Configuring Basic Mpls; Mpls Overview; Basic Concepts - HP 12500 Series Configuration Manual

Configuring basic MPLS

NOTE:
For more information about VPN, see the chapters "Configuring MPLS L2VPN" and "Configuring MPLS
•
L3VPN."
For more information about MPLS TE, see the chapter "Configuring MPLS TE."
•
• The switch operates in IRF or standalone (the default) mode. For more information about IRF, see
Configuration Guide
The term
•

MPLS overview

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) enables connection-oriented label switching on connectionless IP
networks. It integrates both the flexibility of IP routing and the simplicity of Layer 2 switching.
MPLS has the following advantages:
MPLS forwards packets according to short- and fixed-length labels, instead of Layer 3 header
•
analysis and complicated routing table lookup, enabling highly-efficient and fast data forwarding
on backbone networks.
MPLS resides between the link layer and the network layer. It can work over various link layer
•
protocols (for example, PPP, ATM, frame relay, and Ethernet), provide connection-oriented services
for various network layer protocols (for example, IPv4, IPv6, and IPX), and work with mainstream
network technologies.
MPLS is connection-oriented and supports label stack. It can be used to implement various functions,
•
such as VPN, traffic engineering, and QoS.

Basic concepts

FEC
MPLS groups packets with the same characteristics (such as packets with the same destination or service
class) into a class, called a "forwarding equivalence class (FEC)". Packets of the same FEC are handled
in the same way on an MPLS network. The switch supports classifying FECs according to the network
layer destination addresses.
Label
A label is a short, fixed length identifier for identifying a single FEC. A label is locally significant and
must be locally unique.
.
router
in this document refers to both routers and Layer 3 switches.
1
IRF