This document demonstrates the results of an unfortunate configuration when the hold timer is set

lower than the hello timer in EIGRP

Basic operation
The hold timer is a local setting on a router, which this router communicates through its hello packets to
its neighbor asking the neighbor to declare this router as unreachable if the neighbor does hear a hello
from the router for one entire hold time. By default the hello = 5 seconds and hold timer = 15 seconds on
an Ethernet segment.
With EIGRP the hello timer tells the sending router what to do. But the hold down timer tells the
neighbor what to do. R1 with default settings will send hello packets every 5 seconds. R2 receives the hold
time details in the hello packet from R1. If R2 does not receive a hello message within that period of hold
down time (default is 15 seconds), it declares R1 as unreachable.
The below demonstrates the relationship between the two

Configuring the Hello interval to 4 seconds and Hold time to 12 seconds on R1

R1(config)#int f0/0
R1(config-if)#ip hello-interval eigrp 1
4
R1(config-if)#ip hold-time eigrp 1
12

On R2, if you do a show ip eigrp neighbors detail and look at the output, you cant see the configured
hold down time on R1. The only way to figure out the hello interval on R2 is to repeat show ip eigrp
neighbors detail multiple times to guess the approximate hold value. The maximum on repeat of the
command show ip eigrp neighbors detail I got was 11, just short of 1 of the configured hold time of 12
seconds on R1. So, there is no show command that can show the neighbors configured hold time.
Eigrp Hold Down Time Lab - Sarah Anand

Configuring the Hello interval to 4 seconds and Hold time to 12 seconds on R2 as well.
R2(config-if)#ip hello-interval eigrp 1
4
R2(config-if)#ip hold-time eigrp 1
12
We see below, the above configuration has been applied.

Eigrp Hold Down Time Lab - Sarah Anand

Setting the hold down timer lower than the hello interval
So far the hold time on R1 has been configured as 12 seconds and hello interval as 4 seconds. Next
changing the hold timer less than the hello interval on R1, which ideally should not be done for obvious
reasons, but yet EIGRP allows you to.
Changing the hello timer to 24 seconds, 2 times the hold timer.
R1(config-if)#ip hello-interval eigrp 1 24

The above is a broken configuration. The IOS does not prevent you from setting the hold down timer less
than the hello interval. The result of such a configuration is repeated neighborship fail and recovery. The
neighbors disengage and then they re-establish adjacency, because there is nothing wrong with sending
hello messages except that they are arriving too slowly.
Who makes the decision that this is a broken configuration?
R2 makes this decision. If you look at R2, it shows that holding time has expire.

Why did the holding timer expire?

To recap the the timers on R1 are Hello interval - 24 seconds, Hold timer - 12 seconds. This is what
happens
1.

R1 sends its hello in which contain a message to R2 implying that if R2 does not hear from R1
within 12 seconds (hold time), R2 should declare R1 as unreachable

2.

Meanwhile, the next hello is due 24 seconds after the first hello has been sent

3.

Half way through to 24 seconds, that is in 12 seconds (hold time), R2 realizes it hasnt heard from
R1 and the hold timer has expired, so R2 terminates the relation with R1.

Eigrp Hold Down Time Lab - Sarah Anand

.Time elapsed so far 12 seconds

4.

12 seconds from there (hello time 24 seconds) R1 sends a second hello to R2, and the
neighborship reestablishes itself and then this keeps repeating till fixed. This is shown below.

Eigrp Hold Down Time Lab - Sarah Anand