MPLS - Multi-Protocol Label Switching

INTRODUTION Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a new switching mechanism in telecommunication networks that directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, avoiding complex lookups in a routing table. In this mechanism an independent and unique label is added to each data packet and this label is used to switch and route the packet through the network. MPLS falls between the IP network layer protocol and the PPP datalink layer protocol. It is not really a layer 3 protocol because it depends on IP or other network layer addresses to set up label paths. It is not really a layer 2 protocol either because it forwards packets across multiple hops, not a single link. For this reason, MPLS is sometimes described as a layer 2.5 protocol . MPLS is to a large extent independent of both layers. This property means it is possible to build MPLS switches that can forward both IP packets and non-IP packets, depending on what shows up. This feature named it as multi-protocol and it interface to existing routing protocols. MPLS can also carry IP packets over non-IP networks. MPLS has some features such as: Connection oriented Quality of Service (QoS)- Differentiated types of service across an MPLS network. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)- A VPN is a private connection over an shared network. Traffic Engineering - The ability to control where and how traffic is routed on your network, to manage capacity, prioritize different services, and prevent congestion thereby achieving Efficient Link Utilization.

 Security- provides the appropriate level of security to make IP as secure as Frame Relay in the WAN, while reducing the need for encryption on public IP networks. Drawbacks of Traditional IP Routing: It is important to understand the differences in the way MPLS and IP routing forward data across a network. Traditional IP packet forwarding uses the IP destination address in the packets header to make an independent forwarding decision at each router in the network. These hop-by-hop decisions are based on network layer routing protocols, such as Open Shortest Path First (OPSF) or Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). These routing protocols are designed to find the shortest path through the network, and do not consider other factors, such as latency or traffic congestion. Drawbacks of traditional IP routing are: Routing protocols are used on all devices to distribute the routing information. Regardless of the routing protocol, routers always forward packets based on the destination address only. Routing lookups are performed on every router. Each router in the network makes an independent decision when forwarding packets. Every router in the path performs a destination-based routing lookup in a large forwarding table. Forwarding complexity is usually related to the size of the forwarding table and the switching mechanism. Traditional IP forwarding does not have a scalable mechanism to allow the utilization of the backup link (unequal load balancing). Policy-based routing could be used to select some packets and route those along the backup link. But this is not possible in high volume traffic due to performance limitations.

MPLS is a technology used for optimizing traffic forwarding through a network . MPLS creates a connection-based model overlaid onto the traditionally connectionless framework of IP routed networks. This connection-oriented architecture opens the door to a wealth of new possibilities for managing traffic on an IP network. MPLS builds on IP, combining the intelligence of routing, which is fundamental to the operation of the Internet and todays IP networks, with the high performance of switching. Beyond its applicability to IP networking, MPLS is being expanded for more general applications in the form of Generalized MPLS (GMPLS), with applications in optical and TimeDivision Multiplexing (TDM) networks.

MPLS Architecture and Operation:

Terminology used: FEC Forward Equivalence Class A group of IP Packets forwarded in same Manner ie.over the same path, same priority, same label etc. Label Short fixed length identifier used to identify FEC. LSP Label Switched Path Path from source to destination through one or more LSRs for a particular FEC. Two options to set up an LSP: a) hop-by-hop routing b) explicit routing LSR Label Switched Router High Speed Router that operates in the core of MPLS network LER Label Edge Router an edge LSR a) Operates at the edge of the access network & MPLS network b) Responsible for assignment and removal of labels

MPLS Label Format:

MPLS label is short (32 bits) with four fields. It does not include IP addresses. It is typically placed between the data-link and IP headers. A 32-bit label contains the following fields: 20-bit label: The actual label 3-bit experimental field: It is used to define a class of service (i.e. IP precedence),priority of label. Bottom-of-stack bit: MPLS allows multiple labels to be inserted; this bit is used to determine if this is the last label in the packet 8-bit time-to-live (TTL) field: TTL is used to limit IP packet lifetime. MPLS adds a label in front of each packet, and forwarding is based on the label rather than on the destination address. Making the label an index into an internal table makes finding the correct output line just a matter of table lookup. Using this technique, forwarding can be done very quickly. This advantage was the original motivation behind MPLS. These short, fixed-length labels carry the information that tells each switching node (router) how to process and forward the packets, from source to destination. They have significance only on a local nodeto-node connection. As each node forwards the packet, it swaps the current label for the appropriate label to route the packet to the next node. This mechanism enables very-high-speed switching of the packets through the core MPLS network.