Internet Draft
Network Working Group R. Callon
INTERNET DRAFT Cascade Communications
<draft-ietf-mpls-framework-00.txt> P. Doolan
Cisco Systems
N. Feldman
IBM Corp.
A. Fredette
Bay Networks
G. Swallow
Cisco Systems
A. Viswanathan
IBM Corp.
May 12, 1997
Expires Nov 12, 1997
A Framework for Multiprotocol Label Switching
Status of this Memo
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Abstract
This document discusses technical issues and requirements for the
Multiprotocol Label Switching working group. This is an initial draft
document, which will evolve and expand over time. It is the intent of
this document to produce a coherent description of all significant
approaches which were and are being considered by the working group.
Selection of specific approaches, making choices regarding
engineering tradeoffs, and detailed protocol specification, are
outside of the scope of this framework document.
Note that this document is at an early stage, and that most of the
detailed technical discussion is only in a rough form. Additional
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text will be provided over time from a number of sources.
Acknowledgments
The ideas and text in this document have been collected from a number
of sources and comments received. We would like to thank Jim Luciani,
Andy Malis, Yakov Rekhter, Eric Rosen, and Vijay Srinivasan for their
inputs and ideas.
1. Introduction and Requirements
1.1 Overview of MPLS
The primary goal of the MPLS working group is to standardize a base
technology that integrates the label swapping forwarding paradigm
with network layer routing. This base technology (label swapping) is
expected to improve the price/performance of network layer routing,
improve the scalability of the network layer, and provide greater
flexibility in the delivery of (new) routing services (by allowing
new routing services to be added without a change to the forwarding
paradigm).
The initial MPLS effort will be focused on IPv4 and IPv6. However,
the core technology will be extendible to multiple network layer
protocols (e.g., IPX, Appletalk, DECnet, CLNP). MPLS is not confined
to any specific link layer technology, it can work with any media
over which Network Layer packets can be passed between network layer
entities.
MPLS makes use of a routing approach whereby the normal mode of
operation is that L3 routing (e.g., existing IP routing protocols
and/or new IP routing protocols) is used by all nodes to determine
the routed path.
MPLS provides a simple "core" set of mechanisms which can be applied
in several ways to provide a rich functionality. The core effort
includes:
a) Semantics assigned to a stream label:
- Labels are associated with specific streams of data;
b) Forwarding Methods:
- Forwarding is simplified by the use of short fixed length
labels to identify streams
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- Forwarding may require simple functions such as looking up a
label in a table, swapping labels, and possibly decrementing
and checking a TTL.
- In some cases MPLS may make direct use of underlying layer 2
forwarding, such as is provided by ATM or Frame Relay
equipment.
c) Label Distribution Methods:
- Allow nodes to determine which labels to use for specific
streams
- This may use some sort of control exchange, and/or be
piggybacked on a routing protocol
The MPLS working group will define the procedures and protocols used
to assign significance to the forwarding labels and to distribute
that information between cooperating MPLS forwarders.
1.2 Requirements
- MPLS forwarding MUST simplify packet forwarding in order to do the
following:
- lower cost of high speed forwarding
- improve forwarding performance
- MPLS core technologies MUST be general with respect to data link
technologies (i.e., work over a very wide range of underlying data
links). Specific optimizations for particular media MAY be
considered.
- MPLS core technologies MUST be compatible with a wide range of
routing protocols, and MUST be capable of operating independently
of the underlying routing protocols. It has been observed that
considerable optimizations can be achieved in some cases by small
enhancements of existing protocols. Such enhancements MAY be
considered in the case of IETF standard routing protocols, and if
appropriate, coordinated with the relevant working group(s).
- Routing protocols which are used in conjunction with MPLS might
be based on distributed computation. As such, during routing
transients, these protocols may compute forwarding paths which
potentially contain loops. MPLS MUST provide protocol mechanisms to
either prevent the formation of loops and /or contain the amount of
(networking) resources that can be consumed due to the presence of
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loops.
- MPLS forwarding MUST allow "aggregate forwarding" of user data;
i.e., allow streams to be forwarded as a unit and ensure that an
identified stream takes a single path, where a stream may consist
of the aggregate of multiple flows of user data. MPLS SHOULD
provide multiple levels of aggregation support (e.g., from
individual end to end application flows at one extreme, to
aggregates of all flows passing through a specified switch or
router at the other extreme).
- MPLS MUST support operations, administration, and maintenance
facilities at least as extensive as those supported in current IP
networks. Current network management and diagnostic tools SHOULD
continue to work in order to provide some backward compatibility.
Where such tools are broken by MPLS, hooks MUST be supplied to
allow equivalent functionality to be created.
- MPLS core technologies MUST work with both unicast and multicast
streams.
- The MPLS core specifications MUST clearly state how MPLS operates
in a hierarchical network.
- Scalability issues MUST be considered and analyzed during the
definition of MPLS. Very scaleable solutions MUST be sought.
- MPLS core technologies MUST be capable of working with O(n) streams
to switch all best-effort traffic, where n is the number of nodes
in a MPLS domain. MPLS protocol standards MUST be capable of taking
advantage of hardware that supports stream merging where
appropriate. Note that O(n-squared) streams or VCs might also be
appropriate for use in some cases.
- The core set of MPLS standards, along with existing Internet
standards, MUST be a self-contained solution. For example, the
proposed solution MUST NOT require specific hardware features that
do not commonly exist on network equipment at the time that the
standard is complete. However, the solution MAY make use of
additional optional hardware features (e.g., to optimize
performance).
- The MPLS protocol standards MUST support multipath routing and
forwarding.
- MPLS MUST be compatible with the IETF Integrated Services Model,
including RSVP.
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- It MUST be possible for MPLS switches to coexist with non MPLS
switches in the same switched network. MPLS switches SHOULD NOT
impose additional configuration on non-MPLS switches.
- MPLS MUST allow "ships in the night" operation with existing layer
2 switching protocols (e.g., ATM Forum Signaling) (i.e., MPLS must
be capable of being used in the same network which is also
simultaneously operating standard layer 2 protocols).
- The MPLS protocol MUST support both topology-driven and
traffic/request-driven label assignments.
1.3 Terminology
aggregate stream
synonym of "stream"
DLCI
a label used in Frame Relay networks to identify frame
relay circuits
flow
a single instance of an application to application flow
of data (as in the RSVP and IFMP use of the term "flow")
frame merge
stream merge, when it is applied to operation over
frame based media, so that the potential problem of cell
interleave is not an issue.
label
a short fixed length physically contiguous locally
significant identifier which is used to identify a stream
label information base
the database of information containing label bindings
label swap
the basic forwarding operation consisting of
looking up an incoming label to determine the outgoing label,
encapsulation, port, and other data handling information.
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label swapping
a forwarding paradigm allowing streamlined forwarding of data
by using labels to identify streams of data to be forwarded.
label switched hop
the hop between two MPLS nodes, on which forwarding
is done using labels.
label switched path
the path created by the concatenation of one or more label
switched hops, allowing a packet to be forwarded by swapping
labels from an MPLS node to another MPLS node.
layer 2
the protocol layer under layer 3 (which therefore offers the
services used by layer 3). Forwarding, when done by the swapping
of short fixed length labels, occurs at layer 2 regardless of
whether the label being examined is an ATM VPI/VCI, a frame
relay DLCI, or an MPLS label.
layer 3
the protocol layer at which IP and its associated routing
protocols operate
link layer
synonymous with layer 2
loop detection
a method of dealing with loops in which loops are allowed
to be set up, and data may be transmitted over the loop,
but the loop is later detected and closed
loop prevention
a method of dealing with loops in which data is never
transmitted over a loop
label stack
an ordered set of labels
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loop survival
a method of dealing with loops in which data may be
transmitted over a loop, but means are employed to limit the
amount of network resources which may be consumed by the
looping data
label switching router
an MPLS node which is capable of forwarding native L3 packets
merge point
the node at which multiple streams and switched paths are
combined into a single stream sent over a single path. In the
case that the multiple paths are not combined prior to the
egress node, then the egress node becomes the merge point.
Mlabel
abbreviation for MPLS label
MPLS core standards
the standards which describe the core MPLS technology
MPLS domain
a contiguous set of nodes which operate MPLS routing and
forwarding and which are also in one Routing or Administrative
Domain
MPLS edge node
an MPLS node that connects an MPLS domain with a node which
is outside of the domain, either because it does not run
MPLS, and/or because it is in a different domain. Note that
if an LSR has a neighboring host which is not running MPLS,
that that LSR is an MPLS edge node.
MPLS egress node
an MPLS edge node in its role in handling traffic as it leaves
an MPLS domain
MPLS ingress node
an MPLS edge node in its role in handling traffic as it enters
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an MPLS domain
MPLS label
a label placed in a short MPLS shim header used to identify
streams
MPLS node
a node which is running MPLS. An MPLS node will be aware
of MPLS control protocols, will operate one or more L3 routing
protocols, and will be capable of forwarding packets based on
labels. An MPLS node may optionally be also capable of
forwarding native L3 packets.
MultiProtocol Label Switching
an IETF working group and the effort associated with the working
group
network layer
synonymous with layer 3
shortcut VC
a VC set up as a result of an NHRP query and response
stack
synonymous with label stack
stream
an aggregate of one or more flows, treated as one aggregate
for the purpose of forwarding in L2 and/or L3 nodes (e.g.,
may be described using a single label). In many cases a stream
may be the aggregate of a very large number of flows.
Synonymous with "aggregate stream".
stream merge
the merging of several smaller streams into a larger stream,
such that for some or all of the path the larger stream can
be referred to using a single label.
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switched path
synonymous with label switched path
virtual circuit
a circuit used by a connection-oriented layer 2 technology
such as ATM or Frame Relay, requiring the maintenance of
state information in layer 2 switches.
VC merge
stream merge when it is specifically applied to VCs,
specifically so as to allow multiple VCs to merge into one
single VC
VP merge
stream merge when it is applied to VPs, specifically so as
to allow multiple VPs to merge into one single VP. In this
case the VCIs need to be unique. This allows cells from
different sources to be distinguished via the VCI.
VPI/VCI
a label used in ATM networks to identify circuits
1.4 Acronyms and Abbreviations
DLCI Data Link Circuit Identifier
LIB Label Information Base
LDP Label Distribution Protocol
L2 Layer 2
L3 Layer 3
LSR Label Switching Router
MPLS MultiProtocol Label Switching
NHC Next Hop (NHRP) Client
NHS Next Hop (NHRP) Server
VC Virtual Circuit
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VPI Virtual Path Identifier
VCI Virtual Circuit Identifier
2. Discussion of Core MPLS Components
2.1 The Basic Routing Approach
Routing is accomplished through the use of standard L3 routing
protocols, such as OSPF and BGP. The information maintained by the
L3 routing protocols is then used to distribute labels to neighboring
nodes that are used in the forwarding of packets as described below.
In the case of ATM networks, the labels that are distributed are
VPI/VCIs and a separate protocol (i.e., PNNI) is not necessary for
the establishment of VCs for IP forwarding.
The topological scope of a routing protocol (i.e. routing domain) and
the scope of label switching MPLS-capable nodes may be different.
For example, MPLS-knowledgeable and MPLS-ignorant nodes, all of which
are OSPF routers, may be co-resident in an area. In the case that
neighboring routers know MPLS, labels can be exchanged and used.
Neighboring MPLS routers may use configured PVCs or PVPs to tunnel
through non-participating ATM or FR switches.
2.2 Labels
In addition to the single routing protocol approach discussed above,
the other key concept in the basic MPLS approach is the use of short
fixed length labels to simply user data forwarding.
2.2.1 Label Semantics
It is important that the MPLS solutions are clear about what
semantics (i.e., what knowledge of the state of the network) is
implicit in the use of labels for forwarding user data packets or
cells.
At the simplest level, a label may be thought of as nothing more than
a shorthand for the packet header, in order to index the forwarding
decision that a router would make for the packet. In this context,
the label is nothing more than a shorthand for an aggregate stream of
user data.
This observation leads to one possible very simple interpretation
that the "meaning" of the label is a strictly local issue between two
neighboring nodes. With this interpretation: (i) MPLS could be
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employed between any two neighboring nodes for forwarding of data
between those nodes, even if no other nodes in the network
participate in MPLS; (ii) When MPLS is used between more than two
nodes, then the operation between any two neighboring nodes could be
interpreted as independent of the operation between any other pair of
nodes. This approach has the advantage of semantic simplicity, and of
being the closest to pure datagram forwarding. However this approach
(like pure datagram forwarding) has the disadvantage that when a
packet is forwarded it is not known whether the packet is being
forwarded into a loop, into a black hole, or towards links which have
inadequate resources to handle the traffic flow. These disadvantages
are necessary with pure datagram forwarding, but are optional design
choices to be made when label switching is being used.
There are cases where it would be desirable to have additional
knowledge implicit in the existence of the label. For example, one
approach to avoiding loops (see section x.x below) involves signaling
the label distribution along a path before packets are forwarded on
that path. With this approach the fact that a node has a label to use
for a particular IP packet would imply the knowledge that following
the label (including label swapping at subsequent nodes) leads to a
non- looping path which makes progress towards the destination
(something which is usually, but not necessarily always true when
using pure datagram routing). This would of course require some sort
of label distribution/setup protocol which signals along the path
being setup before the labels are available for packet forwarding.
However, there are also other consequences to having additional
semantics associated with the label: specifically, procedures are
needed to ensure that the semantics are correct. For example, if the
fact that you have a label for a particular destination implies that
there is a loop-free path, then when the path changes some procedures
are required to ensure that it is still loop free. Another example of
semantics which could be implicit in a label is the identity of the
higher level protocol type which is encoded using that label value.
In either case, the specific value of a label to use for a stream is
strictly a local issue; however the decision about whether to use the
label may be based on some global (or at least wider scope) knowledge
that, for example, the label-switched path is loop-free and/or has
the appropriate resources.
A similar example occurs in ATM networks: With standard ATM a
signaling protocol is used which both reserves resources in switches
along the path, and which ensures that the path is loop-free and
terminates at the correct node. Thus implicit in the fact that an ATM
node has a VPI/VCI for forwarding a particular piece of data is the
knowledge that the path has been set up successfully.
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Another similar examples occurs with multipoint to point trees over
ATM (see section xx below), where the multipoint to point tree uses a
VP, and cell interleave at merge points in the tree is handled by
giving each source on the tree a distinct VCI within the VP. In this
case, the fact that each source has a known VPI/VCI to use needs to
(implicitly or explicitly) imply the knowledge that the VCI assigned
to that source is unique within the context of the VP.
In general labels are used to optimize how the system works, not to
control how the system works. For example, the routing protocol
determines the path that a packet follows. The presence or absence of
a label assignment should not effect the path of a L3 packet. Note
however that the use of labels may make capabilities such as explicit
routes, loadsharing, and multipath more efficient.
2.2.2 Label Granularity
Labels are used to create a simple forwarding paradigm. The
essential element in assigning a label is that the device which will
be using the label to forward packets will be forwarding all packets
with the same label in the same way. If the packet is to be
forwarded solely by looking at the label, then at a minimum, all
packets with the same incoming label must be forwarded out the same
port(s) with the same encapsulation(s), and with the same next hop
label (if any).
Note that the label could also mean "ignore this label and forward
based on what is contained within," where within one might find a
label (if a stack of labels is used) or a layer 3 packet.
For IP unicast traffic, the granularity of a label allows various
levels of aggregation in a Label Information Base (LIB). At one end
of the spectrum, a label could represent a host route (i.e. the full
32 bits of IP address). If a router forwards an entire CIDR prefix
in the same way, it may choose to use one label to represent that
prefix. Similarly if the router is forwarding several (otherwise
unrelated) CIDR prefixes in the same way it may choose to use the
same label for this set of prefixes. For instance all CIDR prefixes
which share the same BGP Next Hop could be assigned the same label.
Taking this to the limit, an egress router may choose to advertise
all of its prefixes with the same label.
By introducing the concept of an egress identifier, the distribution
of labels associated with groups of CIDR prefixes can be simplified.
For instance, an egress identifier might specify the BGP Next Hop,
with all prefixes routed to that next hop receiving the label
associated with that egress identifier. Another natural place to
aggregate would be the MPLS egress router. This would work
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particularly well in conjunction with a link-state routing protocol,
where the association between egress router and CIDR prefix is
already distributed throughout an area.
For IP multicast, the natural binding of a label would be to a
multicast tree, or rather to the branch of a tree which extends from
a particular port. Thus for a shared tree, the label corresponds to
the multicast group, (*,G). For (S,G) state, the label would
correspond to the source address and the multicast group.
A label can also have a granularity finer than a host route. That
is, it could be associated with some combination of source and
destination address or other information within the packet. This
might for example be done on an administrative basis to aid in
effecting policy. A label could also correspond to all packets which
match a particular Integrated Services filter specification.
Labels can also represent explicit routes. This use is semantically
equivalent to using an IP tunnel with a complete source route. This
is discussed in more detail in section 4.12.
2.2.3 Label Assignment
Essential to label switching is the notion of binding between a label
and Network Layer routing (routes). A control component is
responsible for creating label bindings, and then distributing the
label binding information among label switches. Label assignment
involves allocating a label, and then binding a label to a route.
Label assignment can be driven by control traffic or by data traffic.
This is discussed in more detail in section 3.4.
Control traffic driven label assignment has several advantages, as
compared to data traffic driven label Assignment. For one thing, it
minimizes the amount of additional control traffic needed to
distribute label binding information, as label binding information is
distributed only in response to control traffic, independent of data
traffic. It also makes the overall scheme independent of and
insensitive to the data traffic profile/pattern. Control traffic
driven creation of label binding improves forwarding latency, as
labels are assigned before data traffic arrives, rather than being
assigned as data traffic arrives. It also simplifies the overall
system behavior, as the control plane is controlled solely by control
traffic, rather than by a mix of control and data traffic.
There are however situations where data traffic driven label
assignment is necessary. A particular case may occur with ATM
without VP or VC merge. In this case in order to set up a full mesh
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of VCs would require n-squared VCs. However, in very large networks
this may be infeasible. Instead VCs may be setup where required for
forwarding data traffic. In this case it is generally not possible to
know a priori how many such streams may occur.
Label withdrawal is required with both control-driven and data-driven
label assignment. Label withdrawal is primarily a matter of garbage
collection, that is collecting up unused labels so that they may be
reassigned. Generally speaking, a label should be withdrawn when the
conditions that allowed it to be assigned are no longer true. For
example, if a label is imbued with extra semantics such as loop-free-
ness, then the label must be withdrawn when those extra semantics
cease to hold.
In certain cases, notably multicast, it may be necessary to share a
label space between multiple entities. If these sharing arrangements
are altered by the coming and going of neighbors, then labels which
are no longer controlled by an entity must be withdrawn and a new
label assigned.
2.2.4 Label Stack and Forwarding Operations
The basic forwarding operation consists of looking up the incoming
label to determine the outgoing label, encapsulation, port, and any
additional information which may pertain to the stream such as a
particular queue or other QoS related treatment. We refer to this
operation as a label swap.
When a packet first enters an MPLS domain, the packet is forwarded by
normal layer 3 forwarding operations with the exception that the
outgoing encapsulation will now include a label. We refer to this
operation as a label push. When a packet leaves an MPLS domain, the
label is removed. We refer to this as a label pop.
In some situations, carrying a stack of labels is useful. For
instance both IGP and BGP label could be used to allow routers in the
interior of an AS to be free of BGP information. In this scenario,
the "IGP" label is used to steer the packet through the AS and the
"BGP" label is used to switch between ASes.
With a label stack, the set of label operations remains the same,
except that at some points one might push or pop multiple labels, or
pop & swap, or swap & push.
2.3 Encapsulation
Label-based forwarding makes use of various pieces of information,
including a label or stack of labels, and possibly additional
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information such as a TTL field. In some cases this information may
be encoded using an MPLS header, in other cases this information may
be encoded in L2 headers. Note that there may be multiple types of
MPLS headers. For example, the header used over one media type may be
different than is used over a different media type. Similarly, in
some cases the information that MPLS makes use of may be encoded in
an ATM header. We will use the term "MPLS encapsulation" to refer to
whatever form is used to encapsulate the label information and other
information used for label based forwarding. The term "MPLS header"
will be used where this information is carried in some sort of MPLS-
specific header (i.e., when the MPLS information cannot all be
carried in a L2 header). Whether there is one or multiple forms of
possible MPLS headers is also outside of the scope of this document.
The exact contents of the MPLS encapsulation is outside of the scope
of this document. Some fields, such as the label, are obviously
needed. Some others might or might not be standardized, based on
further study. An encapsulation scheme might make use of the
following fields:
- label
- TTL
- class of service
- stack indicator
- next header type indicator
- checksum
It is desirable to have a very short encapsulation header. For
example, a four byte encapsulation header adds to the convenience of
building a hardware implementation that forwards based on the
encapsulation header. But at the same time it is tricky assigning
such a limited number of bits to carry the above listed information
in an MPLS header. Hence careful consideration must be given to the
information chosen for an MPLS header.
A TTL value in the MPLS header may be useful in the same manner as it
is in IP. Specifically, TTL may be used to terminate packets caught
in a routing loop, and for other related uses such as traceroute. The
TTL mechanism is a simple and proven method of handling such events.
Another use of TTL is to expire packets in a network by limiting
their "time to live" and eliminating stale packets that may cause
problems for some of the higher layer protocols. When used over link
layers which do not provide a TTL field, alternate mechanisms will be
needed to replace the uses of the TTL field.
A provision for a class of service (COS) field in the MPLS header
allows multiple service classes within the same label. However, when
more sophisticated QoS is associated with a label, the COS may not
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have any significance. Alternatively, the COS (like QoS) can be left
out of the header, and instead propagated with the label assignment,
but this entails that a separate label be assigned to each required
class of service. Nevertheless, the COS mechanism provides a simple
method of segregating flows within a label.
As previously mentioned, the encapsulation header can be used to
derive benefits of tunneling (or stacking).
The MPLS header must provide a way to indicate that multiple MPLS
headers are stacked (ie, the "stack indicator"). For this purpose a
single bit in the MPLS header will suffice. In addition, there are
also some benefits to indicating the type of the protocol header
following the MPLS header (ie, the "next header type indicator"). One
option would be to combine the stack indicator and next header type
indicator into a single value (ie, the next header type indicator
could be allowed to take the value "MPLS header"). Another option is
to have the next header type indicator be implicit in the label value
(such that this information would be propagated along with the
label).
There is no compelling reason to support a checksum field in the MPLS
header. A CRC mechanism at the L2 layer should be sufficient to
ensure the integrity of the MPLS header.
3. Observations, Issues and Assumptions
3.1 Layer 2 versus Layer 3 Forwarding
MPLS uses L2 forwarding as a way to provide simple and fast packet
forwarding capability. One primary reason for the simplicity of L2
layer forwarding comes from its short, fixed length labels. A node
forwarding at L3 must parse a (relatively) large header, and perform
a longest-prefix match to determine a forwarding path. However, when
a node performs L2 label swapping, and labels are assigned properly,
it can do a direct index lookup into its forwarding (or in this case,
label-swapping) table with the short header. It is arguably simpler
to build label swapping hardware than it is to build L3 forwarding
hardware because the label swapping function is less complex.
The relative performance of L2 and L3 forwarding may differ
considerably between nodes. Some nodes may illustrate an order of
magnitude difference. Other nodes (for example, nodes with more
extensive L3 forwarding hardware) may have identical performance at
L2 and L3. However, some nodes may not be capable of doing a L3
forwarding at all (e.g. ATM), or have such limited capacity as to be
unusable at L3. In this situation, traffic must be blackholed if no
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switched path exists.
On nodes in which L3 forwarding is slower than L2 forwarding, pushing
traffic to L3 when no L2 path is available may cause congestion. In
some cases this could cause data loss (since L3 may be unable to keep
up with the increased traffic). However, if data is discarded, then
in general this will cause TCP to backoff, which would allow control
traffic, traceroute and other network management tools to continue to
work.
The MPLS protocol MUST not make assumptions about the forwarding
capabilities of an MPLS node. Thus, MPLS must propose solutions that
can leverage the benefits of a node that is capable of L3 forwarding,
but must not mandate the node be capable of such.
Why We Will Still Need L3 Forwarding
MPLS will not, and is not intended to, replace L3 forwarding. There
is absolutely a need for some systems to continue to forward IP
packets using normal Layer 3 IP forwarding. L3 forwarding will be
needed for a variety of reasons, including:
- For scaling; to forward on a finer granularity than the labels
can provide
- For security; to allow packet filtering at firewalls.
- For forwarding at the initial router (when hosts don't do MPLS)
Consider a campus network which is serving a small company. Suppose
that this companies makes use of the Internet, for example as a
method of communicating with customers. A customer on the other side
of the world has an IP packet to be forwarded to a particular system
within the company. It is not reasonable to expect that the customer
will have a label to use to forward the packet to that specific
system. Rather, the label used for the "first hop" forwarding might
be sufficient to get the packet considerably closer to the
destination. However, the granularity of the labels cannot be to
every host worldwide. Similarly, routing used within one routing
domain cannot know about every host worldwide. This implies that in
may cases the labels assigned to a particular packet will be
sufficient to get the packet close to the destination, but that at
some points along the path of the packet the IP header will need to
be examined to determine a finer granularity for forwarding that
packet. This is particularly likely to occur at domain boundaries.
A similar point occurs at the last router prior to the destination
host. In general, the number of hosts attached to a network is likely
to be great enough that it is not feasible to assign a separate label
to every host. Rather, as least for routing within the destination
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routing domain (or the destination area if there is a hierarchical
routing protocol in use) a label may be assigned which is sufficient
to get the packet to the last hop router. However, the last hop
router will need to examine the IP header (and particularly the
destination IP address) in order to forward the packet to the correct
destination host.
Packet filtering at firewalls is an important part of the operation
of the Internet. While the current state of Internet security may be
considerably less advanced than may be desired, nonetheless some
security (as is provided by firewalls) is much better than no
security. We expect that packet filtering will continue to be
important for the foreseeable future. Packet filtering requires
examination of the contents of the packet, including the IP header.
This implies that at firewalls the packet cannot be forwarded simply
by considering the label associated with the packet. Note that this
is also likely to occur at domain boundaries.
Finally, it is very likely that many hosts will not implement MPLS.
Rather, the host will simply forward an IP packet to its first hop
router. This first hop router will need to examine the IP header
prior to forwarding the packet (with or without a label).
3.2 Scaling Issues
MPLS scalability is provided by two of the principles of routing.
The first is that forwarding follows an inverted tree rooted at a
destination. The second is that the number of destinations is
reduced by routing aggregation.
The very nature of IP forwarding is a merged multipoint-to-point
tree. Thus, since MPLS mirrors the IP network layer, an MPLS node
that is capable of merging is capable of creating O(n) switched paths
which provide network reachability to all "n" destinations. The
meaning of "n" depends on the granularity of the switched paths. One
obvious choice of "n" is the number of CIDR prefixes existing in the
forwarding table (this scales the same as today's routing). However,
the value of "n" may be reduced considerably by choosing switched
paths of further aggregation. For example, by creating switched paths
to each possible egress node, "n" may represent the number of egress
nodes in a network. This choice creates "n" switched paths, such that
each path is shared by all CIDR prefixes that are routed through the
same egress node. This selection greatly improves scalability, since
it minimizes "n", but at the same time maintains the same switching
performance of CIDR aggregation. (See section 2.2.2 for a description
of all of the levels of granularity provided by MPLS).
The MPLS technology must scale at least as well as existing
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technology. For example, if the MPLS technology were to support ONLY
host-to-host switched path connectivity, then the number of
switched-paths would be much higher than the number of routing table
entries.
There are several ways in which merging can be done in order to allow
O(n) switches paths to connect n nodes. The merging approach used has
an impact on the amount of state information, buffering, delay
characteristics, and the means of control required to coordinate the
trees. These issues are discussed in more detail in section 4.2.
There are some cases in which O(n-squared) switched paths may be used
(for example, by setting up a full mesh of point to point streams).
As label space and the amount of state information that can be
supported may be limited, it will not be possible to support O(n-
squared) switched paths in very large networks. However, in some
cases the use of n-squared paths may even be a advantage (for
example, to allow load- splitting of individual streams).
MPLS must be designed to scale for O(n). O(n) scaling allows MPLS
domains to scale to a very large scale. In addition, if best effort
service can be supported with O(n) scaling, this conserves resources
(such as label space and state information) which can be used for
supporting advanced services such as QoS. However, since some
switches may not support merging, and some small networks may not
require the scaling benefits of O(n), provisions must also be
provided for a non- merging, O(n-squared) solution.
Note: A precise and complete description of scaling would consider
that there are multiple dimensions of scaling, and multiple resources
whose usage may be considered. Possible dimensions of scaling
include: (i) the total number of streams which exist in an MPLS
domain (with associated labels assigned to them); (ii) the total
number of "label swapping pairs" which may be stored in the nodes of
the network (ie, entries of the form "for incoming label 'x', use
outgoing label 'y'"); (iii) the number of labels which need to be
assigned for use over a particular link; (iv) The amount of state
information which needs to be maintained by any one node. We do not
intend to perform a complete analysis of all possible scaling issues,
and understand that our use of the terms "O(n)" and "O(n-squared)" is
approximate only.
3.3 Types of Streams
Switched paths in the MPLS network can be of different types:
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- point-to-point
- multipoint-to-point
- point-to-multipoint
- multipoint-to-multipoint
Two of the factors that determine which type of switched path is used
are (i) The capability of the switches employed in a network; (ii)
The purpose of the creation of a switched path; that is, the types of
flows to be carried in the switched path. These two factor also
determine the scalability of a network in terms of the number of
switched paths in use for transporting data through a network.
The point-to-point switched path can be used to connect all ingress
nodes to all the egress nodes to carry unicast traffic. In this
case, since an ingress node has point-to-point connections to all the
egress nodes, the number of connections in use for transporting
traffic is of O(n-squared), where n is the number of edges MPLS
devices. For small networks the full mesh connection approach may
suffice and not pose any scalability problems. However, in large
enterprise backbone or ISP networks, this will not scale well.
Point-to-point switched paths may be used on a host-to-host or
application to application basis (e.g., a switched path per RSVP
flow). The dedicated point-to-point switched path transports the
unicast data from the ingress to the egress node of the MPLS network.
This approach may be used for providing QoS services or for best-
effort traffic.
A multipoint-to-point switched path connects all ingress nodes to an
single egress node. At a given intermediate node in the multipoint-
to- point switched path, L2 data units from several upstream links
are "merged" into a single label on a downstream link. Since each
egress node is reachable via a single multipoint-to-point switched
path, the number of switched paths required to transport best-effort
traffic through a MPLS network is O(n), where n is the number of
egress nodes.
The point-to-multipoint switched path is used for distributing
multicast traffic. This switched path tree mirrors the multicast
distribution tree as determined by the multicast routing protocols.
Typically a switch capable of point-to-multipoint connection
replicates an L2 data unit from the incoming (parent) interface to
all the outgoing (child) interfaces. Standard ATM switches support
such functionality in the form of point-to-multipoint VCs or VPs.
A multipoint-to-multipoint switched path may be used to combine
multicast traffic from multiple sources into a single multicast
distribution tree. The advantage of this is that the multipoint-to-
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multipoint switched path is shared by multiple sources. Conceptually,
a form of multipoint-to-multipoint can be thought of as follows:
Suppose that you have a point to multipoint VC from each node to all
other nodes. Suppose that any point where two or more VCs happen to
merge, you merge them into a single VC or VP. This would require
either coordination of VCI spaces (so that each source has a unique
VCI within a VP) or VC merge capabilities. The applicability of
similar concepts to MPLS is FFS.
3.4 Data Driven versus Control Traffic Driven Label Assignment
A fundamental concept in MPLS is the association of labels and
network layer routing. Each LSR must assign labels, and distribute
them to its forwarding peers, for traffic which it intends to forward
by label swapping. In the various contributions that have been made
so far to the MPLS WG we identify three broad strategies for label
assignment; (i) those driven by topology based control traffic
[TAG][ARIS][IP navigator]; (ii) Those driven by request based control
traffic [RSVP]; and (iii) those driven by data traffic
[CSR][Ipsilon].
We also note that in actual practice combinations of these methods
may be employed. One example is that topology based methods for best
effort traffic plus request based methods for support of RSVP.
3.4.1 Topology Driven Label Assignment
In this scheme labels are assigned in response to normal processing
of routing protocol control traffic. Examples of such control
protocols are OSPF and BGP. As an LSR processes OSPF or BGP updates
it can, as it makes or changes entries in its forwarding tables,
assign labels to those entries.
Among the properties of this scheme are:
- The computational load of assignment and distribution and the
bandwidth consumed by label distribution are bounded by the size of
the network.
- Labels are in the general case preassigned. If a route exists then
a label has been assigned to it (and distributed). Traffic may be
label swapped immediately it arrives, there is no label setup
latency at forwarding time.
- Requires LSRs to be able to process control traffic load only.
- Labels assigned in response to the operation of routing protocols
can have a granularity equivalent to that of the routes advertised
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by the protocol. Labels can, by this means, cover (highly)
aggregated routes.
3.4.2 Request Driven Label Assignment
In this scheme labels are assigned in response to normal processing
of request based control traffic. Examples of such control protocols
are RSVP. As an LSR processes RSVP messages it can, as it makes or
changes entries in its forwarding tables, assign labels to those
entries.
Among the properties of this scheme are:
- The computational load of assignment and distribution and the
bandwidth consumed by label distribution are bounded by the amount
of control traffic in the system.
- Labels are in the general case preassigned. If a route exists then
a label has been assigned to it (and distributed). Traffic may be
label swapped immediately it arrives, there is no label setup
latency at forwarding time.
- Requires LSRs to be able to process control traffic load only.
- Depending upon the number of flows supported, this approach may
require a larger number of labels to be assigned compared with
topology driven assignment.
- This approch requires applications to make use of request paradigm
in order to get a label assigned to their flow.
3.4.3 Traffic Driven Label Assignment
In this scheme the arrival of data at an LSR "triggers" label
assignment and distribution. Traffic driven approach has the
following characteristics.
- Label assignment and distribution costs are a function of
traffic patterns. In an LSR with limited label space that is
using a traffic driven approach to amortize its labels over a
larger number of flows the overhead due to label assignment
and distribution grows as a function of the number of flows
and as a function of their "persistence". Short lived but
recurring flows may impose a heavy control burden.
- There is a latency associated with the appearance of a "flow"
and the assignment of a label to it. The documented approaches
to this problem suggest L3 forwarding during this setup phase,
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this has the potential for packet reordering (note that packet
reordering may occur with any scheme when the network topology
changes, but traffic driven label assignment introduces another
cause for reordering).
- Flow driven label assignment requires high performance packet
classification capabilities.
- Traffic driven label assignment may be useful to reduce label
consumption (assuming that flows are not close to full mesh).
- If you want flows to hosts, due to limits on label space, then
traffic based label consumption is probably necessary due to
the large number of hosts which may occur in a network.
- If you want to assign specific network resources to specific
labels, to be used for support of application flows, then
again the fine grain associated with labels may require data
based label assignment.
3.5 The Need for Dealing with Looping
Routing protocols which are used in conjunction with MPLS will in
many cases be based on distributed computation. As such, during
routing transients, these protocols may compute forwarding paths
which contain loops. For this reason MPLS will be designed with
mechanisms to either prevent the formation of loops and /or contain
the amount of resources that can be consumed due to the presence of
loops.
Note that there are a number of different alternative mechanisms
which have been proposed (see section 4.3). Some of these prevent the
formation of layer 2 forwarding loops, others allow loops to form but
minimize their impact in one way or another (e.g., by discarding
packets which loop, or by detecting and closing the loop after a
period of time). Generally speaking, there are tradeoffs to be made
between the amount of looping which might occur, and other
considerations such as the time to convergence after a change in the
paths computed by the routing algorithm.
We are not proposing any changes to normal layer 3 operation, and
specifically are not trying to eliminate the possibility of looping
at layer 3. Transient loops will continue to be possible in IP
networks. Note that IP has a means to limit the damage done by
looping packets, based on decrementing the IP TTL field as the packet
is forwarded, and discarding packets whose TTL has expired. Dynamic
routing protocols used with IP are also designed to minimize the
amount of time during which loops exist.
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The question that MPLS has to deal with is what to do at L2. In some
cases L2 may make use of the same method that is used as L3. However,
other options are available at L2, and in some cases (specifically
when operating over ATM or Frame Relay hardware) the method of
decrementing a TTL field (or any similar field) is not available.
There are basically two problems caused by packet looping: The most
obvious problem is that packets are not delivered to the correct
destination. The other result of looping is congestion. Even with TTL
decrementing and packet discard, there may still be a significant
amount of time that packets travel through a loop. This can adversely
affect other packets which are not looping: Congestion due to the
looping packets can cause non-looping packets to be delayed and/or
discarded.
Looping is particularly serious in (at least) three cases: One is
when forwarding over ATM. Since ATM does not have a TTL field to
decrement, there is no way to discard ATM cells which are looping
over ATM subnetworks. Standard ATM PNNI routing and signaling solves
this problem by making use of call setup procedures which ensure that
ATM VCs will never be setup in a loop [PNNI]. However, when MPLS is
used over ATM subnets, the native ATM routing and signaling
procedures may not be used for the full L2 path. This leads to the
possibility that MPLS over ATM might in principle allow packets to
loop indefinitely, or until L3 routing stabilizes. Methods are needed
to prevent this problem.
Another case in which looping can be particularly unpleasant is for
multicast traffic. With multicast, it is possible that the packet may
be delivered successfully to some destinations even though copies
intended for other destinations are looping. This leads to the
possibility that huge numbers of identical packets could be delivered
to some destinations. Also, since multicast implies that packets are
duplicated at some points in their path, the congestion resulting
from looping packets may be particularly severe.
Another unpleasant complication of looping occurs if the congestion
caused by the loop interferes with the routing protocol. It is
possible for the congestion caused by looping to cause routing
protocol control packets to be discarded, with the result that the
routing protocol becomes unstable. For example this could lengthen
the duration of the loop.
In normal operation of IP networks the impact of congestion is
limited by the fact that TCP backs off (i.e., transmits substantially
less traffic) in response to lost packets. Where the congestion is
caused by looping, the combination of TTL and the resulting discard
of looping packets, plus the reduction in offered traffic, can limit
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the resulting impact on the network. TCP backoff however does not
solve the problem if the looping packets are not discarded (for
example, if the loop is over an ATM subnetwork where TTL is not
used).
Methods for dealing with loops are discussed in section 4.3.
3.6 Operations and Management
Operations and management of networks is critically important. This
implies that MPLS must support operations, administration, and
maintenance facilities at least as extensive as those supported in
current IP networks.
In most ways this is a relatively simple requirement to meet. Given
that all MPLS nodes run normal IP routing protocols, it is
straightforward to expect them to participate in normal IP network
management protocols.
There is one issue which has been identified and which needs to be
addressed by the MPLS effort: There is an issue with regard to
operation of Traceroute over MPLS networks. Note that other O&M
issues may be identified in the future.
Traceroute is a very commonly used network management tool.
Traceroute is based on use of the TTL field: A station trying to
determine the route from itself to a specified address transmits
multiple IP packets, with the TTL field set to 1 in the first packet,
2 in the second packet, etc.. This causes each router along the path
to send back an ICMP error report for TTL exceeded. This in turn
allows the station to determine the set of routers along the route.
For example, this can be used to determine where a problem exists (if
no router responds past some point, the last router which responds
can become the starting point for a search to determine the cause of
the problem).
When MPLS is operating over ATM or Frame Relay networks there is no
TTL field to decrement (and ATM and Frame Relay forwarding hardware
does not decrement TTL). This implies that it is not straightforward
to have Traceroute operate in this environment.
There is the question of whether we *want* all routers along a path
to be visible via traceroute. For example, an ISP probably doesn't
want to expose the interior of their network to a customer. However,
the issue of whether a network's policy will allow the interior of
the network to be visible should be independent of whether is it
possible for some users to see the interior of the network. Thus
while there clearly should be the possibility of using policy
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mechanisms to block traceroute from being used to see the interior of
the network, this does not imply that it is okay to develop protocol
mechanisms which break traceroute from working.
There is also the question of whether the interior of a MPLS network
is analogous to a normal IP network, or whether it is closer to the
interior of a layer 2 network (for example, an ATM subnet). Clearly
IP traceroute cannot be used to expose the interior of an ATM subnet.
When a packet is crossing an ATM subnetwork (for example, between an
ingress and an egress router which are attached to the ATM subnet)
traceroute can be used to determine the router to router path, but
not the path through the ATM switches which comprise the ATM subnet.
Note here that MPLS forms a sort of "in between" special case:
Routing is based on normal IP routing protocols, the equivalent of
call setup (label binding/exchange) is based on MPLS-specific
protocols, but forwarding is based on normal L2 ATM forwarding. MPLS
therefore supersedes the normal ATM-based methods that would be used
to eliminate loops and/or trace paths through the ATM subnet.
It is generally agreed that Traceroute is a relatively "ugly" tool,
and that a better tool for tracing the route of a packet would be
preferable. However, no better tool has yet been designed or even
proposed. Also, however ugly Traceroute may be, it is nonetheless
very useful, widely deployed, and widely used. In general, it is
highly preferable to define, implement, and deploy a new tool, and to
determine through experience that the new tool is sufficient, before
breaking a tool which is as widely used as traceroute.
Methods that may be used to either allow traceroute to be used in an
MPLS network, or to replace traceroute, are discussed in section
4.14.
4. Technical Approaches
We believe that section 4 is probably less complete than other
sections. Additional subsections are likely to be needed as a result
of additional discussions in the MPLS working group.
4.1 Label Distribution
A fundamental requirement in MPLS is that an LSR forwarding label
switched traffic to another LSR apply a label to that traffic which
is meaningful to the other (receiving the traffic) LSR. LSR's could
learn about each other's labels in a variety of ways. We call the
general topic "label distribution".
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4.1.1 Explicit Label Distribution
Explicit label distribution anticipates the specification by MPLS of
a standard protocol for label distribution. Two of the possible
approaches [TDP] [ARIS] that are oriented toward topology driven
label distribution. One other approach [FANP], in contrast, makes use
of traffic driven label distribution.
We expect that the label distribution protocol (LDP) which emerges
from the MPLS WG is likely to inherit elements from one or more of
possible approaches.
Consider LSR A forwarding traffic to LSR B. We call A the upstream
(wrt to dataflow) LSR and B the downstream LSR. A must apply a label
to the traffic that B "understands". Label distribution must ensure
that the "meaning" of the label will be communicated between A and B.
An important question is whether A or B (or some other entity)
allocates the label.
In this discussion we are talking about the allocation and
distribution of labels between two peer LSRs that are on a single
segment of what may be a longer path. A related but in fact entirely
separate issue is
the question of where control of the whole path resides. In essence
there are two models; by analogy to upstream and downstream for a
single segment we can talk about ingress and egress for an LSP (or to
and from a label swapping "domain"). In one model a path is setup
from ingress to egress in the other from egress to ingress.
4.1.1.1 Downstream Label Allocation
"Downstream Label Allocation" refers to a method where the label
allocation is done by the downstream LSR, i.e. the LSR that uses the
label as an index into its switching tables.
This is, arguably, the most natural label allocation/distribution
mode for unicast traffic. As an LSR build its routing tables (we
consider here control driven allocation of tags) it is free, within
some limits we will discuss, to allocate labels to in any manner that
may be convenient to the particular implementation. Since the labels
that it allocates will be those upon which it subsequently makes
forwarding decisions we assume implementations will perform the
allocation in an optimal manner. Having allocated labels the default
behavior is to distribute the labels (and bindings) to all peers.
In some cases (particularly with ATM) there may be a limited number
of labels which may be used across an interface, and/or a limited
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number of label assignments which may be supported by a single
device. Operation in this case may make use of "on demand" label
assignment. With this approach, an LSR may for example request a
label for a route from a particular peer only when its routing
calculations indicate that peer to be the new next hop for the route.
4.1.1.2 Upstream Label Allocation
"Upstream Label Allocation" refers to a method where the label
allocation is done by the upstream LSR. In this case the LSR choosing
the label (the upstream LSR) and the LSR which needs to interpret
packets using the label (the downstream LSR) are not the same node.
We note here that in the upstream LSR the label at issue is not used
as an index into the switching tables but rather is found as the
result of a lookup on those tables.
The motivation for upstream label allocation comes from the
recognition that it might be possible to optimize multicast machinery
in an LSR if it were possible to use the same label on all output
ports for which a particular multicast packet/cell were destined.
Upstream assignment makes this possible.
4.1.1.3 Other Label Allocation Methods
Another option would be to make use of label values which are unique
within the MPLS domain (implying that a domain-wide allocation would
be needed). In this case, any stream to a particular MPLS egress node
could make use of the label of that node (implying that label values
do not need to be swapped at intermediate nodes).
With this method of label allocation, there is a choice to be made
regarding the scope over which a label is unique. One approach is to
configure each node in an MPLS domain with a label which is unique in
that domain. Another approach is to use a truly global identifier
(for example the IEEE 48 bit identifier), where each MPLS-capable
node would be stamped at birth with a truly globally unique
identifier. The point of this global approach is to simplify
configuration in each MPLS domain by eliminating the need to
configure label IDs.
4.1.2 Piggybacking on Other Control Messages
While we have discussed use of an explicit MPLS LDP we note that
there are several existing protocols that can be easily modified to
distribute both routing/control and label information. This could be
done with any of OSPF, BGP, RSVP and/or PIM. A particular
architectural elegance of these schemes is that label distribution
uses the same mechanisms as are used in distribution of the
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underlying routing or control information.
When explicit label distribution is used, the routing computation and
label distribution are decoupled. This implies a possibility that at
some point you may either have a route to a specific destination
without an associated label, and/or a label for a specific
destination which makes use of a path which you are no longer using.
Piggybacking label distribution on the operation of the routing
protocol is one way to eliminate this decoupling.
Piggybacking label distribution on the routing protocol introduces an
issue regarding how to negotiate acceptable label values and what to
do if an invalid label is received. This is discussed in section
4.1.3.
4.1.3 Acceptable Label Values
There are some constraints on which label values may be used in
either allocation mode. Clearly the label values must lie within the
allowable range described in the encapsulation standards that the
MPLS WG will produce. The label value used must also, however, lie
within a range that the peer LSR is capable of supporting. We
imagine that certain machines, for example ATM switches operating as
LSRs may, due to operational or implementation restrictions, support
a label space more limited than that bounded by the valid range found
in the encapsulation standard. This implies that an advertisement or
negotiation mechanism for useable label range may be a part of the
MPLS LDP. When operating over ATM using ATM forwarding hardware, due
to the need for compatibility with the existing use of the ATM
VPI/VCI space, it is quite likely that an explicit mechanism will be
needed for label range negotiation.
In addition we note that LDP may be one of a number of mechanism used
to distribute labels between any given pair of LSRs. Clearly where
such multiple mechanisms exist care must be taken to coordinate the
allocation of label values. A single label value must have a unique
meaning to the LSR that distributes it.
There is an issue regarding how to allow negotiation of acceptable
label values if label distribution is piggybacked with the routing
protocol. In this case it may be necessary either to require
equipment to accept any possible label value, or to configure devices
to know which range of label values may be selected. It is not clear
in this case what to do if an invalid label value is received as
there may be no means of sending a NAK.
A similar issue occurs with multicast traffic over broadcast media,
where there may be multiple nodes which receive the same transmission
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(using a single label value). Here again it may be "non-trivial" how
to allow n-party negotiation of acceptable label values.
4.1.4 LDP Reliability
The need for reliable label distribution depends upon the relative
performance of L2 and L3 forwarding, as well as the relationship
between label distribution and the routing protocol operation.
If label distribution is tied to the operation of the routing
protocol, then a reasonable protocol design would ensure that labels
are distributed successfully as long as the associated route and/or
reachability advertisement is distributed successfully. This implies
that the reliability of label distribution will be the same as the
reliability of route distribution.
If there is a very large difference between L2 and L3 forwarding
performance, then the cost of failing to deliver a label is
significant. In this case it is important to ensure that labels are
distributed reliably. Given that LDP needs to operate in a wide
variety of environments with a wide variety of equipment, this
implies that it is important for any LDP developed by the MPLS WG to
ensure reliable delivery of label information.
4.1.5 Label Purge Mechanisms
Another issue to be considered is the "lifetime" of label data once
it arrives at an LSR, and the method of purging label data. There are
several methods that could be used either separately, or (more
likely) in combination.
One approach is for label information to be timed out. With this
approach a lifetime is distributed along with the label value. The
label value may be refreshed prior to timing out. If the label is not
refreshed prior to timing out it is discarded. In this case each
lifetime and timer may apply to a single label, or to a group of
labels (e.g., all labels selected by the same node).
Similarly, two peer nodes may make use of an MPLS peer keepalive
mechanism. This implies exchange of MPLS control packets between
neighbors on a periodic basis. This in general is likely to use a
smaller timeout value than label value timers (analogous to the fact
that the OSPF HELLO interval is much shorter than the OSPF LSA
lifetime). If the peer session between two MPLS nodes fails (due to
expiration of the associated timer prior to reception of the refresh)
then associated label information is discarded.
If label information is piggybacked on the routing protocol then the
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timeout mechanisms would also be taken from the associated routing
protocol (note that routing protocols in general have mechanisms to
invalidate stale routing information).
An alternative method for invalidating labels is to make use of an
explicit label removal message.
4.2 Stream Merging
In order to scale O(n) (rather than O(n-squared), MPLS makes use of
the concept of stream merge. This makes use of multipoint to point
streams in order to allow multiple streams to be merged into one
stream.
Types of Stream Merge
There are several types of stream merge that can be used, depending
upon the underlying media.
When MPLS is used over frame based media merging is straightforward.
All that is required for stream merge to take place is for a node to
allow multiple upstream labels to be forwarded the same way and
mapped into a single downstream label. This is referred to as frame
merge.
Operation over ATM media is less straightforward. In ATM, the data
packets are encapsulated into an ATM Adaptation Layer, say AAL5, and
the AAL5 PDU is segmented into ATM cells with a VPI/VCI value and the
cells are transmitted in sequence. It is contingent on ATM switches
to keep the cells of a PDU (or with the same VPI/VCI value)
contiguous and in sequence. This is because the device that
reassembles the cells to re-form the transmitted PDU expects the
cells to be contiguous and in sequence, as there isn't sufficient
information in the ATM cell header (unlike IP fragmentation) to
reassemble the PDU with any cell order. Hence, if cells from several
upstream link are transmitted onto the same downstream VPI/VCI, then
cells from one PDU can get interleaved with cells from another PDU on
the outgoing VPI/VCI, and result in corruption of the original PDUs
by mis-sequencing the cells of each PDU.
The most straightforward (but erroneous) method of merging in an ATM
environment would be to take the cells from two incoming VCs and
merge them into a single outgoing VCI. If this was done without any
buffering of cells then cells from two or more packets could end up
being interleaved into a single AAL5 frame. Therefore the problem
when operating over ATM is how to avoid interleaving of cells from
multiple sources.
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There are two ways to solve this interleaving problem, which are
referred to as VC merge and VP merge.
VC merge allows multiple VCs to be merged into a single outgoing VC.
In order for this to work the node performing the merge needs to keep
the cells from one AAL5 frame (e.g., corresponding to an IP packet)
separate from the cells of other AAL5 frames. This may be done by
performing the SAR function in order to reassemble each IP packet
before forwarding that packet. In this case VC merge is essentially
equivalent to frame merge. An alternative is to buffer the cells of
one AAL5 frame together, without actually reassembling them. When the
end of frame indicator is reached that frame can be forwarded. Note
however that both forms of VC merge requires that the entire AAL5
frame be received before any cells corresponding to that frame be
forwarded. VC merge therefore requires capabilities which are
generally not available in most existing ATM forwarding hardware.
The alternative for use over ATM media is VP merge. Here multiple VPs
can be merged into a single VP. Separate VCIs within the merged VP
are used to distinguish frames (e.g., IP packets) from different
sources. In some cases, one VP may be used for the tree from each
ingress node to a single egress node.
VP merge requires that the VCIs be coordinated to ensure uniqueness.
This may be accomplished either by pre-configuring each node with a
unique VCI value (or values), or by having some one node (most likely
they root of the multipoint to point tree) coordinate the VCI values
used within the VP. Note also that if the root coordinates the VCI
space, then some protocol mechanism will be needed to allow this to
occur. How hard this is to do depends somewhat upon whether the root
is otherwise involved in coordinating the multipoint to point tree.
For example, allowing one node (such as the root) to coordinate the
tree may be useful for purposes of coordinating load sharing. Thus
whether or not the issue of coordinating the VCI space is significant
or trivial may depend upon other design choices which at first glance
may have appeared to be independent protocol design choices.
Buffering Issues Related To Stream Merge
There is an issue regarding the amount of buffering required for
frame merge, VC merge, and VP merge. Frame merge and VC merge
requires that intermediate points buffer incoming packets until the
entire packet arrives. This is essentially the same as is required in
traditional IP routers.
VP merge allows cells to be transmitted by intermediate nodes as soon
as they arrive, reducing the buffering and latency at intermediate
nodes. However, the use of VP merge implies that cells from multiple
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packets will arrive at the egress node interleaved on separate VCIs.
This in turn implies that the egress node may have somewhat increased
buffering requirements. To a large extent egress nodes for some
destinations will be intermediate nodes for other destinations,
implying that increase in buffers required for some purpose (egress
traffic) will be offset by a reduction in buffers required for other
purposes (transit traffic). Also, routers today typically deal with
high-fanout channelized interfaces and with multi-VC ATM interfaces,
implying that the requirement of buffering simultaneously arriving
cells from multiple packets and sources is something that routers
typically do today. This is not meant to imply that the required
buffer size and performance is inexpensive, but rather is meant to
observe that it is a solvable issue.
4.3 Loop Handling
Generally, methods for dealing with loops can be split into three
categories: Loop Survival makes use of methods which minimize the
impact of loops, for example by limiting the amount of network
resources which can be consumed by a loop; Loop Detection allows
loops to be set up, but later detects these loops and eliminates
them; Loop Prevention provides methods for avoiding setting up L2
forwarding in a way which results in a L2 loop;
Note that we are concerned here only with loops that occur in L2
forwarding. Transient loops at L3 will continue to be part of the
normal IP operation, and will be handled the way that IP has been
handling loops for years (see section 3.5).
Loop Survival
Loop Survival refers to methods that are used to allow the network to
operate well even though short term transient loops may be formed by
the routing protocol. The basic approach to loop survival is to limit
the amount of network resources which are consumed by looping
packets, and to minimize the effect on other (non-looping) traffic.
Note that loop survival is the method used by conventional IP
forwarding, and is therefore based on long and relatively successful
experience in the Internet.
The most basic method for loop survival is based on the use to a TTL
(Time To Live) field. The TTL field is decremented at each hop. If
the TTL field reaches zero, then the packet is discarded. This method
works well over those media which has a TTL field. This explicitly
includes L3 IP forwarding. Also, assuming that the core MPLS
specifications will include definition of a "shim" MPLS header for
use over those media which do not have their own labels, in order to
carry labels for use in forwarding of user data, it is likely that
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the shim header will also include a TTL field.
However, there is considerable interest in using MPLS over L2
protocols which provide their own labels, with the L2 label used for
MPLS forwarding. Specific L2 protocols which offer a label for this
purpose include ATM and Frame Relay. However, neither ATM nor Frame
Relay have a TTL field. This implies that this method cannot be used
when basic ATM or Frame Relay forwarding is being used.
Another basic method for loop survival is the use of dynamic routing
protocols which converge rapidly to non-looping paths. In some
instances it is possible that congestion caused by looping data could
effect the convergence of the routing protocol (see section 3.5).
MPLS should be designed to prevent this problem from occurring. Given
that MPLS uses the same routing protocols as are used for IP, this
method does not need to be discussed further in this framework
document.
Another possible tool for loop survival is the use of fair queuing.
This allows unrelated flows of user data to be placed in different
queues. This helps to ensure that a node which is overloaded with
looping user data can nonetheless forward unrelated non-looping data,
thereby minimizing the effect that looping data has on other data. We
cannot assume that fair queuing will always be available. In
practice, many fair queuing implementations merge multiple streams
into one queue (implying that the number of queues used is less than
the number of user data flows which are present in the network).
This implies that any data which happens to be in the same queue with
looping data may be adversely effected.
Loop Detection
Loop Detection refers to methods whereby a loop may be set up at L2,
but the loop is subsequently detected. When the loop is detected, it
may be broken at L2 by dropping the label relationship, implying that
packets for a set of destinations must be forwarded at L3.
A possible method for loop detection is based on transmitting a "loop
detection" control packet (LDCP) along the path towards a specified
destination whenever the route to the destination changes. This LDCP
is forwarded in the direction that the label specifies, with the
labels swapped to the correct next hop value. However, normal L2
forwarding cannot be used because each hop needs to examine the
packet to check for loops. The LDCP is forwarded towards that
destination until one of the following happens: (i) The LDCP reaches
the last MPLS node along the path (i.e. the next hop is either a
router which is not participating in MPLS, or is the final
destination host); (ii) The TTL of the LDCP expires (assuming that
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the control packet uses a TTL, which is optional but not absolutely
necessary), or (iii) The LDCP returns to the node which originally
transmitted it. If the latter occurs, then the packet has looped and
the node which originally transmitted the LDCP stops using the
associated label, and instead uses L3 forwarding for the associated
destination addresses. One problem with this method is that once a
loop is detected it is not known when the loop clears. One option
would be to set a timer, and to transmit a new LDCP when the timer
expires.
An alternate method counts the hops to each egress node, based on the
routes currently available. Each node advertises its distance (in hop
counts) to each destination. An egress node advertises the
destinations that it can reach directly with an associated hop count
of zero. For each destination, a node computes the hop count to that
destination based on adding one to the hop count advertised by its
actual next hop used for that destination. When the hop count for a
particular destination changes, the hop counts needs to be
readvertised.
In addition, the first of the loop prevention schemes discussed below
may be modified to provide loop detection (the details are
straightforward, but have not been written down in time to include in
this rough draft).
Loop Prevention
Loop prevention makes use of methods to ensure that loops are never
set up at L2. This implies that the labels are not used until some
method is used to ensure that following the label towards the
destination, with associated label swaps at each switch, will not
result in a loop. Until the L2 path (making use of assigned labels)
is available, packets are forwarded at L3.
Loop prevention requires explicit signaling of some sort to be used
when setting up an L2 stream.
One method of loop prevention requires that labels be propagated
starting at the egress switch. The egress switch signals to
neighboring switches the label to use for a particular destination.
That switch then signals an associated label to its neighbors, etc.
The control packets which propagate the labels also include the path
to the egress (as a list of routerIDs). Any looping control packet
can therefore be detected and the path not set up to or past the
looping point.
.
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Another option is to use source routing to set up label bindings from
the egress switch to each ingress switch. This precludes the
possibility of looping, since the entire path is computed by one
node. This also allows non-looping paths to be set up provided that
the egress switch has a view of the topology which is reasonably
close to reality (if there are operational links which the egress
switch doesn't know about, it will simply pick a path which doesn't
use those links; if there are links which have failed but which the
the egress switch thinks are operational, then there is some chance
that the setup attempt will fail but in this case the attempt can be
retried on a separate path). Note therefore that non-looping paths
can be set up with this method in many cases where distributed
routing plus hop by hop forwarding would not actually result in non-
looping paths. This method is similar to the method used by standard
ATM routing to ensure that SVCs are non-looping [PNNI].
Source routing is only applicable if the routing protocol gives the
egress switch sufficient information to set up the source route,
implying that the protocol must be either a link state protocol (such
as OSPF) or a path vector protocol (such as BGP). Source routing
therefore is not appropriate as a general approach for use in any
network regardless of the routing protocol. This method also requires
some overhead for the call setup before label-based forwarding can be
used. If the network topology changes in a manner which breaks the
existing path, then a new path will need to be source routed from the
egress switch. Due to this overhead this method is probably only
appropriate if other significant advantages are also going to be
obtained from having a single node (the egress switch) coordinate the
paths to be used. Examples of other reasons to have one node
coordinate the paths to a single egress switch include: (i)
Coordinating the VCI space where VP merge is used (see section 4.2);
and (ii) Coordinating the routing of streams from multiple ingress
switches to one egress switch so as to balance the load on multiple
alternate paths through the network.
In principle the source routing could also be done in the alternate
direction (from ingress to egress). However, this would make it more
difficult to merge streams if stream merge is to be used. This would
also make it more difficult to coordinate (i) changes to the paths
used, (ii) the VCI space assignments, and (iii) load sharing. This
therefore makes source routing more difficult, and also reduces the
other advantages that could be obtained from the approach.
If label distribution is piggybacked on the routing protocol (see
section 4.1.2), then loop prevention is only possible if the routing
protocol itself does loop prevention.
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What To Do If A Loop Is Detected
With all of these schemes, if a loop is known to exist then the L2
label-swapped path is not set up. This leads to the obvious question
of what does an MPLS node do when it doesn't have a label for a
particular destination, and a packet for that destination arrives to
be forwarded? If possible, the packet is forwarded using normal L3
(IP) forwarding. There are two issues that this raises: (i) What
about nodes which are not capable of L3 forwarding; (ii) Given the
relative speeds of L2 and L3 forwarding, does this work?
Nodes which are not capable of L3 forwarding obviously can't forward
a packet unless it arrives with a label, and the associated next hop
label has been assigned. Such nodes, when they receive a packet for
which the next hop label has not been assigned, must discard the
packet. It is probably safe to assume that if a node cannot forward
an L3 packet, then it is probably also incapable of forwarding an
ICMP error report that it originates. This implies that the packet
will need to be discarded in this case.
In many cases L2 forwarding will be significantly faster than L3
forwarding (allowing faster forwarding is a significant motivation
behind the work on MPLS). This implies that if a node is forwarding a
large volume of traffic at L2, and a change in the routing protocol
causes the associated labels to be lost (necessitating L3
forwarding), in some cases the node will not be capable of forwarding
the same volume of traffic at L3. This will of course require that
packets be discarded. However, in some cases only a relatively small
volume of traffic will need to be forwarded at L3. Thus forwarding at
L3 when L2 is not available is not necessarily always a problem.
There may be some nodes which are capable of forwarding equally fast
at L2 and L3 (for example, such nodes may contain IP forwarding
hardware which is not available in all nodes). Finally, when packets
are lost this will cause TCP to backoff, which will in turn reduce
the load on the network and allow the network to stabilize even at
reduced forwarding rates until such time as the label bindings can be
reestablished.
Note that in most cases loops will be caused either by configuration
errors, or due to short term transient problems caused by the failure
of a link. If only one link goes down, and if routing creates a
normal "tree-shaped" set of paths to any one destination, then the
failure of one link somewhere in the network will effect only one
link's worth of data passing through any one node in the network.
This implies that if a node is capable of forwarding one link's worth
of data at L3, then in many or most cases it will have sufficient L3
bandwidth to handle looping data.
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4.4 Interoperation with NHRP
When label switching is used over ATM, and there exists an LSR which
is also operating as a Next Hop Client (NHC), the possibility of
direct interaction arises. That is, could one switch cells between
the two technologies without reassembly. To enable this several
important issues must be addressed.
The encapsulation must be acceptable to both MPLS and NHRP. If only
a single label is used, then the null encapsulation could be used.
Other solutions could be developed to handle label stacks.
NHRP must understand and respect the granularity of a stream.
Currently NHRP resolves an IP address to an ATM address. The response
may include a mask indicating a range of addresses. However, any VC
to the ATM address is considered to be a viable means of packet
delivery. Suppose that an NHC NHRPs for IP address A and gets back
ATM address 1 and sets up a VC to address 1. Later the same NHC NHRPs
for a totally unrelated IP address B and gets back the same ATM
address 1. In this case normal NHRP behavior allows the NHC to use
the VC (that was set up for destination A) for traffic to B.
Note: In this section we will refer to a VC set up as a result of an
NHRP query/response as a shortcut VC.
If one expects to be able to label switch the packets being received
from a shortcut VC, then the label switch needs to be informed as to
exactly what traffic will arrive on that VC and that mapping cannot
change without notice. Currently there exists no mechanism in the
defined signaling of an shortcut VC. Several means are possible. A
binding, equivalent to the binding in LDP, could be sent in the setup
message. Alternatively, the binding of prefix to label could remain
in an LDP session (or whatever means of label distribution as
appropriate) and the setup could carry a binding of the label to the
VC. This would leave the binding mechanism for shortcut VCs
independent of the label distribution mechanism.
A further architectural challenge exists in that label switching is
inherently unidirectional whereas ATM is bi-directional. The above
binding semantics are fairly straight-forward. However, effectively
using the reverse direction of a VC presents further challenges.
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Label switching must also respect the granularity of the shortcut VC.
Without VC merge, this means a single label switched flow must map to
a VC. In the case of VC merge, multiple label switched streams could
be merged onto a single shortcut VC. But given the asymmetry
involved, there is perhaps little practical use
Another issue is one of practicality and usefulness. What is sent
over the VC must be at a fine enough granularity to be label switched
through receiving domain. One potential place where the two
technologies might come into play is in moving data from one campus
via the wide-area to another campus. In such a scenario, the two
technologies would border precisely at the point where summarization
is likely to occur. Each campus would have a detailed understanding
of itself, but not of the other campus. The wide-area is likely to
have summarized knowledge only. But at such a point level 3
processing becomes the likely solution.
4.5 Operation in a Hierarchy
4.6 Stacked Labels in a Flat Routing Environment
4.7 Multicast
4.8 Multipath
Many IP routing protocols support the notion of equal-cost multipath
routes, in which a router maintains multiple next hops for one
destination prefix when two or more equal-cost paths to the prefix
exist. There are a few possible approaches for handling multipath
with MPLS.
In this discussion we will use the term "multipath node" to mean a
node which is keeping track of multiple switched paths from itself
for a single destination.
The first approach maintains a separate switched path from each
ingress node via one or more multipath nodes to a merge point. This
requires MPLS to distinguish the separate switched paths, so that
learning of a new switched path is not misinterpreted as a
replacement of the same switched path. This also requires an ingress
MPLS node be capable of distributing the traffic among the multiple
switched paths. This approach preserves switching performance, but at
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a cost of proliferating the number of switched paths. For example,
each switched path consumes a distinct label.
The second approach establishes only one switched path from any one
ingress node to a destination. However, when the paths from two
different ingress nodes happen to arrive at the same node, that node
may use different paths for each (implying that the node becomes a
multipath node). Thus the switched path chosen by the multipath node
may assign a different downstream path to each incoming stream. This
conserves switched paths and maintains switching performance, but
cannot balance loads across downstream links as well as the other
approaches, even if switched paths are selectively assigned. With
this approach is that the L2 path may be different from the normal L3
path, as traffic that otherwise would have taken multiple distinct
paths is forced onto a single path.
The third approach allows a single stream arriving at a multipath
node to be split into multiple streams, by using L3 forwarding at the
multipath node. For example, the multipath node might choose to use a
hash function on the source and destination IP addresses, in order to
avoid misordering packets between any one IP source and destination.
This approach conserves switched paths at the cost of switching
performance.
4.9 Host Interactions
There are a range of options for host interaction with MPLS:
The most straightforward approach is no host involvement. Thus host
operation may be completely independent of MPLS, rather hosts operate
according to other IP standards. If there is no host involvement then
this implies that the first hop requires an L3 lookup.
If the host is ATM attached and doing NHRP, then this would allow the
host to set up a Virtual Circuit to a router. However this brings up
a range of issues as was discussed in section 4.4 ("interoperation
with NHRP").
On the ingress side, it is reasonable to consider having the first
hop LSR provide labels to the hosts, and thus have hosts attach
labels for packets that they transmit. This could allow the first hop
LSR to avoid an L3 lookup. It is reasonable here to have the host
request labels only when needed, rather than require the host to
remember all labels assigned for use in the network.
On the egress side, it is questionable whether hosts should be
involved. For scaling reasons, it would be undesirable to use a
different label for reaching each host.
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4.10 Explicit Routing
This section is FFS.
4.11 Traceroute
This section is FFS.
4.12 Security
Security in a network using MPLS should be relatively similar to
security in a normal IP network.
Routing in an MPLS network uses precisely the same IP routing
protocols as are currently used with IP. This implies that route
filtering is unchanged from current operation. Similarly, the
security of the routing protocols is not effected by the use of MPLS.
Packet filtering also may be done as in normal IP. This will require
either (i) that label swapping be terminated prior to any firewalls
performing packet filtering (in which case a separate instance of
label swapping may optionally be started after the firewall); or (ii)
that firewalls "look past the labels", in order to inspect the entire
IP packet contents. In this latter case note that the label may imply
semantics greater than that contained in the packet header: In
particular, a particular label value may imply that the packet is to
take a particular path after the firewall. In environments in which
this is considered to be a security issue it may be desirable to
terminate the label prior to the firewall.
Note that in principle labels could be used to speed up the operation
of firewalls: In particular, the label could be used as an index into
a table which indicates the characteristics that the packet needs to
have in order to pass through the firewall. Depending upon
implementation considerations matching the contents of the packet to
the contents of the table may be quicker than parsing the packet in
the absence of the label.
5. References
[1] "ARIS: Aggregate Route-Based IP Switching", A. Viswanathan, N.
Feldman, R. Boivie, R. Woundy, work in progress, Internet Draft
<draft-viswanathan-aris-overview-00.txt>, March 1997.
[2] "ARIS Specification", N. Feldman, A. Viswanathan, work in
progress, Internet Draft <draft-feldman-aris-spec-00.txt>, March
1997.
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[3] "ARIS Support for LAN Media Switching", S. Blake, A. Ghanwani, W.
Pace, V. Srinivasan, work in progress, Internet Draft , March 1997.
[4] "Tag Switching Architecture - Overview", Rekhter, Davie, Katz,
Rosen, Swallow, Farinacci, work in progress, Internet Draft
<draft-rekhter-tagswitch-arch-00.txt>
[5] Tag distribution Protocol", Doolan, Davie, Katz, Rekhter, Rosen,
work in progress, internet draft <draft-doolan-tdp-spec-00.txt>
[6] "Use of Tag Switching with ATM", Davie, Doolan, Lawrence,
McGloghrie, Rekhter, Rosen, Swallow, work in progress, Internet
Draft <draft-davie-tag-switching-atm-01.txt>
[7] "Label Switching: Label Stack Encodings", Rosen, Rekhter, Tappan,
Farinacci, Fedorkow, work in progress, internet draft
[8] "Partitioning Tag Space among Multicast Routers on a Common
Subnet", Farinacci, work in progress, internet draft
[9] "Multicast Tag Binding and Distribution using PIM", Farinacci,
Rekhter, work in progress, internet draft
[10] "Toshiba's Router Architecture Extensions fir ATM: Overview",
Katsube, Nagami, Esaki, RFC2098.TXT.
[11] "Soft State Switching: A Proposal to Extend RSVP for Switching
RSVP Flows", A. Viswanathan, V. Srinivasan, work in progress,
Internet Draft <draft-viswanathan-aris-rsvp-00.txt>, March 1997.
[12] "Integrated Services in the Internet Architecture: an Overview",
R. Braden et al, RFC 1633, June 1994.
[13] "Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP), Version 1 Functional
Specification", work in progress, draft-ietf-rsvp-spec-14.txt,
November 1996
[14] "OSPF version 2", J. Moy, RFC 1583, March 1994.
[15] "A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4)", Y. Rekhter and T. Li,
RFC 1771, March 1995.
[16] "Ipsilon Flow Management Protocol Specification for IPv4 Version
1.0", P. Newman et al., RFC 1953, May 1996.
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[17] "ATM Forum Private Network-Network Interface Specification,
Version 1.0", ATM Forum af-pnni-0055.000, March 1996.
[18] "NBMA Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP)", J. Luciani et al.,
work in progress, draft-ietf-rolc-nhrp-11.txt, March 1997.
6. Author's Addresses
Ross Callon
Cascade Communications Corp.
5 Carlisle Road
Westford, MA 01886
508-952-7412
rcallon@casc.com
Paul Doolan
Cisco Systems, Inc
250 Apollo Drive
Chelmsford, MA 01824
508-634-1204
pdoolan@cisco.com
Nancy Feldman
IBM Corp.
17 Skyline Drive
Hawthorne NY 10532
914-784-3254
nkf@vnet.ibm.com
Andre Fredette
Bay Networks Inc
3 Federal Street
Billerica, MA 01821
508-916-8524
fredette@baynetworks.com
George Swallow
Cisco Systems, Inc
250 Apollo Drive
Chelmsford, MA 01824
508-244-8143
swallow@cisco.com
Arun Viswanathan
IBM Corp.
17 Skyline Drive
Hawthorne NY 10532
Callon et al. Expires November 12, 1997 [Page 43]
INTERNET DRAFT Framework for MPLS May 12, 1997
914-784-3273
arunv@vnet.ibm.com
Callon et al. Expires November 12, 1997 [Page 44]