Quidway MA5200G

MPLS Configuration Guide Contents

Contents

1 MPLS Overview .........................................................................................................................1-1

1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................1-2
1.1.1 System Architecture .............................................................................................................................1-2
1.1.2 Basic Concepts.....................................................................................................................................1-2
1.1.3 MPLS Network Structure.....................................................................................................................1-5
1.1.4 MPLS and Routing Protocols ..............................................................................................................1-6
1.2 MPLS Application.........................................................................................................................................1-7

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Figures

Figure 1-1 Label encapsulation structure ...........................................................................................................1-3

Figure 1-2 Encapsulation location of label in packet .........................................................................................1-4
Figure 1-3 MPLS network structure...................................................................................................................1-5
Figure 1-4 LSR structure....................................................................................................................................1-6
Figure 1-5 Relationship between MPLS and other protocols.............................................................................1-7
Figure 1-6 MPLS-based VPN.............................................................................................................................1-8

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MPLS Configuration Guide Tables

Tables

Table 1-1 Description of the fields in a label......................................................................................................1-3

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1 MPLS Overview

About This Chapter

The following table shows the contents of this chapter.

Section Description

1.1 Introduction This section describes the basic concepts, networking, and
system architecture of MPLS.
1.2 MPLS Application This section describes the applications of MPLS.

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1.1 Introduction
This section covers the following topics that you need to know before you configure MPLS:
z System Architecture
z Basic Concepts
z MPLS Network Structure
z MPLS and Routing Protocols

1.1.1 System Architecture

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a technology that combines layer 3 routing and layer
2 switching. MPLS is originated from the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). At the beginning,
it was used to improve the forwarding speed. The key technologies of the MPLS can be
extended to multiple network protocols, such as the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), Internet
Packet Exchange (IPX), Appletalk, DECnet, and Connectionless Network Protocol (CLNP).
The MPLS system consists of:
z A control plane, which is connectionless and implemented with current IP network
The MPLS can meet various network requirements of new applications through the routing
function of the IP network.
z A forwarding plane, which is connection-oriented
The MPLS takes advantage of a layer 2 network such as ATM and frame relay (FR). By using
short labels of fixed length to encapsulate packets, it achieves fast forwarding on the data plane.
The MA5200G supports IPv4-based and IPv6-based MPLS.

1.1.2 Basic Concepts

Forwarding Equivalent Class
The MPLS is actually a forwarding technology based on classification, which classifies the
packets with the same forwarding mode into a category, namely a Forwarding Equivalent Class
(FEC). The packets in the same FEC are treated the same in the MPLS network.
Packets with identical source address, destination address, source port, destination port,
protocol type, virtual private network (VPN) or any of these combinations can be grouped into
a FEC. For instance, packets sent to the same destination through the longest matching
algorithm belong to the same FEC.

Label
A label is a fixed-length short identifier used to identify a specific FEC. It is of local
significance. In some cases such as load sharing, a FEC may match multiple labels, but a label
represents only one FEC.
The label is carried in the hearder of a packet. It contains no topology information. A label
contains four bytes. The encapsulation structure of the label is shown in Figure 1-1.

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Figure 1-1 Label encapsulation structure

0 19 22 23 31
Label Exp S TTL

Table 1-1 describes the fields in the label.

Table 1-1 Description of the fields in a label

Field Length (bit) Description

Label 20 Indicates the label value, used as the pointer for

forwarding, 20 bits.
Exp 3 Is used for test, 3 bits, reserved (representing priority in
general).
It is often used for CoS.
S 1 Indicates that MPLS supports hierarchical label
structure, namely, the multi-layer label, 1 bit. Value 1
refers to the label at the bottom of a label stack.
TTL 8 Has the same meaning as TTL in IP packet, 8 bits.

NOTE
CoS = Class of Service

Similar to the VPI/VCI of ATM and the DLCI of FR, a lable is a connection identifier.
A frame of the link layer protocol may have a label field or not.
z If the frame has the label field, such as VPI/VCI of ATM or DLCI of FR, the label is
encapsulated in the field.
z If the frame has no label field, the label is encapsulated between link layer header and IP
layer header.
Thus the label can be supported by any link layers.
The location of the label in packet is shown in Figure 1-2.

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Figure 1-2 Encapsulation location of label in packet

Ethernet/PPP header Label Layer 3 data

Ethernet/SONET/SDH packet

ATM header Label Layer 3 data

ATM packet in frame mode

VPI/VCI Layer 3 data

ATM packet in cell mode

LSR
A label switched router (LSR) is a basic element in the MPLS network and all LSRs support the
MPLS protocol.
An LSR is composed of a control plane and a forwarding plane. The control plane is to allocate
labels, select routes, create label forwarding information table, and set up or delete a label
switch path (LSP). The forwarding plane is to forward a received packet according to the label
forwarding table.

LSP
An LSP refers to the path through which an FEC is transmitted in the MPLS network.
Similar to a virtual circuit of ATM or FR, the LSP functions as a unidirectional path from
ingress to egress, in which each node is an LSR.
LSPs are classified into static LSPs and dynamic LSPs. The former are configured by
administrators and the latter are generated through routing protocols.

Protocols for Label Distribution

A protocol for label distribution is a control protocol of MPLS. Similar to the signaling protocol
in the traditional network, it is in charge of FEC classification, label distribution, and LSP
establishment as well as maintenance.
The following protocols can support the label distribution of MPLS:
z Protocols specially defined for label distribution, such as LDP and CR-LDP
z Protocols extended based on existing protocols for label distribution, such as BGP and
RSVP

LDP = Label Distribution Protocol; CR-LDP = Constraint-Based Routing using LDP; BGP = Border
Gateway Protocol; RSVP = Resource Reservation Protocol

The MA5200G supports the preceding label distribution protocols and the configuration of
static LSPs.

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1.1.3 MPLS Network Structure

MPLS Network Structure
As shown in Figure 1-3, the basic component of the MPLS network is LSR. A network
consisting of LSRs is called MPLS domain.
The LSR that is located at the edge of the domain and connected with another customer network
is called edge LSR, namely Labeled Edge Router (LER). The LSR located inside the domain is
called core LSR. The core LSR can be either a router supporting MPLS or an ATM-LSR
upgraded from an ATM switch. The core LSRs communicate with each other using MPLS, and
the LERs need to perform adaptation between MPLS domain and IP network.
After being labeled, the packets are transmitted along the LSP composed of a series of LSRs.
Among them, the import LSR is called ingress, the export LSR is called egress, and the middle
LSR is called transit.

Figure 1-3 MPLS network structure

Ingress Egress

MPLS Core
Switch (LSR)

MPLS Edge Label Switched Path (LSP)

Router(LER)

The MPLS working process shown in Figure 1-3 is described as follows:

1. The LDP and the traditional routing protocols, such as OSPF and ISIS, create a routing
table and a label mapping table for LSRs.
2. The ingress LER receives a packet, determines the FEC of the packet, and then adds a
label to the packet. Thus a labeled MPLS packet forms.
3. The transit LSRs forward the packet according to its label and the label forwarding table
without any layer 3 processing.
4. The egress LER takes off the label and forwards the packet.
MPLS is a kind of tunneling technology rather than a type of service or application. It is also a
routing and switching platform, which integrates the label forwarding technology with network
layer routing technology. It supports multiple upper protocols and guarantees the security of
data transmission.

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LSR Structure
Figure 1-4 shows the structure of LSR.

Figure 1-4 LSR structure

Control Plane
IP Routing Protocol

Routing Information Base

(RIB)

Label Information
MPLS IP Routing Protocol
Base(LIB)

Forwarding Plane
Label Forwarding
Information Base(LFIB)

For common LSRs, only labeled packets need to be forwarded on the forwarding plane. For
LERs, both labeled packets and IP packets need to be forwarded on the forwarding plane. The
former uses Label Forwarding Information Base (LFIB), and the latter uses Forwarding
Information Base (FIB).

1.1.4 MPLS and Routing Protocols

LSP Establishment Based on Routing Table
When LDP establishes LSP in hop-by-hop mode, the next hop is determined based on the
information in LSR routing tables. The information is usually collected through routing
protocols such as Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) and BGP. However, LDP uses the routing
information indirectly, rather than associating with various routing protocols directly.

MPLS Label Forwarding Based on Extended Protocols

Although LDP is a special protocol for implementing label distribution, it is not the sole
protocol for label distribution. After being extended, the existing protocols such as BGP and
RSVP can also support MPLS label distribution.

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Relationship Between MPLS and Extended Routing Protocols

For some MPLS applications, it is also necessary to extend some routing protocols. The
relationship between the MPLS and other extended routing protocols is shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 Relationship between MPLS and other protocols

IS-IS OSPF LDP CR-LDP RSVP-TE

TEDB LSPM

MPLS Forwarding

LSPM: LSP Management TEDB: traffic engineering data base

The MPLS-based traffic engineering (TE) needs the extension of the Open Shortest Path First
(OSPF) or Intermedia System-Intermedia System (IS-IS) protocols so as to carry link status
information.

1.2 MPLS Application

MPLS has the following features:
z Combining layer 3 routing on IP networks with the switching technology on traditional
layer 2 networks
z Adopting connection-oriented mode on the forwarding plane, which is similar to the
forwarding mode of existing layer 2 networks
Based on these features, the MPLS can easily implement seamless connection of IP networks
and layer 2 networks such as ATM network and FR network. MPLS also offers a solution to
applications such as Quality of Service (QoS), TE and VPN.

MPLS-based VPN
The traditional VPNs exchange data flows on the public network through tunneling protocols,
such as Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), and Point
to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). LSP is a tunnel on the public network, so implementing
VPN based on MPLS is of natural advantage.
An MPLS-based VPN connects different branches of private network by using LSP, thus
forming a united network. As shown in Figure 1-6, the customer edge (CE) can be a router, a
switch, or a host; the provider edge (PE) is located in the backbone network.

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Figure 1-6 MPLS-based VPN

CE3
VPN
branch 3
PE3

CE1 PE1

Backbone network
VPN
branch 1 PE2

CE2

VPN
branch 2

The MPLS-based VPN has the following features:

z The routes are usually allocated between PEs through LDP or extended BGP.
z The MPLS-based VPN supports the IP address space overlapping between different VPN
branches and the interoperability between different VPNs.
z The PEs manage VPN users, establish LSPs with each other, and allocate routes for users
in the same VPN.

MPLS-based QoS
The MA5200G supports MPLS-based TE and Diff-serv features. Besides, it implements
differentiated services according to the priorities of the data flows, thereby providing voice and
video data flows with services of low delay, low packet loss ratio and stable bandwidth.
It is difficult to implement TE over the entire network, so QoS is more likely implemented by
the Diff-serv model in actual networking solutions.
The basic mechanism of the Diff-serv model is to map a service to a certain service class at
network edge according to the QoS requirement of the service. The Differentiated Service (DS)
field (derived from ToS field) in IP packet uniquely identifies the service. Then each node in the
backbone network performs the preset service policies to diversified services according to the
field so as to ensure the QoS.
The QoS classification and label mechanism of Diff-Serv is quite similar to the label
distribution of MPLS. In fact, the MPLS-based Diff-Serv is implemented just by integrating DS
distribution with the label distribution of MPLS.

z This manual mainly introduces the configurations of MPLS and MPLS TE.
z For configuration of MPLS VPN, refer to the Quidway MA5200G Broadband Access Server VPN
Configuration Guide.
z For the configuration of MPLS QoS, refer to the Quidway MA5200G Broadband Access Server QoS
Configuration Guide.

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