Cisco – IP routing not enabled error on Layer 3 switch

The first time I worked on a layer 3 switch I went to go an configure OSPF on the layer 3 switch or also called a “swouter”.

When I ran “router ospf 1” then command line spit back this error: “IP routing not enabled”.  You can see the screenshot below of the error:

It turns out that Layer 3 switches need to have routing enabled because it is disabled by default! But what is the command to enable routing on the layer 3 switch?

The command is:

ip routing

Yes. That’s all it takes to enable routing on the layer 3 switch! Once you have done that you should be able to finish setting up OSPF or any other routing protocol you wish!

In packet tracer the layer 3 switch I used was a “3560-24PS”.

Here’s an example of a layer 3 switch being setup:

• en
• conf t
• ip routing
• host 4.4.4.4
• !
• int lo0
• ip address 4.4.4.4 255.255.255.255
• no shut
• !
• int vlan1
• ip address 192.168.2.2 255.255.255.252
• no shut
• !
• int vlan30
• ip address 192.168.30.1 255.255.255.0
• no shut
• !
• int vlan40
• ip addres 192.168.40.1 255.255.255.0
• no shut
• !
• int fa0/1
• switchport access vlan 30
• !
• int fa0/2
• switchport access vlan 40
• !
• int gig0/1
• switchport access vlan 1
• !
• exit
• !
• router ospf 1
• router-id 4.4.4.4
• !
• network 4.4.4.4       0.0.0.0 area 2
• network 192.168.2.2   0.0.0.0 area 2
• network 192.168.30.1  0.0.0.0 area 2
• network 192.168.40.1  0.0.0.0 area 2\
• end
• wr
• !