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What Is MPLS?

MPLS is a widely used packet forwarding technology in the internet world, know what it is, how it works in a simple and easy format

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Wael Osama
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281 views3 pages

What Is MPLS?

MPLS is a widely used packet forwarding technology in the internet world, know what it is, how it works in a simple and easy format

Uploaded by

Wael Osama
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is MPLS?

MPLS stands for Multi-protocol Label Switching. MPLS is a packet forwarding technology that
is capable of carrying any L3 protocol and here comes the word multi-protocol. MPLS is capable
of tunneling L3 packets inside the MPLS network using  MPLS labels. The MPLS label is
pushed into the packet between the layer two header and the layer three header of the packet at
the ingress router and is used to switch the packets across the network to its destination.

What is the MPLS Label and How is it used?

The MPLS label is a fixed 4 byte identifier added to the packet by the ingress router between the
data-link layer (Layer2) and the network layer (Layer3) and is used by all transit routers to
switch the packet to its destination without the need for any routing table (Layer3) look-ups.
MPLS is considered a layer 2.5 technology and the MPLS header is called the shim header.

The diagram below illustrates the structure of the label. One or more labels are pushed on the
packet  at the ingress router forming a label stack. The first label is called the top label or the
transport label, other labels are used by different MPLS applications if needed.

MPLS Label Structure

 Label: label value, 20 bits.


 EXP: Experimental bits, Name is currently changed to Traffic class, 3 bits.
 S: bottom of stack, 1 bit.
 TTL: Time to live, 8 bits.

A couple of definitions are important before moving to MPLS operation:

 Downstream router: This is the router which advertises the prefix. In other words the
router that is the next hop to a specific prefix is the downstream.
 Upstream router: This router receives the routing information from its downstream
router.
 Label Edge Router (LER): Operates at the edge of the MPLS network (ingress/egress)
and make forwarding decisions based on the IP header information of the packet.
 Label Switch router (LSR): the routers in the middle of the MPLS network which
forwards MPLS packets based on label information.

Routing information flows from downstream routers to upstream router.


while data flows from upstream routers to down stream routers.
How MPLS works?

MPLS uses the concept of Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC). The FEC is of a set of packets
forwarded in the same manner by the label switching routers (LSR). Each router assigns a label
to a FEC and distributes this label to other routers using label distribution protocols forming
label switched paths or LSPs.

When a packet is received by the ingress router it determines the next hop  and inserts one or
more labels to the  packet . Then the labeled packets are passed to the next-hop router
(downstream). When the packets reach the downstream router, the top most label is examined
and used as a unique identifier to look into the label forwarding table to determine the next hop
and label operation to be performed on each MPLS packet.

Finally the packet reaches the egress router, the label is removed and the packet is forwarded
using an IP lookup or another label based on the MPLS application used.

As you can see the provider routers do not need to examine layer 3 information of the traversed
packets, allowing for protocol independent packet forwarding.

Example:

1. R1 advertises prefix 10.10.10.0/24 to the network using any IGP.


2. Routing information about the subnet flows away from R1.
3. An IP packet enters R4 (LER) with a destination of 10.10.10.0/24.
4. R4 looks in its label forwarding information base, determines the next hop (R3) and
pushes the label  assigned by R3 (L4) for this FEC.
5. R3 receives labeled packet from R4 with a label L4. R3  examines the LFIB and swaps
L3 label to L2.
6. R2 receives the MPLS packet, looks up the LFIB and pops the label (penultimate hop
popping) before sending the packet to R1 as an IP packet.
7. R1 forward the packet to its destination based on IP header information.

Please refer to MPLS label operations post for a description of different label operations.
MPLS network requirements

The following elements must exist in the network to be able to run MPLS

1. A layer 3 routing protocol (IS-IS, OSPF, EIGRP or RIP); preferably IS-IS or OSPF for
Traffic engineering.
2. Label distribution protocol (RSVP, LDP or BGP).
3. Network capable of handling MPLS traffic.

MPLS Benefits:

1. BGP free core in the service provider.


2. MPLS Applications like MPLS VPN and Traffic Engineering.
3. Building a unified network in the service provider. MPLS provide  IP, L3 VPN and L2
VPN over the same network.

For more networking topics feel free to browse www.networkers-online.com

I hope this article was informative and answers your questions about MPLS.

Wael Osama

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