Add the possibility to create new IP roles

[tdmike]

As the titel says, would it be possible to create custom roles for IP addresses. Currently it's only available for VLANs.

[jeremystretch]

IP address roles describe the type of IP address, not its function. There are a limited number of practically relevant roles (loopback, anycast, VRRP, etc.), which is why they are statically defined. What role(s) are you proposing be added?

[kopacko]

I'd have to agree that customizable roles would be very nice.

There are many good roles of an IP:
1 - BGP peering
2 - Failover
3 - Heartbeat
4 - Replication
5 - etc

The role of the IP, to me, is the purpose/reason that the IP exists.

[jeremystretch]

@kopacko You are confusing applications with the manner in which an IP address is assigned. For instance, BGP peering can be done on regular unicast IPs or on loopback IPs.

[kopacko]

That may be the case, but for those who do not understand unicast, multicast, etc (e.g. the local techs in each of my locations) will not.

Assigning a role that non-technical to understand makes it easier for them.

[tdmike]

Well I mainly request it since I can not clearly specify which IP is the gateway.

[jeremystretch]

Perhaps it would help to explain the existing IP roles:

• Default (none): A normal IP, optionally assigned to an interface
• Loopback: An IP assigned to a loopback interface
• Secondary: An IP assigned to an interface as a secondary IP (i.e. ip address x.x.x.x secondary in Cisco IOS)
• Anycast: An IP that has other instances assigned elsewhere (an intentionally duplicate IP)
• VIP: A floating IP address
• VRRP/HSRP/GLBP: A VIP managed by one of the respective NHRP protocols

@tdmike The qualification of an IP as the default gateway for a prefix is a related but different matter. Any of the above (with the exception of loopback) could be the default gateway for a prefix. There are other attributes you can use in determining the gateway IP. For example, whether it's the first or last usable IP in the prefix, whether it's assigned to an interface on a router, etc.

[sulisu]

@jeremystretch Please put this definition of ip address roles into document. Someone using Fortigate firewall might think VIP as different meaning.

[jeremystretch]

@sulisu Feel free to submit an issue for it if you'd like to contribute a PR.