MIEEC

Computer Networks
Lecture note 10

Label switching

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Label switching

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Switching: circuit, virtual circuit, and datagram

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Virtual circuits
Built on top of datagram network Each packet follows the same path Can do per circuit:
Admission control Resource reservation

Can do traffic engineering

Specify capacity per VC Choose paths for VCs based on VC capacity and available network resources

Can understand the network usage

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VC vs. Datagram Networks

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Forwarding: Longest prefix match

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Forwarding: Virtual circuits

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Production network

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Production network
IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router

Layer 3 IP

Whats the underlying topology?

Point to point? Ethernet switches?

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Production network
IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router

Layer 3 IP
ATM MPLS

ATM MPLS ATM MPLS ATM MPLS

ATM MPLS ATM MPLS ATM MPLS

Layer 2 ATM/MPLS
SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

Layer 2 SDH/SONET
DWDM DWDM DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

Layer 1 DWDM
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Production network
Packet in
IP router IP router IP router IP router IP router

Packet out
IP router IP router IP router

Layer 3 IP
ATM MPLS

ATM MPLS ATM MPLS ATM MPLS

ATM MPLS ATM MPLS ATM MPLS

Layer 2 ATM/MPLS
SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

SONET

Layer 2 SDH/SONET
DWDM DWDM DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

DWDM

Layer 1 DWDM
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DWDM network

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SDH/SONET

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SDH/SONET

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ATM
Cells

Virtual connections

Label switching

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MPLS
Label switching coexists with IP longest-prefix match

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OSPF, etc.

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Switching: circuit, virtual circuit, and datagram

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Switching: circuit, virtual circuit, and datagram

Virtual circuit switching: ATM, MPLS

Circuit switching: Digital synchronous multiplexing (SDH, Sonet), DWDM

Datagram switching: CIDR lookup OSPF, BGP

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Label switching: ATM evolution to MPLS

Asynchronous Transfer Mode Multiprotocol Label Switching

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ATM
Designed to become the next step after ISDN, BISDN, etc. Designed to offer integrated network services, meaning:
Constant bitrate, variable bitrate Audio, video, etc. Single network infrastructure, multiple applications

Based on fixed-size packets (cells)

With adaptation protocols for each application
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Applications => cells => single transfer mode

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Network

Applications => cells => single transfer mode

Cells

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ATM packet switching

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ATM virtual paths and channels

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ATM
Vision 1
Replace IP Applications/hosts all become ATM-speakers

Vision 2
Provide services at the core network
ATM overlay network

Traffic engineering, QoS

Overall
interesting ideas, wrong approach
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Label switching: Overlay vs. peering

Direct peering of routers

Overlay of virtual circuits

Two networks to manage!

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MPLS
Take the label switching concept
Good for:
Traffic engineering Network control and planning

Apply it to the IP network

Not as an overlay network

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MPLS encapsulation format

Shim layer
2.5 layer

MPLS data encapsulated between Layer 2 and Layer 3

Ethernet and IP

Labels may be pushed/popped at intermediate routers

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MPLS scalability via aggregation

One label switched path (LSP)
Can aggregate multiple IP flows

Aggregation on Edge
Label Switch Router (LSR) border
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Aggregation in core

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MPLS tunneling

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MPLS Control Plane

Label Distribution Protocol
Destination-based / control-driven Computed according to IP route

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MPLS LDP control-driven example

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MPLS Explicitly-routed LSP

LSP specified by operator or network management system Route specified in LDP setup message
Message sent to all LSR in the route Each LSR sends label request to next-hop LSR

Path independent of IP routes

Opens the door to traffic engineering

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Constrained-based Routed LDP CR-LDP

LSR A requires route/resources to LSR C 1. LSRA computes path to LSR C 2. LSRA reserves resources, sends label request and traffic parameters to LSRB/C 3. 4. LSRC checks for resources. If available send mapping message to LSRB 5. LSRB does the same, mapping original LSP id

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MPLS with RSVP

Resource Reservation Protocol Similar to CR-LDP except resources are checked on the return path

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RSVP vs. CR-LDP

State-full vs. state-less CR-LDP
uses TCP Hard state
needs explicit label unbinding message

RSVP
Uses UDP Soft state, needs to periodically refresh state Detects changes automatically
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Generalized Multiprotocol Label switching

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TO THINK
MPLS applies to packet switching
Can we apply the same label switching concept to the rest of the network?
Time slots (TDM) Wavelengths (DWDM) Physical fibers

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Goal
Fast and automated way to create On-demand circuits

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Network hierarchy

Fiber
WDM TDM

Packets

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Switching Hierarchies
Packets TDM WDM Fiber WDM TDM Packets

Fiber switching switching Timeslot switching Packet switching

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Switching capabilities

Timeslot, TDM(SONET/SDH) Wavelength (lambda) Waveband (sets of lambdas) Port (fiber) switching
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Generalized label
Fiber id in a fiber bundle, Waveband in a fiber Wavelength within waveband/fiber Timeslot within a wavelength MPLS/ATM packet switching label

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Hierarchical LSP setup

Un-established connections Bi-directional connections

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Hierarchical LSP setup

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MPLS vs. GMPLS issues

Control and data could be delivered on different paths Labels must have meaning (map to resources) Stacking: tunnels in packet networks, physical hierarchies for others Set/Delete paths can be more complex than removing labels from forwarding table
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MPLS vs. GMPLS issues

Label set
No wavelength conversion Same wavelength pool across the optical network Contention on wavelengths

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 How are virtual circuits implemented over datagram networks? What are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual circuits? What are the technologies typically used in a production network? Why is MPLS called a 2.5 layer protocol? How does MPLS scale? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a hardstate vs. soft-state protocol? What are the network technologies that are managed by the GMPLS protocol? What does label stacking mean in GMPLS?
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HOMEWORK
Review slides Read from Kurose
Section 5.8 Link virtualization

Do your Moodle homework

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