Introduction to MPLS and

MPLS VPN technology

July 30, 2020
• Topics:
• Networking

Multi-Protocol Label Switching(MPLS) is a method of switching

packets using labels instead of IP addresses or Layer 3
information. It is protocol-agnostic and speeds up packet
forwarding and routing. Back when MPLS was first introduced, it
showed a considerable boost in speed and took substantial load
off networks by laying off IP address inspection. Today, MPLS is
used not only to facilitate higher speed requirements but to
develop advanced and augmented applications and services over
the existing network infrastructure.

How does MPLS work?

IP forwarding/routing is a concept you might already be familiar
with. It is the process of a router forwarding/routing a packet using
information stored in its routing tables. It is a layer 3 protocol.

When a router receives a packet, it examines its IP header, fetches the

destination IP and decides which path to forward the packet onto, such
that it reaches its intended destination, based on the routing table. MPLS
technology aims to do the same but without IP header inspection.
Instead, it uses MPLS labels.
Let us understand how MPLS works using an example. The figure depicts
an IPv4 network topology with four routers.

Note: The routers in an MPLS network are called Label Switch Routers(LSRs).

The process of packet forwarding in an MPLS network can be broadly

divided into 4 steps:

1. Routers choose an MPLS label for every route on the

network. For instance, routers R1, R2, R3 and R4 have labels 100,
200, 300 and 400 for the network 10.10.10.1/32, respectively.
Note: The label field is 20 bits in length. Hence, the label can take

values from 0 to 2^20–1 (1,048,575). However, the first 16 label values

i.e. from 0 to 15 are reserved for special usage.

2. Routers then exchange the labels they have chosen for every
route in the network with their neighbouring routers. Label
Distribution Protocol(LDP) is used to exchange labels. R2 tells
R1 and R3 that its MPLS label for 10.10.10.1/32 is 200.
 3. Using the label advertisements from neighbouring routers, each
router builds an MPLS forwarding table. Notice that R2 receives
MPLS label advertisements from both R1 and R3.
o R1 tells R2 that the MPLS label for 10.10.10.1/32 is 100.

o R3 tells R2 that the MPLS label for 10.10.10.1/32 is 300.

In this case, R2 refers to its IPv4 unicast routing table to

identify the next hop in the route to 10.10.10.1/32. By doing
so, R2 gets to know that R3 is the next hop and consequently,
updates its MPLS forwarding table with R3’s MPLS label i.e
300. This way, when MPLS is implemented on an IPv4 network,
every router in the network will know the MPLS labels of its
neighbouring routers for all IPv4 routers in that network.
4. Now the routers are ready to use labels to forward packets. Each
router swaps the existing label with the next hop’s MPLS
label. When a packet intended for 10.10.10.1/32 enters the MPLS
network through R1, it analyses its destination IP and adds an
MPLS header to the packet containing MPLS label of the next hop
i.e. 200 before forwarding it to R2. R2 swaps the existing MPLS
header with R3’s and this process goes on until the packet reaches
its destination. The packet’s IP header information is never
analyzed and forwarding occurs solely by the inspection of
MPLS labels.

2.5 layer protocol

The MPLS header sits between Layer 2 and Layer 3 headers and is
thus called the 2.5 Layer protocol or the shim protocol. It forwards
packets with the speed of Layer 2 protocols while preserving the
scalability and dynamic capabilities of Layer 3. The routers using MPLS
forwarding tables do not find the need to open Layer 3 headers of
packets, thereby saving resources and time.

MPLS creates virtual paths between networks called Label Switch

Paths(LSPs). An LSP can be defined as the sequence of Label Switch
Routers(LSRs) that transmit the packet within an MPLS network. Basically,
LSP is a predefined path that the packet takes during transmission.

MPLS VPN
MPLS Virtual Private Network, or MPLS VPN, is the most sought-after
and widespread implementation of MPLS technology. Wikipedia says that
a virtual private network extends a private network across a public
network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or
public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to
the private network. It does so by constructing a virtual tunnel between
the endpoints. Transportation of data between these ends is achieved by
encapsulating an entire data packet into a datagram, thereby allowing a
safe exchange of data across public or shared networks.

VPN technology has been around longer than MPLS. ATM or Frame Relay
technologies providing VPN facilities at Layer 2 were very popular. In
such a network, the service provider runs ATM or Frame Relay to
provide connectivity, which typically forms the backbone network. In
case of MPLS VPN, MPLS forms the backbone network over which
VPN services are provided. A virtual network built on top of existing
network infrastructure(Underlay) is called an Overlay. This technique of
overlaying a virtual network on an underlay increases the scalability of
the network and supports multi-tenancy, modularity and virtualization.