The user enables Loop-Free Alternate (LFA) computation by SPF under the IS-IS or OSPF routing protocol level:
config>router>isis>loopfree-alternate
config>router>ospf>loopfree-alternate
The above commands instruct the IGP SPF to attempt to precompute both a primary next-hop and an LFA next-hop for every learned prefix. When found, the LFA next-hop is populated into the RTM along with the primary next-hop for the prefix.
Next the user enables the use by LDP of the LFA next-hop by configuring the following option:
config>router>ldp>fast-reroute
When this command is enabled, LDP will use both the primary next-hop and LFA next-hop, when available, for resolving the next-hop of an LDP FEC against the corresponding prefix in the RTM. This will result in LDP programming a primary NHLFE and a backup NHLFE into the IOMXCM for each next-hop of a FEC prefix for the purpose of forwarding packets over the LDP FEC.
Note that because LDP can detect the loss of a neighbor/next-hop independently, it is possible that it switches to the LFA next-hop while IGP is still using the primary next-hop. To avoid this situation, it is recommended to enable IGP-LDP synchronization on the LDP interface:
config>router>interface>ldp-sync-timer seconds