A Simplified, CostEffective MPLS Labeling Architecture for Access Networks

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A Simplified, Cost-Effective MPLS Labeling
Architecture for Access Networks

• Harald Widiger1, Stephan Kubisch1, Daniel
  Duchow1, Thomas Bahls2, Dirk Timmermann1
• 1University of Rostock, Germany
• 2Siemens Communications, Greifswald, Germany

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Outline

• Access Network Architecture
• Multi Protocol Label Switching
• The MPLS-User Network Interface
• Implementation and Simulation Results
• Conclusion

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Access Network Environment

• Need for Differential Services, increased QoS
• Derived from Information within each Frame
• MPLS-UNI to create space for information

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Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)

• Encapsulation Scheme
• Meant for fast routing purposes
• Here Simply a container to carry information

• Path of a Frame through an MPLS switched Network

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MPLS-Encapsulation

• MPLS Label Stack usually between layer 2 and
  layer 3 header
• We use encapsulation scheme by Martini

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MPLS-User Network Interface (MPLS-UNI)

• MPLS Label Stack container to carry information
• No complete LER implementation with an LDP
  running is necessary
• Possibility to implement the whole system in
  Hardware
• Primary Functionality
• Upstream direction ?insert an MPLS Label Stack
• Downstream direction ? remove MPLS Label Stacks

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MPLS-UNI Architecture
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Framebuffer with Key Parser

• Stores frames and parsed keys
• Key is configurable at time of compilation
• Reduction of required hardware resources in the
  MPLS-UNI itself

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Memory Arbitration
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Implementation Results(Xilinx Virtex 4 FX20-11)
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Performance

• 4 Gbps _at_ natural Traffic
• 30 60 Byte
• 10 590 Byte
• 11 1514 Byte
• 49 random
• No packet loss
• Average delay of 120 Cycles ? 860 ns _at_125 MHz

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Conclusion

• Powerful and cost-effective solution to expand
  MPLS networks into the Access Network area
• _at_125 MHz, 4 Gbps can be handled
• Size of the system can be minimized considering
  the actual tasks
• Functional spectrum can be broadened, due to
  reconfigurable HW