PIM

PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast) manages multicast traffic distribution across NX-OS networks, supporting VRF-aware deployments with configurable rendezvous points, anycast RP for redundancy, and SSM (Source-Specific Multicast) range definitions. It provides per-VRF control over RP address assignments, group ranges, bidirectional mode, and SSM group lists with prefix list and route map filtering for granular multicast policy enforcement. Dynamic RP discovery is supported through BSR (candidate BSR, candidate RP and filter policies) and Auto-RP (mapping agent, candidate RP and filter policies), and ASM settings cover pre-built SPTs, shared-tree-only group ranges, (S,G) expiry timers, register policies and the register source interface. Global settings include router isolation and the PIM syslog logging level. PIM interface-level configuration enables sparse mode, BFD integration, DR priority, passive mode, border designation, neighbor filtering, hello interval and hello authentication across loopback, VLAN, Ethernet, and port-channel interfaces, and Ethernet and port-channel subinterfaces.

Note

hello_authentication_ah_md5 takes the type-3 encrypted key, as shown by show running-config (for example ip pim hello-authentication ah-md5 3 a667d47acc18ea6b → hello_authentication_ah_md5: a667d47acc18ea6b). A cleartext key is not applied by the device. To get the encrypted value, configure the key once with ip pim hello-authentication ah-md5 <key> and read it back from the running configuration.

PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast) manages multicast traffic distribution across NX-OS networks, supporting VRF-aware deployments with configurable rendezvous points, anycast RP for redundancy, and SSM (Source-Specific Multicast) range definitions. It provides per-VRF control over RP address assignments, group ranges, bidirectional mode, and SSM group lists with prefix list and route map filtering for granular multicast policy enforcement. PIM interface-level configuration enables sparse mode, BFD integration, DR priority, passive mode, border designation, and neighbor filtering across loopback, VLAN, Ethernet, and port-channel interfaces.

Diagram

Diagram

Classes

nxos

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
devices	List	devices	No
device_groups	List	device_groups	No
global	Class	global	No
templates	List	templates	No
interface_groups	List	interface_groups	No

nxos

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
devices	List	devices	No
device_groups	List	device_groups	No
global	Class	global	No
templates	List	templates	No

devices (nxos)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
configuration	Class	configuration	No

device_groups (nxos)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
configuration	Class	configuration	No

global (nxos)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
configuration	Class	configuration	No

templates (nxos)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
configuration	Class	configuration	No

interface_groups (nxos)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
configuration	Class	configuration	No

configuration (nxos.devices)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
routing	Class	routing	No
interfaces	Class	interfaces	No

configuration (nxos.interface_groups)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
subinterfaces	List	subinterfaces	No
pim	Class	pim	No

interfaces (nxos.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
loopbacks	List	loopbacks	No
vlans	List	vlans	No
ethernets	List	ethernets	No
port_channels	List	port_channels	No

ethernets (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
subinterfaces	List	subinterfaces	No
pim	Class	pim	No

ethernets (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

port_channels (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
subinterfaces	List	subinterfaces	No
pim	Class	pim	No

port_channels (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

routing (nxos.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

loopbacks (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

vlans (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

subinterfaces (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces.ethernets)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
pim	Class	pim	No

pim (nxos.devices.configuration.routing)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
evpn_border_leaf	Boolean	true, false	No
extranet	Boolean	true, false	No
isolate	Boolean	true, false	No
logging_level	Integer	min: 0, max: 7	No
bfd	Boolean	true, false	No
auto_enable	Boolean	true, false	No
flush_routes	Boolean	true, false	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	true, false	No
mtu	Integer	min: 1500, max: 65536	No
register_rate_limit	Integer	min: 0, max: 65535	No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No
spt_switch_graceful	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt_force	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt_route_map	String		No
pre_build_spt_prefix_list	String		No
spt_threshold_infinity_group_list	String		No
spt_threshold_infinity_group_list_prefix_list	String		No
use_shared_tree_only_group_list	String		No
use_shared_tree_only_group_list_prefix_list	String		No
sg_expiry_timer	Integer	min: 180, max: 604801	No
sg_expiry_timer_sg_list	String		No
sg_expiry_timer_prefix_list	String		No
register_policy	String		No
register_policy_prefix_list	String		No
register_source_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
register_source_interface_id	String		No
ssm	Class	ssm	No
rp_addresses	List	rp_addresses	No
anycast_rps	List	anycast_rps	No
bsr	Class	bsr	No
auto_rp	Class	auto_rp	No
vrfs	List	vrfs	No

pim (nxos.devices.configuration.routing)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
evpn_border_leaf	Boolean	true, false	No
extranet	Boolean	true, false	No
bfd	Boolean	true, false	No
auto_enable	Boolean	true, false	No
flush_routes	Boolean	true, false	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	true, false	No
mtu	Integer	min: 1500, max: 65536	No
register_rate_limit	Integer	min: 0, max: 65535	No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No
spt_switch_graceful	Boolean	true, false	No
ssm	Class	ssm	No
rps	List	rps	No
anycast_rps	List	anycast_rps	No
vrfs	List	vrfs	No

pim (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces.loopbacks)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
bfd_instance	Boolean	true, false	No
dr_priority	Integer	min: 1, max: 4294967295	No
passive	Boolean	true, false	No
sparse_mode	Boolean	true, false	No
border	Boolean	true, false	No
dr_delay	Integer	min: 1, max: 65535	No
jp_policy	String		No
neighbor_policy	String		No
neighbor_policy_prefix_list	String		No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No
hello_interval	Integer	min: 1, max: 18724286	No
hello_authentication_ah_md5	String		No
hello_authentication_keychain	String		No

pim (nxos.devices.configuration.interfaces.loopbacks)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
bfd_instance	Boolean	true, false	No
dr_priority	Integer	min: 1, max: 4294967295	No
passive	Boolean	true, false	No
sparse_mode	Boolean	true, false	No
border	Boolean	true, false	No
dr_delay	Integer	min: 1, max: 65535	No
jp_policy	String		No
neighbor_policy	String		No
neighbor_policy_prefix_list	String		No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No

ssm (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
range_1	IP		No
range_2	IP		No
range_3	IP		No
range_4	IP		No
prefix_list	String		No
none	Boolean	true, false	No
route_map	String		No

ssm (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
range_1	String		No
range_2	String		No
range_3	String		No
range_4	String		No
prefix_list	String		No
none	Boolean	true, false	No
route_map	String		No

rp_addresses (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
address	IP		Yes
group_list	IP		No
bidir	Boolean	true, false	No
override	Boolean	true, false	No
route_map	String		No
prefix_list	String		No

anycast_rps (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
address	IP		Yes
set_address	IP		Yes

bsr (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
listen	Boolean	true, false	No
forward	Boolean	true, false	No
bsr_candidate_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
bsr_candidate_interface_id	String		No
bsr_candidate_hash_len	Integer	min: 0, max: 65535	No
bsr_candidate_priority	Integer	min: 1, max: 255	No
bsr_candidate_interval	Integer	min: 1, max: 65535	No
rp_candidate_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
rp_candidate_interface_id	String		No
rp_candidate_group_list	IP		No
rp_candidate_route_map	String		No
rp_candidate_prefix_list	String		No
rp_candidate_priority	Integer	min: 0, max: 255	No
rp_candidate_interval	Integer	min: 1, max: 65535	No
rp_candidate_bidir	Boolean	true, false	No
bsr_policy	String		No
rp_candidate_policy	String		No

auto_rp (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
listen	Boolean	true, false	No
forward	Boolean	true, false	No
mapping_agent_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
mapping_agent_interface_id	String		No
mapping_agent_scope	Integer	min: 1, max: 255	No
rp_candidate_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
rp_candidate_interface_id	String		No
rp_candidate_group_list	IP		No
rp_candidate_route_map	String		No
rp_candidate_prefix_list	String		No
rp_candidate_scope	Integer	min: 1, max: 255	No
rp_candidate_interval	Integer	min: 1, max: 65535	No
rp_candidate_bidir	Boolean	true, false	No
mapping_agent_policy	String		No
rp_candidate_policy	String		No

vrfs (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
vrf	String		Yes
bfd	Boolean	true, false	No
auto_enable	Boolean	true, false	No
flush_routes	Boolean	true, false	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	true, false	No
mtu	Integer	min: 1500, max: 65536	No
register_rate_limit	Integer	min: 0, max: 65535	No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No
spt_switch_graceful	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt_force	Boolean	true, false	No
pre_build_spt_route_map	String		No
pre_build_spt_prefix_list	String		No
spt_threshold_infinity_group_list	String		No
spt_threshold_infinity_group_list_prefix_list	String		No
use_shared_tree_only_group_list	String		No
use_shared_tree_only_group_list_prefix_list	String		No
sg_expiry_timer	Integer	min: 180, max: 604801	No
sg_expiry_timer_sg_list	String		No
sg_expiry_timer_prefix_list	String		No
register_policy	String		No
register_policy_prefix_list	String		No
register_source_interface_type	Choice	ethernet, loopback, mgmt, port-channel, vlan, vni	No
register_source_interface_id	String		No
ssm	Class	ssm	No
rp_addresses	List	rp_addresses	No
anycast_rps	List	anycast_rps	No
bsr	Class	bsr	No
auto_rp	Class	auto_rp	No

vrfs (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
vrf	String		Yes
bfd	Boolean	true, false	No
auto_enable	Boolean	true, false	No
flush_routes	Boolean	true, false	No
log_neighbor_changes	Boolean	true, false	No
mtu	Integer	min: 1500, max: 65536	No
register_rate_limit	Integer	min: 0, max: 65535	No
strict_rfc_compliant	Boolean	true, false	No
spt_switch_graceful	Boolean	true, false	No
ssm	Class	ssm	No
rps	List	rps	No
anycast_rps	List	anycast_rps	No

rps (nxos.devices.configuration.routing.pim)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
address	IP		Yes
group_list	IP		No
bidir	Boolean	true, false	No
override	Boolean	true, false	No

Examples

Example 1: Basic PIM sparse-mode with static RP for VXLAN fabric

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            rp_addresses:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
        interfaces:
          loopbacks:
            - id: 0
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/2
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true

Example 2: Spine with anycast RP set for redundant multicast rendezvous

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: SPINE1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            rp_addresses:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
            anycast_rps:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
                set_address: 10.1.100.1
              - address: 10.1.101.1
                set_address: 10.1.100.2
        interfaces:
          loopbacks:
            - id: 0
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 100
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/2
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true

Example 3: PIM with SSM, BFD, and multicast border configuration

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: BORDER-LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            bfd: true
            log_neighbor_changes: true
            rp_addresses:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
            ssm:
              range_1: 232.0.0.0/8
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                rp_addresses:
                  - address: 192.168.1.1
                    group_list: 239.0.0.0/8
        interfaces:
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/10
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
                border: true
                dr_priority: 200

Example 4: PIM router isolation for maintenance with reduced syslog verbosity

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: SPINE2
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            isolate: true
            logging_level: 3
            rp_addresses:
              - address: 10.1.101.1

Example 5: BSR candidate RP with register source and hello authentication

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: SPINE1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            register_source_interface_type: loopback
            register_source_interface_id: "0"
            register_policy: PIM-REGISTER
            bsr:
              listen: true
              forward: true
              bsr_candidate_interface_type: loopback
              bsr_candidate_interface_id: "0"
              bsr_candidate_priority: 100
              rp_candidate_interface_type: loopback
              rp_candidate_interface_id: "0"
              rp_candidate_group_list: 239.0.0.0/8
              rp_candidate_priority: 10
              bsr_policy: PIM-BSR-FILTER
        interfaces:
          loopbacks:
            - id: 0
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
                hello_interval: 10000
                hello_authentication_keychain: PIM-HELLO
            - id: 1/2
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
                hello_authentication_ah_md5: a667d47acc18ea6b

Example 6: Auto-RP in a tenant VRF with ASM tuning

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: BORDER-LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                pre_build_spt: true
                spt_threshold_infinity_group_list: PIM-SHARED-TREE
                sg_expiry_timer: 300
                sg_expiry_timer_sg_list: PIM-SG-EXPIRY
                rp_addresses:
                  - address: 192.168.1.1
                    route_map: PIM-RP-GROUPS
                auto_rp:
                  listen: true
                  forward: true
                  mapping_agent_interface_type: loopback
                  mapping_agent_interface_id: "10"
                  mapping_agent_scope: 16
                  rp_candidate_interface_type: loopback
                  rp_candidate_interface_id: "10"
                  rp_candidate_group_list: 238.0.0.0/8
                  rp_candidate_scope: 16

Examples

Example 1: Basic PIM sparse-mode with static RP for VXLAN fabric

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            rps:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
        interfaces:
          loopbacks:
            - id: 0
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/2
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true

Example 2: Spine with anycast RP set for redundant multicast rendezvous

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: SPINE1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            rps:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
            anycast_rps:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
                set_address: 10.1.100.1
              - address: 10.1.101.1
                set_address: 10.1.100.2
        interfaces:
          loopbacks:
            - id: 0
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 100
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/2
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true

Example 3: PIM with SSM, BFD, and multicast border configuration

nxos:
  devices:
    - name: BORDER-LEAF1
      configuration:
        routing:
          pim:
            bfd: true
            log_neighbor_changes: true
            rps:
              - address: 10.1.101.1
            ssm:
              range_1: 232.0.0.0/8
            vrfs:
              - vrf: BLUE
                rps:
                  - address: 192.168.1.1
                    group_list: 239.0.0.0/8
        interfaces:
          ethernets:
            - id: 1/1
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
            - id: 1/10
              pim:
                sparse_mode: true
                border: true
                dr_priority: 200