MPLS - Basics

Objectives

• Understand the basic working of MPLS for unicast traffic

• Acquaint with often used MPLS terms
• Introduction to different MPLS components
• Need for MPLS and its applications

2
Intended Audience

• Anyone wishing to get acquainted with basic working of MPLS

3
Pre-requisites

• Familiarity with working of IP networks

• Acquaintance with Ethernet or ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) or FR (Frame Relay)
basic terminology and their significance

4
Organization of Topic

• Virtualization of networks
• How MPLS works?
• Often Used Terms
• Components
• Why MPLS?
• What more?

5
Virtualization of networks

Virtualization of resources: a powerful abstraction in systems

engineering:
• computing examples: virtual memory, virtual devices
• Virtual machines: e.g., java
• IBM VM os from 1960’s/70’s
• layering of abstractions: don’t sweat the details of the lower
layer, only deal with lower layers abstractly

6
The Internet: virtualizing networks

1974: multiple unconnected nets … differing in:

• ARPAnet – addressing conventions
• data-over-cable networks – packet formats
• packet satellite network (Aloha)
– error recovery
• packet radio network
– routing

ARPAnet satellite net

"A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication",
V. Cerf, R. Kahn, IEEE Transactions on Communications,
May, 1974, pp. 637-648.
7
The Internet: virtualizing networks
Internetwork layer (IP): Gateway:
▪ addressing: internetwork appears as a • “embed internetwork packets in local
single, uniform entity, despite underlying packet format or extract them”
local network heterogeneity • route (at internetwork level) to next
▪ network of networks gateway

gateway

ARPAnet satellite net

8
Cerf & Kahn’s Internetwork
Architecture
What is virtualized?
• two layers of addressing: internetwork and local network
• new layer (IP) makes everything homogeneous at
internetwork layer
• underlying local network technology
• cable
• satellite
• 56K telephone modem
• today: ATM, MPLS
… “invisible” at internetwork layer. Looks like a link layer
technology to IP!

9
ATM and MPLS
• ATM, MPLS separate networks in their own right
• different service models, addressing, routing from Internet
• viewed by Internet as logical link connecting IP routers
• just like dialup link is really part of separate network (telephone network)
• ATM, MPLS: of technical interest in their own right

10
Multiprotocol label switching
(MPLS)
• initial goal: speed up IP forwarding by using fixed length
label (instead of IP address) to do forwarding
• borrowing ideas from Virtual Circuit (VC) approach
• but IP datagram still keeps IP address!

PPP or Ethernet
MPLS header IP header remainder of link-layer frame
header

label Exp S TTL

1 5
RFC3032
20 3

11
How MPLS Works?

➢Can be compared to ATM networking - VC is established between source and

destination. Intermediate switches merely switch the data.

N1 N2
S D
VC1 VC2 VC3

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Node | Incoming Port | Incoming VC | Outgoing Port | Outgoing VC |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N1 | 1 | VC1 | 2 | VC2 |
N2 | 3 | VC2 | 4 | VC3 |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VC1, VC2 and VC3 can be the MPLS labels.

12
How MPLS Works?
• Neither layer 3 nor a layer 2 solution.
• Runs over layer 2 protocols such as ATM, FR, Ethernet and PPP. Abstracts
IP from the layer 2 dependency.
• IP Routing and Forwarding are separated.
• Establishment of path happens in the control plane, while
forwarding/switching alone is done in data plane.
• Path to be used for traversal is decided at the Ingress,
ahead of data transfer. This aids traffic engineering.
• All nodes are aware of the path.
• All nodes except the Ingress do only forwarding (switching),
while Ingress does routing and forwarding.
• Provides a very scalable VPN.

13
MPLS capable routers
• a.k.a. label-switched router
• forwards packets to outgoing interface based only on label value (don’t inspect IP address)
• MPLS forwarding table distinct from IP forwarding tables
• signaling protocol needed to set up forwarding
• RSVP-TE (RFC 3209)
• forwarding possible along paths that IP alone would not allow (e.g., source-specific routing)
!!
• use MPLS for traffic engineering
• must co-exist with IP-only routers

14
MPLS forwarding tables
in out out
label label dest interface
10 A 0 in out out
12 D 0 label label dest interface

8 A 1 10 6 A 1
12 9 D 0

R6
0 0
D
1 1
R4 R3
R5
0 0
A
R2 R1
in out out in out out
label label dest interface label label dest interface
8 6 A 0 6 - A 0
15
Often Used Terms
• FEC: Forwarding Equivalence Class
• An attribute used for choosing the forwarding path. A simple example of this
is the IP Network Mask. This could also be a combination of source address,
destination address and other such parameters.
• Label: 4 byte value determining the path
• Of the 4 bytes, only 20 bits are used as label value. Remaining are flags for
different purposes.
• Example of use of label in traditional networks:
• ATM - label is called VPI/VCI and travels with cell.
• Frame Relay - label is called a DLCI and travels with frame.
• TDM - label is called a timeslot its implied, like a lane.
• Labeled packet:
• IP Packet carrying MPLS label.

16
Often Used Terms
• Unlabeled packet:
• Packet without MPLS label.
• LDP: Label Distribution Protocol
• Used for Signaling labels among MPLS enabled routers.
• LSP: Label Switched Path
• A path between a source and a destination between which all routers are
MPLS enabled and know the labels to be used to reach the destination.
• LSR: Label Switching Router
• An MPLS enabled router capable of performing data transfer based on labels.
• LDP: Label Distribution Protocol.
• Used for Distributing labels among MPLS enabled routers.
• LER: Label Edge Router
• MPLS enabled router at the Ingress of the MPLS cloud.

17
Often Used Terms contd.
• ATM LSR:
• MPLS capable ATM switches. Traditional ATM devices with capability of distributing
MPLS labels. They cannot perform multiple pops etc.
• Label operations:
• Refers to PUSH (Addition of label), POP (Removal of label), SWAP, Multiple POPs and
so on.
• Label stacking:
• Addition of more than 1 label on the packet.
• Label Swapping:
• Replacing incoming label with different outgoing label. This can be compared to the
operation done in ATM: Switching of data from incoming port and VPI/VCI to outgoing
port and VPI/VCI in ATM.
• Label merging:
• Multiple Incoming labels mapped to a single outgoing label.

18
Often Used Terms contd.
• Upstream LSR:
• Ingress LSR for a flow.
• Downstream LSR:
• Egress LSR for a flow. Allocates label and distributes to upstream LSR.
• Independent LSP Control:
• When a label request is received by an LSR and if the label request has to be forwarded,
then, the label is returned to the Upstream peer even before receiving a label from the
downstream peer.
• Ordered LSP Control:
• When a label request is received by an LSR and if the label request has to be forwarded,
then, the label is returned to the Upstream peer only after receiving a label from the
downstream peer. Very common in ATM LSRs.
• Penultimate Hop Popping:
• Transmission of the packet without the outer label from the penultimate node to the
egress. Useful when the Egress cannot do multiple pops. This is not a mandatory option
to be supported by all LSRs

19
MPLS Components

• Control Component
• This should be in every router. Deals with establishment of LSP and its
maintenance.

• Forwarding Component
• Deals with forwarding of data with appropriate encapsulation.

20
Control Flow
• Establishment of LSP consists of 2 steps:
• Distribution of labels from the downstream to upstream LSR
• Mapping the FEC to the label allocated and distributed by the downstream
peer.

• Distribution of labels:
• Dynamically done using BGP, RSVP, LDP or CR-LDP.
Or
• Statically configured in each of the nodes.

• Mapping Outgoing Label

• At the Ingress, the FEC is mapped to an outgoing label.
• At the Intermediate LSR, the incoming label is mapped to an outgoing label,
similar to programming of Switch Matrix in ATM switches.

21
Control Flow
• Label Types
• Platform label space - doesn’t depend on the layer 2 Interface.
• Interface label space - depends on the Interface/media type. E.g. VPI/VCI.

• Label Distribution Techniques

• Piggybacking on existing protocols
• - BGP or RSVP
• Using a new protocol
• - LDP or CR-LDP

• Constraint-Based LSP
• LSP built based on some constraints (characteristics) requested by upstream
LSR. The constraints can be Peak Rate, Committed Rate and so on. E.g. of
such a technique is CR-LDP

22
How Control Flow Happens?
L1 L2
S------LSR A -------------- LSR B ---------------LSR C ------D
S - Source : D - Destination

LSR A - Ingress LSR: LSR B - Intermediate LSR

LSR C - Egress LSR
L1 - Label allocated by LSR B for FEC D
L2 - Label Allocated by C for FEC D
Assuming that it is an ATM network, L1 and L2 may correspond to VPI1/VCI1 and VPI2/VCI2
respectively.

Distribution of label for Destination D:

LSR C gives L2 to LSR B
LSR B gives L1 to LSR A
Mapping Labels:
At LSR A: FEC D has to be mapped to VPI1/VCI1
At LSR B: Switch matrix has to be programmed with incoming VC as VPI1/VC1 and outgoing VC as
VPI2/VCI2.

23
Data Flow
• At the Ingress, the look-up for a label corresponding to the
FEC may be a Hit or a miss.

• Labeled Data
• This is the scenario when the label look-up is a hit. In the case of
ATM, the label (VPI/VCI) assigned by the downstream peer is used
to send the data.

• Unlabeled Data
• This is the scenario when the label look-up is a miss. In the case of
ATM, default VC (VPI 0, VCI 32) is used to send unlabeled data.

24
MPLS is intended to run over multiple link layers
ATM: label contained in VCI/VPI field of ATM header
 Frame Relay: label contained in DLCI field in FR header
 PPP/LAN: uses ‘shim’ header inserted between L2 and L3 headers

Data Encapsulated with Label

L2 ATM FR Ethernet PPP

Label VPI VCI DLCI “Shim Label”

“Shim Label” …….

IP | PAYLOAD

25
MPLS with IP and ATM
• Models for running MPLS on ATM
• 1. Label-Controlled ATM
• Use ATM hardware for label switching
• IP/MPLS for distributing labels and programming Switch Matrix.

• 2. Ships in the Night

• ATM Stacks and MPLS control planes both run on the same hardware but are
isolated from each other, i.e. they do not interact.
• This allows a single device to simultaneously operate as both an MPLS LSR and
an ATM switch.

26
Comparison with IP over ATM
IP over ATM VCs IP over MPLS

• ATM cloud invisible to Layer 3 Routing • ATM network visible to Layer 3 Routing

• Full mesh of VCs within ATM cloud • Full Mesh is avoided.

• Many adjacencies between edge routers • Singe adjacency possible with edge router

• Topology change generates many route • Hierarchical network design possible

updates
• Reduces route update traffic and power
• Routing algorithm made more complex needed to process them.

27
Why MPLS?

• Routing only at Ingress. Switching happens at Intermediate nodes.

• Traffic Engineering support
• Integrates IP and ATM without any impact on existing ATM network.
• Forwarding paradigm (only based on label) independent of media.
• Replaces existing VPN solutions with a scalable approach

28
What More to Know?

• Impact on existing Routing Protocols

• Recovery from LSP Failures
• MPLS Traffic Engineering
• VPN solutions provided by MPLS
• MPLS Frame format (RFC 3032)

29
References
• Overview of MPLS, elearning material from
Award Solutions, Available on Aricent eAcademy
• Multiprotocol Label Switching Architecture, rfc3031
• MPLS Label Stack Encoding, rfc3032
• Use of Label Switching on Frame Relay Networks
Specification, rfc3034
• MPLS using LDP and ATM VC Switching, rfc3035
• LDP Specification, rfc3036
• Carrying Label Information in BGP-4, draft-ietf-mpls-bgp4-mpls-
04
• Web Sites - www.techguide.com, www.cisco.com,
www.juniper.net

30