-PATH permit 20
 description Set lower weight for backup path
 match ip address prefix-list BACKUP-PEER-ROUTES
 set weight 100
!
route-map SET-IPV4-ADDRESS-POLICY permit 10
 description Set destination address using prefix-list
 match ip address prefix-list TRAFFIC-TO-REDIRECT
 set ip address prefix-list REDIRECT-DESTINATIONS
!
route-map IPV6-DEFAULT-NEXTHOP permit 10
 description Set IPv6 default next-hop as fallback
 match ipv6 address prefix-list IPV6-TRAFFIC
 set ipv6 default next-hop 2001:DB8::1
 set ipv6 default next-hop 2001:DB8::2
!
route-map IPV6-FILTER permit 10
 description Match IPv6 routes using access-list
 match ipv6 address IPV6-ACL-NAME

Example YAML Code

The following YAML code defines multiple route maps on an IOS-XE device, specifying entries with sequence numbers, permit/deny operations, match criteria, and set actions for advanced routing policies.

iosxe:
  devices:
    - name: Device1
      configuration:
        route_maps:
          - name: BGP-IN-FILTER
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Allow specific prefixes and set local preference
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - CUSTOMER-PREFIXES
                set:
                  local_preference: 200
                  communities:
                    - "65001:100"
              - seq: 20
                operation: permit
                description: Allow remaining prefixes with default preference
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - BACKUP-PREFIXES
                set:
                  local_preference: 100
          - name: BGP-OUT-FILTER
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Advertise internal routes with community
                match:
                  source_protocol:
                    connected: true
                    eigrp:
                      - "100"
                      - "200"
                    static: true
                set:
                  as_path_prepend_as: "65001 65001"
                  communities:
                    - "65001:200"
              - seq: 20
                operation: permit
                description: Set next-hop for specific interfaces
                match:
                  interfaces:
                    - GigabitEthernet0/0/1
                set:
                  ipv4_next_hop_addresses:
                    - 192.168.1.1
                  metric_value: 100
              - seq: 30
                operation: deny
                description: Deny all other routes
          - name: BGP-ADVANCED-POLICY
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Preserve next-hop for eBGP routes with well-known communities
                match:
                  source_protocol:
                    bgp:
                      - "65002"
                set:
                  ipv4_next_hop_unchanged: true
                  communities:
                    - no-export       # Well-known: do not advertise to EBGP peers
                    - local-AS        # Well-known: do not send outside local AS
              - seq: 20
                operation: permit
                description: Tag routes with internet community
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - PUBLIC-ROUTES
                set:
                  communities:
                    - internet        # Well-known: advertise to all
                    - "65001:300"     # Custom community
          - name: FILTER-BY-LOCAL-PREF
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Match routes with specific local preference values
                match:
                  local_preferences:
                    - 100
                    - 200
          - name: SET-METRIC-POLICY
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Set composite metric including MTU for redistributed routes
                match:
                  source_protocol:
                    static: true
                set:
                  metric_value: 10000        # Bandwidth in Kbps
                  metric_delay: "100"        # Delay in tens of microseconds
                  metric_reliability: 255    # Reliability (0-255, 255 = 100%)
                  metric_loading: 1          # Load (1-255, 1 = unloaded)
                  metric_mtu: 1500           # MTU in bytes (1-4294967295)
          - name: VPN-EXTCOMMUNITY-POLICY
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Set VPN distinguisher with additive behavior
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - VPN-ROUTES
                set:
                  extcomunity_vpn_distinguisher: "65001:100"
                  extcomunity_vpn_distinguisher_additive: true  # Preserve existing extcommunities
          - name: STRIP-COMMUNITIES
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Remove all communities from incoming routes
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - UNTRUSTED-PEERS
                set:
                  community_none: true  # Clears all BGP communities from matched routes
          - name: PREFER-PRIMARY-PATH
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Set high weight for primary path selection
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - PRIMARY-PEER-ROUTES
                set:
                  weight: 200  # Higher weight preferred (0-65535, locally significant)
              - seq: 20
                operation: permit
                description: Set lower weight for backup path
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - BACKUP-PEER-ROUTES
                set:
                  weight: 100  # Lower weight = less preferred path
          - name: SET-IPV4-ADDRESS-POLICY
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Set destination address using prefix-list
                match:
                  ipv4_address_prefix_lists:
                    - TRAFFIC-TO-REDIRECT
                set:
                  ipv4_address: REDIRECT-DESTINATIONS  # Prefix-list name for destination address
          - name: IPV6-DEFAULT-NEXTHOP
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Set IPv6 default next-hop as fallback
                match:
                  ipv6_address_prefix_lists:
                    - IPV6-TRAFFIC
                set:
                  ipv6_default_next_hop_addresses:  # Used only when no route exists
                    - "2001:DB8::1"
                    - "2001:DB8::2"
          - name: IPV6-FILTER
            entries:
              - seq: 10
                operation: permit
                description: Match IPv6 routes using access-list
                match:
                  ipv6_address_access_lists: IPV6-ACL-NAME