Presentation Topics

1. OSI Layers
2. TCP/UDP messages and negotiation.
3. Basic MPLS Architecture
4. MPLS Label format
5. MPLS Label Distribution Protocols
6. Label Operations (Push, Pop, Swap)
7. MPLS Router types.
8. MPLS Traffic Engineering Tunnels
9. TE FRR feature.
The Open System Interconnection (OSI)
Reference Model
Why a layered model?

1. Breaks down communication into smaller, simpler parts

2. Easier to teach communication process.
3. Speeds development, changes in one layer does not
affect how the other levels works.
4. Standardization across manufactures.
5. Allows different hardware and software to work
together.
6. Reduces complexity
What Each Layer Does
 The Postal Analogy
How would the OSI compare to the regular Post Office
Application 1. A- Write a 20 page letter to a foreign country.

Presentation 2. P- Translate the letter so the receiver can read

it.
Session
3. S- Insure the intended recipient can receive
letter.
Transport

Network 4. T- Separate and number pages. Like registered

mail, tracks delivery and requests another
package if one is “lost” or “damaged” in the
Data-Link mail.
5. N- Postal Center sorting letters by zip code to
route them closer to destination.
Physical
6. D- Local Post Office determining which
 How Does It All Work
Together

Each layer contains a Protocol Data

Unit (PDU)
1. PDU’s are used for peer-to-peer contact
between corresponding layers.

2. Data is handled by the top three layers,

then Segmented by the Transport layer.

3. The Network layer places it into packets

and the Data Link frames the packets for
transmission.

4. Physical layer converts it to bits and sends

it out over the media.
2
5. The receiving computer reverses the
process using the information contained in
the PDU.
Multi-Protocol Label Switching
Basic MPLS
Architecture

8
 Introduction to MPLS
Background of MPLS

 It uses labels of fixed length and maintains a label(LIB)

table that is much smaller than a routing table
 MPLS analyzes a packet header only on the edge of the
network rather than at each hop. In this manner, the packet
processing time is shortened.
 MPLS has the high-speed forwarding advantages. MPLS
supports multi-layer labels, and its forwarding plane is
connection-oriented. MPLS is widely used in virtual private
network (VPN), traffic engineering (TE), and quality of
service (QoS).
 Introduction to MPLS

 MPLS—Multiprotocol Label Switching. Packet-

forwarding technology, used in the network core, that
applies data link layer labels to tell switching nodes how
to forward data, resulting in faster and more scalable
forwarding than network layer routing normally can do
 MPLS works between the data link layer and the
network layer in the TCP/IP protocol stack
 the MPLS technology is a tunneling technology but not a
service or an application. It supports multiple protocols
and services. Moreover, it ensures the security of data
transmission
 MPLS network
structure Diagram
MPLS LSP
MPLS Diagram Overview
PE
P P
PE
CE1 CE2

PE P P PE

PE -NE40E
P-NE80E P-NE80E
PE -NE40E
CE1 CE2

PE -NE40E P-NE80E P-NE80E PE -NE40E

13
 MPLS Overview

 Provider (P): is a backbone router in the provider network. It is

not directly connected to the CE. The P router should possess
MPLS basic forwarding capability.
 Provider Edge (PE): is an edge device of the provider
network. It is directly connected to the CE. In the MPLS network,
the PE router disposes all the VPN processing.
 Customer Edge (CE): is an edge device in the customer
network. It has one or more interfaces directly connected with
the service provider network. It can be a router, a switch or a
host. Mostly, the CE cannot "sense" the existence of the VPN,
and does not need to support MPLS

14
 Label Substitution
One of the many ways of getting from A to B:

•BROADCAST: Go everywhere, stop when you get to B, never

ask for directions.
•HOP BY HOP ROUTING: Continually ask who’s closer to B go
there, repeat … stop when you get to B.

“Going to B? You’d better go to X, its on the way”.

•SOURCE ROUTING: Ask for a list (that you carry with you) of
places to go that eventually lead you to B.
BASIC MPLS Architecture

The MPLS architecture consists of a control plane and a forwarding

plane.
The control plane is connectionless and responsible for distributing
labels, creating the label forwarding table, and creating or deleting
LSPs.
The forwarding plane, also known as the data plane, is connection-
oriented. It can apply services and protocols of ATM, Frame Relay,
and Ethernet networks.
 Position of a label in a packet

Label 4 BYTES
A label contains the following fields

 Label: indicates the value field of a label. The length is 20 bits.

 Experimental BITS: indicates the bits used for extension. The length is 3
bits. Generally, this field is used for the class of service (CoS) that serves .
 S : identifies the bottom of a label stack. The length is 1 bit. MPLS
supports multiple labels, namely, the label nesting. When the S field is 1,
it means that the label is at the bottom of the label stack.
 TTL: indicates the time to live. The length is 8 bits. This field is the same
as the TTL in IP packets.
 Labels are encapsulated between the data link layer and the network
layer. Labels can be supported by all data link layer protocols.
 Label Stack pile of things arranged one on top of another

 A label stack is a set of arranged labels. An MPLS packet can

carry multiple labels at the same time. The label next to the
Layer 2 header is called the top label or the outer label. The
label next to the Layer 3 header is called the bottom label or
inner label. Theoretically, MPLS labels can be nested limitlessly.
 Label Stacking

 A packet may carry multiple labels, organized as a last-

in-first-out stack
 A label may be added to/removed from the stack at any
LSR
 Processing always done on the top label
 Allow the aggregation of LSPs into a single LSP for a
portion of the route, creating a tunnel
 At the beginning of the tunnel, the LSR assigns the same label to
packets from different LSPs by pushing the label onto each
packet’s stack
 At the end of the tunnel, the LSR pops the top label

19
 Label Operations

 Push: When an IP packet enters an MPLS

domain, the ingress adds a new label to the
packet between the Layer 2 header and the IP
header. Alternatively, an LSR adds a new label to
the top of the label stack, namely, the label
nesting.
 Swap: When a packet is transferred within the
MPLS domain, a local node swaps the label at
the top of the label stack in the MPLS packet for
the label allocated by the next hop according to
the label forwarding table.
 Label Operations
 Pop: When a packet leaves the MPLS domain, the label is
popped out of the MPLS packet. Alternatively, the top label of
the label stack is popped out at the penultimate hop on an
MPLS network to decrease the number of labels in the stack.

Edge LSR LSR LSR Edge LSR

(Ingress) (Penultimate) (Egress)

PUSH SWAP SWAP POP

IP
L2 header Label
 Ingress, Transit, and
Egress LSRs
The LSP is a unidirectional path. LSRs along an LSP can be
classified as follows:
Ingress LSR: indicates the beginning of an LSP. Only one
ingress exists on an LSP. The ingress pushes a new label
into the packet.
Transit LSR: indicates the middle node of an LSP. Multiple
transit LSRs may exist on an LSP. The transit LSR primarily
searches for routes in the label forwarding table. Then, it
swaps labels to complete the forwarding of MPLS packets.
Egress LSR: indicates the end node of an LSP. Only one
egress exists on an LSP. The egress is responsible for
popping labels out of MPLS packets and forwarding the
packets that restore the IP packet
• Penultimate Hop Popping(second from the last )
In fact, the label is useless at the last hop of an MPLS domain. The penultimate hop
popping (PHP) feature applies. On the penultimate node, the label is popped out of
the packet to reduce the size of the packet that is forwarded to the last hop. Then,
the last hop directly forwards the IP packet or forwards the packet by using the
second label.
PHP is configured on the egress. In addition, the egress only allocates label 3 to the
• Label Switching Router
penultimate LSR:
A label switching router (LSR) refers to a device that can swap labels and
forward MPLS packets. It is also called the MPLS node. The LSR is a
fundamental element of an MPLS network. All LSRs support the MPLS
• protocol.
LER
An LER is an LSR that resides on the edge of an MPLS domain. When an LSR
connects to a node that does not run MPLS, the LSR acts as the LER.
• Label Switched Path
The path through which a FEC passes on the MPLS network is called an LSP.
An LSP functions n a manner similar to virtual circuits of ATM and Frame
Relay. The LSP is a unidirectional path from the ingress to the egress.
 Upstream and
Downstream

According to the direction of data transmission, LSRs are classified as follows:

Upstream: Based on the specified LSR, in the direction of data flows, the LSRs
that send MPLS packets to the local LSR are upstream LSRs.
Downstream: Based on the specified LSR, in the direction of data flows, the
next-hop LSRs that receive MPLS packets sent from the local LSR are downstream
LSRs.
As shown in Figure: the data flows to 192.168.1.0/24. LSRA is the
upstream LSR of LSRB and the LSRB is the downstream LSR of LSRA.
Similarly, LSRB is the upstream LSR of LSRC. LSRC is the downstream
LSR of LSRB.
 Label Distribution

 Packets with the same destination address belong to a FEC. A label

from an MPLS label resource pool is allocated to the FEC. LSRs record
the relationship of the label to the FEC. Then, LSRs send a message to
upstream LSRs about relationship of the label to the FEC. This process
is called label distribution.
 As shown in Figure: LSRB and LSRC use a FEC respectively to
identify packets with a destination address of 192.168.1.0/24. Then,
labels are allocated to FECs, and their relationships to the FECs are
sent to upstream LSRs. Labels are allocated by the downstream LSRs.
 Label Distribution
Protocols

 Label distribution protocols are MPLS control

protocols, namely, signaling protocols. They
are used to classify FECs, distribute labels,
and create and maintain LSPs.
 MPLS utilizes multiple label distribution
protocols, such as Label Distribution Protocol
(LDP), Resource Reservation Protocol Traffic
Engineering (RSVP-TE), and Multiprotocol
Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP).
 Forwarding Equivalence
Classes
LSR LSR
LER LER

LSP

IP1 IP1
IP1 #L1 IP1 #L2 IP1 #L3
IP2 #L1 IP2 #L2 IP2 #L3
IP2 IP2

Packets are destined for different address prefixes, but can be

mapped to common path

• FEC = “A subset of packets that are all treated the same way by a router”
• The concept of FECs provides for a great deal of flexibility and scalability
• In conventional routing, a packet is assigned to a FEC at each hop (i.e. L3 look-up), in
MPLS it is only done once at the network ingress
 Traffic Engineering

 Traditional routing selects the shortest

path
 All traffic between the ingress and egress nodes
passes through the same links causing congestion
 Traffic engineering allows a high degree of control
over the path that packets take
 Allows more efficient use of network resources
 Traffic redirection through BGP or IGP shortcut
 Improved resource utilization
 Load balancing
MPLS Tunnels
 Fast Reroute
 Fast Reroute (FRR) is a mechanism for protecting MPLS traffic
engineering (TE) LSPs from link and node failures by locally
repairing the LSPs at the point of failure, allowing data to
continue to flow on them while their head end(The router that
originates and maintains a given LSP. This is the first router in
the LSP's path.) routers attempt to establish new end-to-end
LSPs to replace them. FRR locally repairs the protected LSPs by
rerouting them over backup tunnels that bypass failed links or
node
 FRR is both a function of MPLS TE and a error tolerance
strategy. It provides protection for links and nodes. When a link
or node comes faulty, fast switchover will be performed to
minimize the loss of packets.
 The switchover through FRR is within 50 ms, which minimizes
the data loss when network faults occur.

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 Type Of FRR

1. Link Protection
 Backup tunnels that bypass only a single link of the
LSP's path provide link protection.
 Type Of FRR

2. Node Protection
FRR provides node protection for LSPs. Backup tunnels that
bypass next-hop nodes along LSP paths are called next-next-
hop (NNHOP) backup tunnels because they terminate at the
node following the next-hop node of the LSP paths,