Nepal Telecom Exam Preparation
(Level 7)
Dipak Kumar Nidhi
Multiprotocol Label
Switching (MPLS)
Internet Protocol(IP)
• The first defined and used protocol
• The only protocol for global internetworking
…..but there are disadvantages
Internet Protocol(IP)
IP Routing disadvantages
• Connectionless
eg. No QoS
• Each router has to make independent forwarding decisions based on the IP-
address
• Large IP header
At least 20 bytes header
• Routing in Network Layer
Slower then switching
• Usually designed to obtain shortest path
Do not take into account additional metrics
ATM
ATM
• Connection oriented
Support QOS
• Fast packet switching with fixed length packets (cells)
• Integration of different traffic types(voice, data, and video)
…..but there are also disadvantages
ATM
ATM Disadvantages
• Complex
• Expensive
• Not widely adopted
MPLS
Idea : Combine the forwarding algorithm used in ATM and IP
MPLS : Multi-Protocol Level Switching
MPLS Protocol
MPLS Protocol
MPLS Protocol
• Mechanisms to manage traffic flows of various granularities (Flow
management)
• Is independent of Layer-2 and Layer-3 Protocols
• Maps IP addresses to fixed length labels
• Interfaces to existing protocols(RSVP, OSPF)
• Supports ATM, Frame-Relay and Ethernet
MPLS Protocol
• A protocol to establish an end-to-end path from source to destination
• A hop-by-hop forwarding mechanism
• Use labels to set up path
Require a protocol to set up the labels along the path
• It builds a connection-oriented service on the IP network
MPLS is designed to speed up and shape traffic flows across enterprise
wide area and service provider networks.
First MPLS working group is IETF(The Internet Engineering Task Force)
formed in 1997
MPLS Architecture
MPLS Architecture
Label Switching Router(LSR) –
Routers that support MPLS are called the LSR
Label Edge Router (LER) –
LSR at the edge of the networks are called Edge LSR
• Ingress LSR
It is responsible for adding labels to unlabeled IP Packets.
• Engress LSR
It is responsible for removing the labels.
• Intermediate LSRs
Intermediate LSRs receive on incoming label packets, perform an
operation on it, switch the packet, and send the packet on the correct
data link
MPLS Architecture
Label Switch path(LSP)
The path defined by the labels through LSRs between two LERs
LSP is unidirectional
Forward Equivalent Class(FEC)
All IP packets follow the same path on the MPLS network and receive the same
treatment at each node.
MPLS Architecture
How does MPLS works?
MPLS Architecture
How does MPLS works?
When an LSR receives a packet, it performs one or more of the following action
• Push
Adds a label
This is typically performed by the ingress router
• Swap
Replace label
This is usually performed by the LSRs between the ingress and egress
• Pop
Removes a label
This is most often done by egress router
MPLS Network
Label and labeled packet
32-bit MPLS header
A “Labelled Packet” is a packet into which a label has been encoded
Label and labeled packet
MPLS label is a fixed field of 32 bits with a certain structure
• Label
Label value (0 to 15 are reserved for special use)
• Exp bits
Experimental bits are used for quality of service (QoS)
• S/BoS Bottom of the stack (BoS)
Bit set to 1 for the last entry in the label
• TTL (Time to live )
If the TTL of the label reaches 0, the packet is discarded
MPLS
Advantages
• Improves packet-forwarding performance in the network and support QOS
• Supports Network Scalability
• Integrates IP and ATM in the network
• It is good for real-time applications that can not tolerate latency, such as
video, voice and mission oriented critical data
• Data and voice apps can all be run on the same MPLS network
• The benefits of MPLS are scalability, performance, better bandwidth
utilization, reduced network congestion and better end-use experience
MPLS
Disadvantages
• An additional layer is added
• The router has to understand MPLS
Thanks