Application Note 264

MPLS Basics and Testing with the NetBlazer Series

Hammadoun Dicko, Datacom Product Specialist

The continuing expansion and popularity of the Internet is forcing
routers in the core network to support the interconnection
of more and more networks. Based on layer 3 (IP) parameters,
these essential devices route information from one logical network
to another according to the destination IP address.
However, as the number of interconnected networks grows, so does
the strain on the processing power of these devices. Advances
in hardware logic have enabled routers to keep up with the increased
IP address ranges; however the routing decisions could still have
an impact on the traffic flow of the interconnected network.
Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) is a traffic-directing technology
that promises a more efficient routing scheme based on the
assignments of labels to routed packets. This allows for a more
efficient routing process as well as the ability to control the flow
of traffic within the network—a process commonly known as traffic
engineering.
The purpose of this application note is to discuss the basic technical
aspects of MPLS and the testing needs associated with deploying
and maintaining MPLS networks.
MPLS is not designed to replace IP or IP routing protocols, but
instead works in conjunction with IP routing protocols to provide
a simple and less process-intensive approach to determining the
next best hop. External routing protocols such as BGP are still used
to determine connectivity to the edge routers, while label switching
avoids complex routing tables through the use of simple and fixed
length labels. These labels are easy to search in lookup tables,
and they are easier to treat and manipulate than complex IP
addresses and their associated subnet masks.
MPLS BASICS
Network Architecture
The MPLS network is typically composed of two main devices, the
label edge router (LER) and the label switch router (LSR).
The label edge router is, as the name implies, located at the edge
of the MPLS network and is responsible for the insertion of labels
before transmission in the MPLS network. The label switch router is
a core device that performs label operation and packet forwarding
through the MPLS-enabled network.

Packets travel across the MPLS-enabled network via a specific

LABEL SWITCHING VS. TRADITIONAL ROUTING
Routing is defined as the transfer of information across interconnected
networks—between an origin and a destination network—through
at least one network component called a router. Routing will occur
mainly based on the destination IP address found in layer 3 of the
OSI model, or the network layer.
route referred to as the label switched path (LSP). This path is
unidirectional and is defined between ingress edge routers to an
egress edge router. In bidirectional communication, return traffic
does not necessarily take the same path as the original traffic,
therefore independent LSP assignment is necessary for each
direction.

Traditional routers exchange information and build routing tables,

determining the lowest-cost next hop that a frame should take
in order to reach the destination IP address. This is accomplished
using routing algorithms such as BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
and OSPF (Open Shortest Path First).

The traditional routing process is a straightforward but strenuous

process. Once a packet is received by a router, it is inspected in
order to obtain the destination IP address. This address is then
compared to an internal database of IP address ranges, and the next
best hop to attain this destination is calculated. This process can be
further complicated by the possibility of having multiple next-best-
hop destinations. In such a case, a router must perform additional
analysis in order to identify a more specific route.

As stated above, routing algorithms are only concerned with the

lowest-cost route and do not take into consideration quality-affecting
parameters such as latency or links with lower utilization.

MPLS, on the other hand, is a frame-forwarding mechanism based

on the application, treatment and exchange of labels that provide
efficient forwarding of traffic within an MPLS-enabled network.
These labels are inserted as the packets enter the MPLS network,
and removed as they exit the network through label edge routers.
 Application Note 264

The Label LDP, LIB and FEC

The MPLS label is inserted between the layers 2 and 3, and is 32 Label distribution protocol (LDP) is an MPLS protocol designed to
bits long. distribute labels between label edge and label switch routers. LSRs
use LDP in order to build routing and forwarding databases called
Layer 5-7 Higher Layer Applications the label information base (LIB). LERs use LDP in order to establish
forward equivalence class (FEC) tables, which label incoming
Layer 4 TCP-UDP
packets as they enter the MPLS cloud via the LERs.
Layer 3 IPv4-IPv6-Rw Data
Once LIB and FEC tables are built, MPLS routing and forwarding is
Layer 2.5 MPLS Label
a straightforward process:
Layer 2 PPP-Ethernet-HDLC-ATM-Frame delay
1. At the LER, the incoming packet is inspected and labeled using
Layer 1 Optical-Electrical
the information found in the FEC tables. It is then forwarded to
the next hop.
Ethertype
Destinations Source MPLS IP Ethernet
0x8847 2. When the next hop receives the packet, it inspects the label
MAC MAC Label Packet FCS
0x8848
and compares it to its internal LIB. Then, it performs the labeling
operation and forwards the packet to the next hop according to
the LIB entry.
Stack
MPLS Label COS TTL
Bit 3. The process repeats until the packet reaches the far-end LER.
The labels are then removed and the packet is forwarded to its
final destination.
The MPLS label contains the following parts:

› Label: The label itself is 20 bits long, which allows 2^20 -1

combinations (about 1 million different labels).

› Class of service (CoS): These three bits allow to classify the traffic
according to seven levels of priority. These have the same function
as the IP ToS class of service bits.

› Stack bit: This bit is used to indicate if the MPLS label is the last
label, as labels can be stacked on top of other labels.

› Time to live (TTL): This value determines how many MPLS routers
can a packet traverse before being discarded.

An Ethernet frame can contain more than one label, as MPLS allows
label stacking. In label-stacking operations, a label is pushed onto
an existing label, thus creating an inner and an outer label. As the
stacked label is forwarded within the MPLS cloud, LSRs are only
aware of the outermost label.

In turn, this creates a form of security as the inner label is only treated
when it becomes the last label. This method is typically used in VPN
applications.
The Advantages of MPLS
The forwarding process clearly shows one of the major strengths of
MPLS—the forwarding mechanism. In MPLS, the routing decision
is performed at the edge as packets enter the core, while efficient
packet switching occurs in the core. The routing decision is only
performed once. Once it is inserted, the packet is simply forwarded
according to the label, and its fixed length ensures that it is quickly
analyzed and processed.

Another major strength of MPLS is the traffic engineering capabilities

of label insertion. Since frames are forwarded via labels, carriers
can easily control the route that packets take and even design QoS
mechanisms using MPLS labels. This type of flexibility is not available
in traditional routing protocols and provides management and control
functions to carriers on MPLS-enabled networks.

© 2012 EXFO Inc. All rights reserved.


TESTING WITH THE NETBLAZER SERIES
Testing MPLS networks usually involves ensuring connectivity
and resiliency, as well as measuring performance. The following
scenarios represent typical MPLS edge to MPLS edge, MPLS core
to customer edge, and VPN/stacking tests.
Customer Edge to Customer Edge
This basic test scenario involves sending untagged packets from
the customer edge to ensure they are properly tagged and serviced
through the MPLS network. This test can be used to measure end-to-
end performance or to ensure that the network is properly configured
via a network loading test.
The best-suited test application is the EtherSAM dual test set,
in which the NetBlazer series simulates a simultaneous bidirectional
link between the two testers. Untagged traffic from multiple streams
is generated and sent in both directions. The traffic generation,
BER and RFC 2544 tests can also be used.
MPLS Edge to MPLS Edge
In this test scenario, traffic is sent from the originating MPLS edge
router to the destination MPLS edge router to measure performance
and ensure that traffic can flow within the MPLS network. It ensures
that the label information base (LIB) is properly provisioned and
a label switch path (LSP) can be established.
Application Note 264
One specific case of MPLS edge to MPLS edge testing is VPN
emulation. Traffic that is already tagged is sent through an MPLS
edge or core to verify that edge and switch routers properly service
these tagged frames by stacking a supplementary label and properly
forwarding them.
Just as in the previous scenario, the NetBlazer series can be used
to perform this test. In this case though, MPLS tagged traffic is
generated in both directions. At the MPLS layer, streams can be
generated with up to two MPLS layers with all fields of the MPLS
label available for configuration. Bidirectional EtherSAM is once
again the best-suited test, even though traffic generation and
monitoring can be used as well.
Customer Edge to MPLS Core
In this test scenario, traffic is sent from the customer standpoint to
the MPLS core to test the forward equivalence class (FEC) found
at the entrance edge router, and verify that all packets are properly
labeled and forwarded to the MPLS core.
This test scenario can also be performed from the MPLS core to the
customer edge, ensuring that the destination MPLS edge router properly
strips labels and forwards packets to the proper customer edge.
In this case, the NetBlazer series is used the same way as in the
previous scenario, except that the tagged traffic is only sent in one
direction, at the core end. The customer edge tester will transmit
untagged traffic.
© 2012 EXFO Inc. All rights reserved.
 Application Note 264

MPLS Traffic Analysis with the NetBlazer Series

The NetBlazer series provides comprehensive test suites for
analyzing and qualifying MPLS networks. Analysis is performed on
incoming traffic with specific statistics on MPLS tagged traffic.

CONCLUSION
Multiprotocol label switching efficiently enhances the traffic-
forwarding process while still implementing essential routing
processes across the core network. However, the deployment of
MPLS requires unique testing scenarios to assess the performance
and reliability of the network, as well as to guarantee service levels.
This becomes even more important as networks become increasingly
complex with many types of traffic. EXFO’s NetBlazer series offers
a comprehensive MPLS test solution to efficiently qualify Ethernet
services from end to end, validating metro and core tunneling
technologies.

EXFO Corporate Headquarters > 400 Godin Avenue, Quebec City (Quebec) G1M 2K2 CANADA | Tel.: +1 418 683-0211 | Fax: +1 418 683-2170 | info@EXFO.com
Toll-free: +1 800 663-3936 (USA and Canada) | www.EXFO.com
EXFO America 3400 Waterview Parkway, Suite 100 Richardson, TX 75080 USA Tel.: +1 972 761-9271 Fax: +1 972 761-9067
EXFO Asia 100 Beach Road, #22-01/03 Shaw Tower SINGAPORE 189702 Tel.: +65 6333 8241 Fax: +65 6333 8242
EXFO China 36 North, 3rd Ring Road East, Dongcheng District Beijing 100013 P. R. CHINA Tel.: + 86 10 5825 7755 Fax: +86 10 5825 7722
Room 1207, Tower C, Global Trade Center
EXFO Europe Omega Enterprise Park, Electron Way Chandlers Ford, Hampshire S053 4SE ENGLAND Tel.: +44 23 8024 6810 Fax: +44 23 8024 6801
EXFO Finland Elektroniikkatie 2 FI-90590 Oulu, FINLAND Tel.: +358 (0)403 010 300 Fax: +358 (0)8 564 5203
EXFO Service Assurance 270 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 USA Tel.: +1 978 367-5600 Fax: +1 978 367-5700

2008
APNOTE264.1AN © 2012 EXFO Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada 12/04