This document provides an overview of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), including its history, key concepts, applications, and use by service providers. MPLS was developed in the late 1990s to meet the needs of scalable routing and quality of service on the growing internet. It works by assigning fixed length labels to data packets, allowing routers to forward based on these labels rather than long network addresses. Major applications of MPLS include traffic engineering, virtual private networks, and bandwidth management. The document discusses how service providers like MegaPath use MPLS in their backbones to provide integrated data and voice services, and nationwide networking solutions for corporate customers.

1. By:
● Lesly Sandoval
● Gino McCarty
● Adam Cranford
Multiprotocol Label Switching
(MPLS)
Prof. Mostafa Ammar
Computer Networks II
Spring 2014

2. ● 80’s & 90’s - Internet
● The “Fish Problem”
● 1990 - ATM
○ Scalability and overhead
● 1995 - Internet explosion
● 1996 - Cisco Tag Switching
● 1997 - IETF MPLS group
History
Lowest Cost path to destination

3. ● Switching based on fixed 20
bit labels
● Decoupling routing and
forwarding
● Explicitly Routed Tunnel
○ Label Stacking
What is MPLS?

4. ● Label Edge Router (LER)
● Label Switch Router (LSR)
● Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC)
● Label Switch Path (LSP)
● Forwarding Information Table (FIT)
What is MPLS?

5. Data Plane
● IP Forwarding Table
● Label Forwarding Table
Control Plane
● IP Routing protocols
● IP Routing table
● Label Information Based (LIB)
● Label Distribution Protocol

6. MPLS Applications

7. ● Traffic engineering (MPLS-TE)
● Services:
○ VPN
○ AToM
○ QoS, DSCP, CoS - Bandwidth Management
MPLS Applications

8. ● Dynamic
● Load and Delay Based Traffic
Management
● Replacement for ATM-PVC which
are Fully Meshed
● RSVP (Resource Reservation
Protocol)
Traffic Engineering

9. VPN Service Types
● Layer 2
○ Customer Handles all
Routing
● Layer 3
○ ISP Participates in
Routing
○ MP-BGP

10. Anything over MPLS (AToM)
● L2 packetized encapsulation
○ HDLC (High Level Data Link Control)
○ Frame Relay
○ ATM
○ Ethernet*
■ VLAN Trunking

12. MPLS Network

13. Class of Service Bit Field
● Experimental Bits
● RED Behavior

14. Queuing Design and QOS
● QOS
○ Quality of Service
● DSCP - Label
○ Differentiated Services Code
Point
○ COS - Class Of Service

15. Vendors

16. Hardware Providers

17. Cisco 7600 VS CSR
3 Slot Chassis
15 Mpps forwarding Rate
240 Gbps throughput
CISCO 7603 CISCO CSR
1152 Slots
922 Tbps total
Throughput
MPPS : million packets per second , Cisco Specific metric

18. Service Providers

19. MegaPath Backbone

20. MegaPath: Scenario 1
● Traditional Voice
Services require a
separate dedicated
connections
● Modern VoIP services
allow integrated IP and
Voice Traffic

21. MegaPath: Scenario 1
● Using MPLS allows the
company to have a single
dedicated line for voice
and data
● All data including voice
and video conferencing
benefit

22. MegaPath: Scenario 2
● Nationwide corporate
network using Point-to-
Point connection
● Company must manage all
connections and
communications in house
● Massive management
overhead

23. MegaPath: Scenario 2
● Service providers(SP)
like MegaPath offer a
way to connect the
companies entire
network
● Connection is through
SP’s MPLS backbone
and is now managed
by the SP
● Entire network benefits
from reliability, QoS
and security services

24. Questions