Microsoft KB Archive/151795

= Err Msg: The Route Addition Failed: 87 =

Article ID: 151795

Article Last Modified on 2/21/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5

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This article was previously published under Q151795



SUMMARY
After you run a ROUTE ADD command, the following error message may appear:

The route addition failed: 87

This message alerts you that you have an addressing problem.



MORE INFORMATION
The route addition error message appears in at least these two situations:  The gateway address you specify is not on the same logical subnet as any of the network adapters in your system. For example, if your computer has the following configuration and you use the route add 204.110.0.0 204.110.76.23 command, you receive the error message because the gateway is not on the same logical subnet as your computer:

'''ip address 204.118.75.20

subnet mask 255.255.0.0'''

In this example, 204.110.0.0 is the remote subnet you want to reach, and 204.110.76.23 is the gateway address you want to use. The destination address you enter is a specific host address instead of a subnet address and you specify a netmask.

For example, using the same configuration as the first example, if you wanted to reach the following specific computer, you might use the route add 204.110.15.3 mask 255.255.0.0 204.118.75.1 command:

'''ip address:204.110.15.3

subnet mask: 255.255.0.0

valid local gateway: 204.118.75.1'''

This command would give you the error 87 message. The ROUTE command expects the subnet address 204.110.0.0 instead of the specific destination address.

To correctly add a host route, do not specify a netmask. By default, Windows will use a netmask of 255.255.255.255. For example:

route add 204.110.15.3 204.118.75.1

Or use a subnet mask of all 1s (ones), 255.255.255.255. For example:

route add 204.110.15.3 MASK 255.255.255.255 204.118.75.1

The mask of all 255s (all 1s) means that the destination address of the packet to be routed must exactly match the Network Address for this route to be used.

Keywords: KB151795

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