MULTIPROTOCOL LABEL SWITCHING (MPLS)

HOW ROUTER FORWARD PACKETS

1. PROCESS SWITCHING

ROUTING TABLE

PC1

PC2

DATA

PR

IP

MAC

HOW ROUTER FORWARD PACKETS

2. FAST SWITCHING

ROUTING TABLE

PC1

PC2

CACHE MEMORY

HOW ROUTER FORWARD PACKETS

3. CEF

PC1 FIB Table If it is send from this network

CACHE MEMORY ADJ Table This Hop Has this MAC address

PC2

Send it to this hop

MPLS
Industry standard mechanism Forwarding decisions based on layer 2 labels Labels can corresponds to : Destination network QoS Outgoing interface MPLS is service provider technique.

WHERE DOES THE LABEL GO?

DATA

PR

IP

MAC

MPLS LABEL

LABEL
BITS: 0-19

EXP
20-22

BS
23

TTL
24-31

DATA

PR

IP

L3

L2

L1

MAC

HOW MPLS WORKS

32

50

32 12 28 50 LIB B

32 28 Action table

28

SERVICE PROVIDER 1. Routing table build. 2. A label is assigned and distributed to 12.0.0.0 each SP router 3. Each SP router build LIB 4. Then each SP router build Action table

CLIENT2

CLIENT1

ROUTER ARCHITECTURE WITH MPLS

CONTROL PLANE -- Where L3 routing protocol exist -- Where Label exchange protocols exist DATA PLANE -- Also known as forwarding plane -- Sends data based on L3 or L2 information -- Take care of label swapping

MPLS TERMINOLOGY
Label Switch Router (LSR)/Provider Router

Edge LSR/Provider Edge(PE) Router

Label Switch Path(LSP) Label Distribution Protocol(LDP) Label Information Base(LIB) Labels match to a network Label Forwarding Information Base(LFIB) What labels should go which directions

HOW DOES MPLS USED?

1. VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (MPLS VPN)

2. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING (MPLS TE) 3. QUALITY OF SERVICE (MPLS QoS)

MPLS VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a private network service delivered over a public (shared) network. Two broad categories: 1. Customer-based: VPN configured on customer located equipment ,IPSec.

2. Network-based: VPN configured on SP equipment ,MPLS VPNs

HOW MPLS VPN WORKS

64-bit RD

Customer 1

Customer 1

PE
Customer 2

VRF

PE
Customer 2 P

SERVICE PROVIDER

INTERNET

ADVANTAGES
Provide security by separating address space and routing information of customers Spoofing is very difficult to accomplish since LSPs have local significance only Used to provide a fully meshed network architecture

Provide significant cost savings and increased scalability

MPLS TE
The task of engineering the traffic flows in the backbone network

The key characteristics of Traffic Engineering are: - Avoid congestion - Apply CBSPF for the traffic flows. - Provide ISPs better to deliver QoS and CoS
Implementation of TE requires end-to-end virtual paths across the network MPLS TE automatically establishes and maintains the tunnel across the backbone, using RSVP.

MPLS-TE ROUTER ARCHITECTURE

MPLS TRAFFIC ENGINEERING OPERATION

1. MPLS-TE enabled feature on all the routers in the backbone network 2. Flood 3. Identifying the congested links. 4. At Router R1 a)Resource requirements for establishing LSP is send to LSP Management Module b) LSP MM, requests CSPF module for computing the complete explicit route (LSP) from R1 to R7 c)LSP MM then triggers the Signaling protocol (RSVP) for establishment of the complete explicit route (LSP) from R1 to R7. d) On successful establishment LSP MM updates the LIB with the Label bindings.

CONGESTION CONTROL
Two mechanisms: FATE mechanism FATE+ mechanism

FATE provide rebalancing flows during congestion periods by using priority buffers in LSP routers

In FATE+ mechanism, the congested LSR makes decision to solve congestion

MPLS QOS
MPLSs connection-oriented nature provides the framework necessary to give quality guarantees to IP traffic While QoS and Class of Service (CoS) are not fundamental features of MPLS, they can be applied in MPLS networks where TE is used. Two mechanisms: IntServ(Integrated Services) DiffServ(Differentiated Services)

INTSERV(INTEGRATED SERVICES)
Fine-grained, flow-based mechanism

DIFFSERV(DIFFERENTIAT ED SERVICES)
Coarse-grained, class-based mechanism for traffic management. Operates on the principle of traffic classification, where each data packet is placed into a limited number of traffic classes Does not provide guarantees

RSVP was developed to signal QoS requirements across a network

Offers traffic bandwidth guarantees

Not very scalable or practical to DiffServ architecture is a operate across large networks scalable

INDIA TV DELIVERS THE NEWS WITH TATA COMMUNICATIONS MPLS SERVICE

A major broadcaster in India, which operates an independent news agency with bureaus and studios throughout the country
Uses MPLS VPNs as: - Connectivity difficult reach areas of the country - Increased reliability over previous solution - Lower operational costs - Live 24X7 news and video streaming feeds from virtually any location in India - Ample capacity for future expansion

Connection to various offices through MPLS VPN

COMPARISON OF MPLS VERSUS ATM

Both MPLS and ATM provide a connection-oriented service MPLS is able to work with variable length packets while ATM transports fixed-length cells.

ATM network adds significant complexity and overhead to the data stream.
An MPLS connection is unidirectional,2 LSPs are required for connectivity on the other hand, ATM are bidirectional

WILL MPLS REPLACE ATM?

MPLS was not designed to replace ATM SPs migrate their ATM networks to one based on MPLS MPLS can co-exist with ATM switches and eliminate complexity by mapping IP addressing and routing information directly into ATM switching tables

MPLS provides the control component for IP on both the ATM switches and routers.

EXAMLE OF MPLS VPN over ATM

CONCLUSION
MPLS is packet forwarding technique . Makes router as efficient as switch. Most commonly used as VPN. Easily used with technologies like Frame relay, ATM

Research is going on IPSec based MPLS VPN to increase data security

REFRENCES
XIXIA Whitepaper. Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Conformance and Performance Testing,2004. IRM research Whitepaper Thorsten Fischer. MPLS Security Overview,2007. ITU-T - IETF Joint Working Team Dave Ward, Malcolm Betts, ed. MPLS Architectural Considerations for a Transport Profile,2008. Cisco Systems Whitepaper. Analysis Of Mpls-based Ip Vpn Security: Comparison To Traditional L2vpns Such As Atm And Frame Relay, And Deployment Guidelines,2008. Tata Communication Whitepaper. Major TV Broadcaster Delivers the News with Tata Communications MPLS Service,2007.