Introduction to MPLS
Anna Wielosz
Technical Marketing Manager, Cisco
anwielos@cisco.com
Session Goals
Objectives
Agenda
Introduction
Advanced Topics
Summary
Introduction
What Is MPLS?
Multi
Protocol
Label
Switching
What is MPLS?
Brief Summary
Evolution of MPLS
Technology Evolution and Main Growth Areas
Optimize MPLS
for SDN and Cloud
Optimize MPLS for
packet transport
Optimize MPLS for video
First G-MPLS
Deployment
Cisco ships
MPLS
1997 1998
First MPLS TE
Deployments
2001 2002
(Planned)
First Segment
Routing
Deployments
Large Scale
L2VPN
Deployments
First L2VPN
Deployments
1999 2000
(Planned)
First
SDN/PCE
Deployments
Large Scale
L3VPN
Deployments
2003 2004
Large Scale
MPLS TE
Deployments
2005 2006
2007 2008
First LSM
Deployments
First MPLS TP
Deployments
(Planned) First
PBB-EVPN
Deployments
2013 2014
2015
Topics
Basics of MPLS Signaling and Forwarding
Service (Clients)
MPLS Labels
Layer-3 VPNs
Layer-2 VPNs
Transport
MPLS OAM
MPLS Forwarding
MPLS OAM
Management
P (Provider) router
MPLS Domain
CE
PE
PE
CE
CE
CE
PE
P
Label switched traffic
PE
MPLS Labels
Label Definition and Encapsulation
TC
TTL
Label, S=1
Layer 3
Packet
Label, S=0
Label, S=1
Layer 3
Packet
MPLS QoS
QoS Marking in MPLS Labels
At ingress PE router
TC
Layer-2 Header
MPLS Header
IP DiffServ Marking
DSCP
Layer 3 Header
Label swapping
Label Imposition
(Push)
CE
PE
Label Swap
Label Swap
L1
Label Disposition
(PoP)
PE
L3
L2
CE
CE
CE
PE
PE
Forwarding
MPLS
Destination address
based
Label based
Label bindings
Downstream MPLS node advertises what
label to use to send traffic to node
MPLS forwarding
TTL support
Exchange of labels
IP
Control Plane
Packet
Encapsulation
IP Header
QoS
OAM
IP ping, traceroute
MPLS OAM
LDP signaling
LDP
RSVP signaling
LSP
Forwarding
Calculation
Packet
Encapsulation
Shortest-Path based
Single label
LSP or TE Tunnel
Primary and, optionally, backup
Based on TE topology
database
Shortest-path and/or other
constraints
(CSPF calculation)
RSVP
Exchange of IP routes
Establish IP reachability
Forwarding Table
In
Address
Label Prefix
Out Out
Iface Label
Forwarding Table
In
Address
Label Prefix
Forwarding Table
Out Out
Iface Label
128.89
128.89
171.69
171.69
In
Address
Label Prefix
Out Out
Iface Label
128.89
128.89
1
0
Routing Updates
(OSPF, EIGRP, )
171.69
Forwarding
Table
Forwarding
Table
Address
I/F
Address
I/F
128.89
128.89
171.69
171.69
Forwarding
Table
Address
I/F
128.89
171.69
128.89
0
128.89.25.4 Data
128.89.25.4 Data
1
128.89.25.4 Data
128.89.25.4 Data
171.69
Forwarding Table
In Address Out Out
Label Prefix IfaceLabel
128.89
1
20
Forwarding Table
Forwarding Table
171.69
21
21
171.69
36
Out label
128.89
0
Label Distribution
Protocol (LDP)
(Downstream
Allocation)
171.69
Forwarding Table
Forwarding Table
171.69
21
21
171.69
36
0 128.89
Outgoing interface
Out label
Forwarding Table
0
128.89.25.4 Data
1
128.89.25.4 Data
30 128.89.25.4 Data
20 128.89.25.4 Data
11
Forwarding based on
Label
171.69
So what?
This gives you lots of flexibility around how you send traffic across your network
Three steps:
Information distribution
Path calculation
LSP signaling
R1
R8
TE
Topology
database
Find
shortest
path to R8
with 8Mbps
IP/MPLS
R1
15
10
10
R8
10
10
TE
Topology
database
IP/MPLS
Head end
L=16
RESV
Tail end
PATH
Input
Label
Out Label,
Interface
17
16, 0
TE LSP
Steady state
Primary tunnel:
Router A
Router B
Router D
Router E
ABDE
Backup tunnel:
B C D (pre-provisioned)
Recovery time 50 ms
Primary Tunnel
Backup Tunnel
Router Y
Router X
Router C
MPLS OAM
Tools for Reactive and Proactive Trouble Shooting of MPLS Connectivity
Used to discover of all available equal cost LSP paths between PEs
Unique capability for MPLS OAM; no IP equivalent!
Auto IP SLA
Automated discovery of all available equal cost LSP paths between PEs
LSP pings are being sent over each discovered LSP path
Summary
Key Takeaways
LDP and RSVP can be used for signaling label mapping information to set up an
end-to-end Label Switched Path (LSP)
Management
Service (Clients)
Layer-3 VPNs
Layer-2 VPNs
Transport
IP/MPLS (LDP/RSVP-TE/BGP/OSPF/IS-IS)
MPLS Forwarding
MPLS OAM
VPN policies
VPN signaling
Between PEs
Exchange of VPN policies
PE-CE link
PE-CE
Link
PE
CE
VPN
Signaling
PE-CE
Link
PE
VPN
Policy
CE
VPN
Policy
VPN
Policy
VPN
CE Policy
PE
PE
CE
Point-to-Point
Layer-2 VPNs
Multi-Point
Layer-2 VPNs
CE
connected
to PE via L2
(Eth, FR,
ATM, etc)
connection
CE
connected to
PE Ethernet
connection
CE-CE L2
p2p
connectivity
CE-CE
routing; no
SP
involvement
CE-CE L2
(Eth) mp
connectivity
CE-CE
routing; no
SP
involvement
Technology components
Management
Service (Clients)
Transport
IP/MPLS (LDP/RSVP-TE/BGP/OSPF/IS-IS)
MPLS Forwarding
MPLS OAM
Layer-2 VPNs
VPN policies
VPN signaling
PE-CE link
On PE router
Separate instance of routing (RIB) and
forwarding table
CE
VRF has its own routing instance for PECE configured routing protocols
E.g., eBGP
VRF
Green
VPN 1
MPLS Backbone
CE
VPN 2
PE
VRF
Blue
CE
CE
Static routes
eBGP
OSPF
IS-IS
EIGRP
PE-CE
Link
PE
PE-CE
Link
PE
Blue VRF
CE
Blue VRF
Red VRF
Red VRF
CE
PE
PE
PE1 redistributes VPNv4 route into MPiBGP, it sets itself as a next hop and
relays VPN site routes to PE2
eBGP:
16.1/16
CE1
PE1
BGP advertisement:
VPN-IPv4 Addr = RD:16.1/16
BGP Next-Hop = PE1
Route Target = 100:1
Label=42
Blue VPN
ip vrf blue-vpn
RD 1:100
VRF parameters:
route-target export
Name = blue-vpn
1:100
RD = 1:100
route-target import
Import Route-Target = 100:1
1:100
Export Route-Target = 100:1
eBGP:
16.1/16
PE2
CE2
IPv4
IGP
Label C
VPNv4
Label
IGP
Label B
IPv4
VPNv4
Label
IGP
Label A
IPv4
IPv4
IPv4
IPv4
Packet
IPv4
Packet
CE1
VPNv4
Label
PE1
P1
P2
PE2
CE2
Benefits
Highly scalable
CPE
Edge
Core
VPN Core
Edge
CPE
Benefits
Access
Edge
Core
VPN Core
Edge
Access
MPLS VPNs
at DC edge
Access
Top Of Rack Distribution
Core
Benefits
Data Center
Core
Edge
Easy to solve with BGP, the worlds only political routing protocol!
Also works with static routes: no dynamic handoff, no potential for dynamic
mess
Summary
Key Takeaways
CE sites connect to the MPLS network via IP peering across PE-CE links
BGP used for signaling customer VPN (VPNv4) routes between PE nodes
Key applications are layer-3 business VPN services, enterprise network segmentation,
and segmented layer-3 Data Center access
Service (Clients)
Layer-3 VPNs
Layer-2 VPNs
Transport
IP/MPLS (LDP/RSVP-TE/BGP/OSPF/IS-IS)
MPLS Forwarding
MPLS OAM
VPWS services
VPLS services
Multipoint
Point-to-Point
Layer-2 VPNs (VPWS)
Multipoint-to-Multipoint
Layer-2 VPNs
EVPN
Point-to-point
Referred to as Pseudowires (PWs)
PBB-EVPN
Combines scale tools from PBB (aka MACin-MAC) with BGP-based MAC learning
from EVPN
VPLS
EVPN
PBB-EVPN
Attachment
Circuit (AC)
Attachment
Circuit (AC)
Pseudo-Wire 1
PE2
PE1
CE
Layer-2
Signaling: LDP
Learning: none
CE
Layer-2
CE
CE
Layer-2
PE3
Pseudo-Wire 2
Layer-2
PE4
3
4
CE1
4
LDP session
PE1
PE2
CE2
Eth
PW
Label
IGP
Label B
Eth
PW
Label
IGP
Label A
Eth
PW
Label
Eth
Eth
Ethernet
Frame
Ethernet
Frame
IGP
Label C
PE1
P1
P2
PE2
CE2
Attachment
Circuit (AC)
Attachment
Circuit (AC)
PE2
PE1
CE
Eth
Eth
CE
CE
Eth
Eth
PE4
PE3
CE
Pseudo-Wire
EVPN
Ethernet VPN
BGP advertisement:
L2VPN/EVPN Addr = CE1.MAC
BGP Next-Hop = PE1
Route Target = 100:1
Label=42
BGP RR
CE1
PE 3
PE 1
CE3
CE4
CE2
PE 4
PE 2
PBB-EVPN
BGP advertisement:
L2VPN/EVPN Addr = PE1.B-MAC
BGP Next-Hop = PE1
Route Target = 100:1
Label=42
CE1
PE 3 B-MAC
CE3
B-MAC PE 1
B-MAC
CE2
B-MAC
PE 4
PE 2
CE4
Benefits
Highly scalable
CE
PE
PE
CE
Benefits
Data Center
DC
Edge
Data Center
DC
Edge
Core
Core
Edge
Data Center
Edge
DC
Edge
Core
Core
Edge
Summary
Key Takeaways
PWs suited for implementing transparent point-to-point connectivity between Layer-2 circuits (E-LINE
services)
VPLS suited for implementing transparent point-to-multipoint connectivity between Ethernet links/sites
(E-LAN services)
EVPN / PBB-EVPN are next-generation L2VPN solutions based on BGP control-plane for MAC
distribution/learning over the core
Typical applications of L2VPNs are layer-2 business VPN services and Data Center interconnect
Advanced Topics
Segment Routing
Control Plane
IGP advertises
101
102
203
202
201
201
103
203
202
105
104
Adjacency Segment
Identifier (label)
Node Segment
Identifier (label)
Segment Routing
Forwarding Plane
Adjacency Path
Node Path
A
Combined Path
A
B
102
202
202
201
103
202
103
Payload
Payload
D
(php)
202
201
202
201
202
202
Payload
Payload
Payload
Payload
D
102
202
202
Payload
Payload
D
(php)
Payload
Path Request
LSP DB
Stateful PCE
Stateless PCE
(ABR)
Stateless PCE
(ABR)
PCEP
PCEP
PCEP
Stateless PCC
Area 1
TED
TED
Area 0
PCEP
BGP-LS /
SNMP / CLI
BGP-LS /
SNMP / CLI
Area 0
Area 2
Stateful
PCC
PCC-initiated
LSP
Stateless
PCC
Area 1
Area 2
PCC-initiated
LSP
PCE-initiated
LSP
Based Computation
Introduced in IOS XR 3.5.2
Easier to deploy
Security mechanism
IPv6
CE
IPv6
CE
6PE
6VPE
IPv6
IPv4 MPLS
6PE
IPv6
IPv4 MPLS
CE
6VPE
CE
LDPv6
LDP for Native IPv6
IPv6
CE
IPv6
MPLS
IPv6
MPLS
CE
IPv6
IPv6
MPLS
IPv6/v4
MPLS
CE
IPv6/v4
MPLS
IPv6/v4
MPLS
IPv6
IPv6
CE
Uni-Directional
LSP
MPLS /
IP
IP/MPLS
P2MP or MP2MP
LSP Tree
Multicast (LSM)
IP/MPLS
Futures
New MPLS Deployments Models on the Horizon
WAN Orchestration
PCE/SDN
MPLS Multilayer
Optimization
PCE/GMPLS
Control Plane
Simplification
Segment Routing
Summary
Summary
Key Takeaways
De facto for most SPs, large enterprises, and increasingly in Data Centers
BRKMPL-1100
Introduction to MPLS
BRKMPL-2100
BRKMPL-2101
BRKMPL-2102
BRKMPL-2108
BRKMPL-2333
BRKMPL-3101
BRKRST-2124
BRKRST-3122
LTRRST-2332
Segment Routing
LTRMPL-2102
LTRMPL-3102
TECMPL-3200
Terminology Reference
Acronyms Used in MPLS Reference Architecture
Terminology
Description
AC
AS
CoS
Class of Service
ECMP
IGP
LAN
LDP
LER
Label Edge Router. An Edge LSR Interconnects MPLS and non-MPLS Domains.
LFIB
LSP
LSR
NLRI
P Router
PE Router
An LER in the Service Provider Administrative Domain that Interconnects the Customer Network and the Backbone Network.
PSN Tunnel
Terminology Reference
Acronyms Used in MPLS Reference Architecture (cont.)
Terminology
Description
Pseudo-Wire
PWE3
QoS
Quality of Service
RD
Route Distinguisher
RIB
RR
Route Reflector
RT
Route Target
RSVP-TE
VPN
VFI
VLAN
VPLS
VPWS
VRF
VSI
Further Reading
MPLS References at Cisco Press and cisco.com
http://www.cisco.com/go/mpls
http://www.ciscopress.com
Santiago Alvarez
Table Topics
Related sessions
Thank you