Session Topics

• IP/MPLS
• Telenor MPLS core
• CA Spectrum
IP/MPLS Introduction
Multi-Protocol Label Switching

The Need
IP/ MPLS addresses the challenges of reducing capital and operating
costs while continuing to deliver the new and improved products and
services

Advantages
– A single converging backbone for
– TDM
– ATM
– IP/ DCN
– Frame Relay
– Ease of Management (compared to separate Networks)
– Better Traffic Engineering
– Improved QoS parameters
– OPEX saving
What is MPLS
• Is a data-carrying mechanism that belongs to the family
of packet-switched networks
• Or
• MPLS is a method for forwarding packets through a
network using information contained in labels attached to
IP packets…
• designed to provide a unified data-carrying service for
both circuit-based clients and packet-switching clients
• Used to carry many different kinds of traffic, including IP
packets, as well as native ATM, SONET, and Ethernet
frames.
History

• “IP Switching” technology was orginally proposed by a

group of engineers from Ipsilon Networks, [Only to work
over ATM]
• CISCO Systems introduced related proposal removing the
draw back of “IP Switching” [restriction to work on ATM]
and named it as “Tag Switching ” which was later on
renamed as “Label Switching”
• CISCO given this project to IETF (Internet Engineering
Task force) for open standardization
 BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

PACKET CIRCUIT
HYBRID SWITCHING
Forwarding

IP MPLS ATM
+IP
• MPLS + IP form a middle ground that combines the best
of IP and the best of circuit switching technologies.
• ATM and Frame Relay cannot easily come to the middle
so IP has!!
What is a “LABEL”?

A property that uniquely identifies a flow

on a logical or physical interface
• Labels can be specific to an interface
– Label 3 on interface A means something different
from label 3 on interface B

• Or labels can be platform-wide

– Label 3 is label 3, no matter what interface
it is received on

• Label value may change at each hop

 Label

0 1 2 3 Label = 20 bits
01234567890123456789012345678901
Exp = Experimental, 3 bits
Label | Exp|S| TTL
S = Bottom of stack, 1bit
TTL = Time to live, 8 bits
 Label Switched Path

#3 Right #7

IP #3

#7
#7 Left #99 #99 Right #9

#99

#9
#9 Left #4072

#4072 IP
“Label switching” what is it?

• You want to travel from A to B. You ask some friends to go ahead of

you. At every road they reserve a lane just for you.
At every intersection they post a big sign that says for a given lane
which way to turn and what new lane to take.

Lane #1 turn right

use Lane #2
Lane #1

Lane #2
Label Switched Path (LSP)
#1 Right #2

#2 Left #3 #3 Right #2

#2 Left #1
 A more realistic example…

Ingress Packet forwarded Egress router

router adds based on label removes label
label to packet

IP
Unlabeled
IP 20
Packet arrives
0
IP 1

IP

Autonomous
system boundary
 A more realistic example…

Label switched path

• Label Switched Path is like a pipe or tunnel

• While traveling on a label switched path, forwarding is based
on the label only, not on destination IP address in packet
A label by any other name …...

• There are many examples of label substitution protocols

already in existence:
– 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
– X25: a label is an LCN
– Proprietary PORS, TAG etc.
– Frequency substitution: where label is a light
frequency via DWDM, OXC etc.
 MPLS Terminology

• LDP: Label Distribution Protocol

• LSP: Label Switched Path

• FEC: Forwarding Equivalence Class

• LSR: Label Switching Router

• LER: Label Edge Router

 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.
Label Switched Paths (LSPs)

LSPs ...
• Are often called “tunnels”
• Are always unidirectional
• For convenience, classify as either:
– Point-to-point, or
– Merging
ROUTE AT EDGE, SWITCH IN CORE

IP IP #L1 IP #L2 IP #L3 IP

IP Forwarding LABEL SWITCHING IP Forwarding

 MPLS Label Distribution

Intf Label Dest Intf Label Intf Label Dest Intf

In In Out Out In In Out
3 0.50 47.1 1 0.40 3 0.40 47.1 1

1 47.1
Request: 47.1
3
Intf Dest Intf Label
In Out Out s t : 47.1 2
ue 3
3 47.1 1 0.50 Req 1
1 Mapping: 0.40
2
.50
47.3 3
p i ng: 0 47.2
p
2 Ma
 Label Switched Path (LSP)

Intf Label Dest Intf Label Intf Label Dest Intf

In In Out Out In In Out
3 0.50 47.1 1 0.40 3 0.40 47.1 1

IP 47.1.1.1
1 47.1
Intf Dest Intf Label 3 3
In Out Out
3 47.1 1 0.50 2
1
1
2
47.3 3 47.2
2
IP 47.1.1.1
Telenor MPLS Core
IP/MPLS Introduction

IP/MPLS Introduction
• Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a high-performance method
for forwarding packets (frames) through a network
• It enables routers at the edge of an MPLS network (called PE
routers/ Label Edge Routers) to apply simple (short, fixed length)
labels to incoming packets (frames)
• Existing routers in the network core (called P routers/ Label Switch
Routers) can switch packets according to the labels with minimal
lookup overhead (compared to IP Address Lookup)
• Switching entities (P routers) perform table lookups based on these
simple labels to determine where data should be forwarded
• A Forward Equivalence Class (FEC) is a group of IP packets which
are forwarded in the same manner, over the same path, and with
the same forwarding treatment
• A Label Switched Path (LSP) is an end to end path from the ingress
PE router to egress PE router including all the P routers in the middle
IP/MPLS Introduction
A Graphical Illustration of an IP/MPLS
Network

P router forwards
PE PE router
packet based on
router adds removes label
label
label to packet

IP
Unlabeled
IP 20
Packet arrives
0
IP 1

IP

Label Switched Path

IP/MPLS Introduction

IP/ MPLS Product Portfolio

IP/MPLS Actual Plan

Network Topology
IP/MPLS Connectivity

Core Site Connectivity (Case-1)

MPLS Core
Backbone

MPLS Edge
Routers
IP/MPLS Connectivity
Core Site Connectivity (Case-2)
IP/MPLS Connectivity

Non Core Site Connectivity

CA Spectrum
MPLS NMS
Thank You
You may Contact me @

Naveed Iqbal
0345-8555188
naveed.iqbal@telenor.com.pk