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Routing Configuration 99
Loopback Interfaces
PowerConnect 6200 Series software provides for the creation, deletion, and management of loopback
interfaces.
A loopback interface is a software-only interface that is not associated with a physical location; as such it
is not dependent on the physical status of a particular router interface and is always considered “up” as
long as the router is running. It enables configuring a stable IP address for remote clients to refer to. The
client can communicate with the loopback interface using any available, active router interface.
NOTE: In this context, loopback interfaces should not be confused with the loopback IP address, usually 127.0.0.1,
assigned to a host for handling self-routed packets.
Loopbacks are typically used for device management purposes. A client can use the loopback interface to
communicate with the router through various services such as telnet and SSH. The address on a
loopback behaves identically to any of the local addresses of the router in terms of the processing of
incoming packets. This interface provides the source address for sent packets and can receive both local
and remote packets.
NOTE: The following example uses the CLI to configure a loopback interface. You can also use the Web interface.
Click Routing > Loopbacks in the navigation tree.
You can create a loopback interface in the Global Config mode by assigning it a unique ID from 0 to 7:
console#configure
console(config)#interface loopback 0
Next, you assign an IPv4 or IPv6 address to the interface:
console(config-if-loopback0)#ip address 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.255
console(config-if-loopback0)#exit
console(config)#exit
You can view the interface configuration from the Privileged Exec mode:
console#show ip interface loopback 0
Primary IP Address............................. 192.168.2.2/255.255.255.255
Routing Mode................................... Enable
Administrative Mode............................ Enable
Forward Net Directed Broadcasts................ Disable
Proxy ARP...................................... Enable
Local Proxy ARP................................ Disable
Active State................................... Active
Link Speed Data Rate........................... Inactive
MAC Address.................................... 00FF.F2A3.8888
Encapsulation Type............................. --------