NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS

UNIT 3
MULTISERVICE NETWORKS

Multiservice networks provide more than one distinct communications service type over the
same physical infrastructure. Multiservice implies not only the existence of multiple traffic
types within the network, but also the ability of a single network to support all of these
applications without compromising quality of service (QoS) for any of them.

Characteristically, multiservice networks have a large local or long-distance voice

constituency and are traditionally Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Layer 2-switched in
the core with overlays of Layer 2 data and video solutions, such as circuit emulation, Frame
Relay, Ethernet, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and other billed services. The initial
definition for multiservice networks was a converged ATM and Frame Relay network
supporting data in addition to circuit-based voice communications. Recently, next-generation
multiservice networks have emerged, adding Ethernet, Layer 3 Internet Protocol (IP), VPNs,
and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) services to the mix. IP and, perhaps more
specifically, IP/MPLS core networks are taking center stage as multiservice networks are
converging on Layer 2, Layer 3, and higher-layer services.

The new era of networking is based on increasing opportunity through service pull, rather
than through a particular technology push requiring its own purpose-built network
infrastructure. Positioning networks to support the service pull of IP while operationally
converging multiple streams of voice, video, and IP-integrated data is the new direction of
multiservice network architecture. In the face of competitive pressures and service
substitution, not only are next-generation multiservice networks a fresh direction, they are an
imperative passage through which to optimize investment and expense.

THE ORIGINS OF MULTISERVICE ATM

ATM is a system built on intelligence in switches and networks. In the early 1980s, the
International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization sector (ITU-T)
and other standards organizations, such as the ATM Forum, established a series of
recommendations for the networking techniques required to implement an intelligent fiber-
based network to solve public switched telephone network (PSTN) limitations of
interoperability and internetwork timing and carry new services such as digital voice and
data. The network was termed the Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN).
Several underlying standards were developed to meet the specifications of B-ISDN, including
synchronous optical network (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) as the data
transmission and multiplexing standards and ATM as the switching standard. By the mid-
1990s, the specifications for the ATM standard were available for manufacturers.
Providers began to build out ATM core networks on which to migrate the PSTN and other
private voice networks. ATM core was positioned as a meeting point and backbone carrier
for the voice network products and the Frame Relay data networks. ATM networks were also
seen as enablers of the growing demand for multimedia services. Designed from the ground
up to provide multiple classes of service, ATM was purpose-built for simultaneous transport
of circuit voice, circuit-based video, and synchronous data.

ATM was not initially designed for IP transport but rather was designed as a multipurpose,
multiservice, QoS-aware communications platform. It was primarily intended for converging
large voice networks, H.320 video networks, and large quantities of leased-line, synchronous,
data-based services.

In essence, ATM was part of a new PSTN, a new centrally intelligent, deterministic pyramid
of power that was expected to ride the multimedia craze to mass acceptance. As such, many
service providers who needed a core upgrade during the 1990s chose ATM as a convergence
platform and launch pad for future services

Back in the late 1990s when IP networks were coming on very strong, ATM products for
enterprises cost about twice as much as Ethernet-based products, cost twice as much to
maintain, and were intensive to configure and operate due to the ATM addressing structure
and virtual circuit mesh dependencies. ATM was just too expensive to purchase and maintain
(more tax) to extend to the desktop, where it could converge voice, video, and data.

From a global network perspective, the ascendancy of IP traffic has served ATM notice.
According to IDC, worldwide sales of ATM switches were down 21 percent in 2002, another
12 percent in 2003, and nearly 6 percent through 2004. Further, IDC forecasts the ATM
switch market to decline at roughly 8 percent per year during the 2006 to 2009 timeframe.

With the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) deployments by the Incumbent Local Exchange
Carriers (ILECs), ATM networks moved into the service provider edge, extending usefulness
as broadband aggregation for the consumer markets.

Soon, ATM switching will likely be pushed out of the core of provider networks by MPLS
networks that are better adapted to serve as scalable IP communications platforms. In fact,
many providers have already converged their Frame Relay and ATM networks onto an
MPLS core to reduce operational expenditures and strategically position

Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, bandwidth growth was relatively linear, because 64
Kbps circuits (digital signal zero or DS0) and DS1s (1.5 Mbps) and DS3s (45 Mbps) were
able to address customer growth with Frame Relay and ATM services.

NEXT GENERATION MULTI SERVICE NETWORKS

Multiservice network (Next Generation Network, NGN) is a unified telecommunication

structure used to transfer a large volume of multi-format information (voice, video, Internet
traffic). Traditional multiservice networks focus on Layer 2 Frame Relay and ATM services,
using a common ATM backbone to consolidate traffic. In contrast, next-generation
multiservice networks provide carrier-grade, Layer 3 awareness, such as IP and MPLS, in
addition to traditional Layer 2 services. These next-generation multiservice networks can take
the form of ATM-, blended IP+ATM-, IP/MPLS-, or SONET/SDH-based networks in order
to deliver multiple traffic services over the same physical infrastructure.

Even with the existence of next-generation technology architectures, most providers are not
in a position to turn over their core technology in wholesale fashion. Provider technology is
often on up-to-decade-long depreciation schedules, and functional life must often parallel this
horizon, even if equipment is repurposed and repositioned in the network. Then there is the
customer-facing issue of technology service support and migration.

This requires a measured technology migration supporting both heritage services along with
the latest service features. Next-generation technology versions are often the result, to allow
new networking innovations to overlap established network architectures.

NEXT GENERATION MULTISERVICE ATM SWITCHING

Next-generation multiservice ATM switching is often defined by a common transmission and

switching infrastructure that can natively provide multiple services in such a manner that
neither service type interferes with the other. This independence between different services
requires a separation of the control and switching planes in multiservice equipment. The
control plane acts as the brain, apportioning resources, making routing decisions, and
providing signaling, while the switching plane acts as the muscle machine, forwarding data
from source to destination.

Separation of the control and switching planes makes it possible to partition the resources of
the switching platform to perform multiple services in a native fashion. you can resource
partition next-generation multiservice switches to accomplish the same concept of creating
multiple logical network services.

Resource portioning in many of the next-generation multiservice switches is accomplished

through a virtual switch interface within the control and switching planes. Through a function
such as the virtual switch interface, you can have multiple service controllers, each sharing
the control plane resources to manage the switching plane, which is the switch fabric that
forwards data between a source port and a destination port.

Within the Cisco MGX line of multiservice switches, the virtual switching instance (VSI)
allows for an ATM Private Network to Network Interface (PNNI) controller to act as a virtual
control plane for ATM services, an MPLS controller to act as a virtual control plane for IP or
ATM services, and a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) controller to act as a virtual
control plane for voice services. Each type of controller, through Cisco VSI, directs the
assigned resources and interfaces of the physical ATM switch that have been partitioned
within its domain of control.
You can run all three controllers and, therefore, multiple services in the same physical ATM
switch. If partitioned on a switch, each of these service types is integrated natively and not
running as a technology overlay.

The advantages of next-generation multiservice switching are as follows:

 Multiple service types of ATM, voice, MPLS, and IP are supported on the same
physical infrastructure, allowing the provider to leverage both circuit-based and
packet-based revenue streams.
 Control plane independence allows you to upgrade or maintain one controller type
independently, without interrupting service for other controllers.
 You have the ability to choose and implement a control plane that is best suited to the
application requirements.
 The separation of the control and switching planes allow the vendor to develop
functional enhancements independently of each other.
 The cost-effective approach of adding MPLS to ATM switch infrastructure allows for
the migration to MPLS as a common control plane.

Using next-generation multiservice ATM architectures, providers can maintain existing

services such as circuit-based voice and circuit-based video, while migrating to and
implementing new packet-based network services such as packet voice, Layer 2 and Layer 3
VPNs, MPLS, and MPLS traffic engineering features. Many providers will maintain ATM
infrastructures and might need to bridge from a traditional ATM platform to a next-
generation multiservice ATM platform.

MULTI PROTOCOL LABEL SWITCHING

Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) is a mechanism used within computer network

infrastructures to speed up the time it takes a data packet to flow from one node to another. It
enables computer networks to be faster and easier to manage by using short path labels
instead of long network addresses for routing network packets.

With MPLS, the first time a packet enters the network, it’s assigned to a specific forwarding
equivalence class (FEC), indicated by appending a short bit sequence (the label) to the
packet.

Each router in the network has a table indicating how to handle packets of a specific FEC
type, so once the packet has entered the network, routers don’t need to perform header
analysis. Instead, subsequent routers use the label as an index into a table that provides them
with a new FEC for that packet.

This gives the MPLS network the ability to handle packets with particular characteristics
(such as coming from particular ports or carrying traffic of particular application types) in a
consistent fashion. Packets carrying real-time traffic, such as voice or video, can easily be
mapped to low-latency routes across the network — something that’s challenging with
conventional routing.

The key architectural point with all this is that the labels provide a way to attach additional
information to each packet — information above and beyond what the routers previously had.

One of the key benefits of MPLS is that it separates forwarding mechanisms from the
underlying data-link service. In other words, MPLS can be used to create forwarding tables
for any underlying protocol.

Specifically, MPLS routers establish a label-switched path (LSP), a pre-determined path to

route traffic in an MPLS network, based on the criteria in the FEC. It is only after an LSP has
been established that MPLS forwarding can occur. LSPs are unidirectional which means that
return traffic is sent over a different LSP.

MPLS provides two options to set up an LSP

 Hop-by-hop routing: Each LSR independently selects the next hop for a given
FEC. LSRs support any available routing protocols (OSPF, ATM …).
 Explicit routing: Is similar to source routing. The ingress LER specifies the list of
nodes through which the packet traverses.

The LSP setup for an FEC is unidirectional. The return traffic must take another LSP.

When an end user sends traffic into the MPLS network, an MPLS label is added by an ingress
MPLS router that sits on the network edge. The MPLS Label consists of four sub-parts:

The Label: The label holds all of the information for the MPLS routers to determine where
the packet should be forwarded.

Experimental: Experimental bits are used for Quality of Service (QoS) to set the priority that
the labeled packet should have.

Bottom-of-Stack: The Bottom-of-Stack tells the MPLS Router if it is the last leg of the
journey and there are no more labels to be concerned with. This usually means the router is
an egress router.

Time-To-Live: This identifies how many hops the packet can make before it is discarded.
MPLS Characteristics

 Mechanisms to manage traffic flows of various granularities (Flow Management) such as

flows among different hardware, machines, or even flows among different applications.
 Is independent of Layer-2 and Layer-3 protocols
 Maps IP-addresses to fixed length labels
 Interfaces to existing routing protocols (such as RSVP, OSPF)
 supports the IP, ATM, and frame-relay Layer 2 protocols.

MPLS NETWORKS

How an MPLS network works

In an MPLS network, each packet gets labeled on entry into the service provider's network by
the ingress router, also known as the label edge router (LER). This is also the router that
decides the LSP the packet will take until it reaches its destination address. All the
subsequent label-switching routers (LSRs) perform packet forwarding based only on those
MPLS labels -- they never look as far as the IP header. Finally, the egress router removes the
labels and forwards the original IP packet toward its final destination.

When an LSR receives a packet, it performs one or more of the following actions:

 Push: Adds a label. This is typically performed by the ingress router.

 Swap: Replaces a label. This is usually performed by LSRs between the ingress and
egress routers.
 Pop: Removes a label. This is most often done by the egress router.

This diagram illustrates how a simple MPLS network works.

FRAME-BASED MPLS

Frame-based MPLS is used for a pure IP routing platform—that is, a router that doesn't have
an ATM switching fabric. When moving data through a frame-based MPLS network, the data
is managed at the frame level (variable-length frames) rather than at a fixed length such as in
cell-based ATM. It is worthwhile to understand that a Layer 3 router is also capable of Layer
2 switching.

Frame-Based MPLS Components and Terminology

 Label switch router (LSR)—The LSR provides the core function of MPLS label
switching. The LSR is equipped with both Layer 3 routing and Layer 2 switching
characteristics. The LSR functions as an MPLS Provider (P) node in an MPLS
network.
 Edge label switch router (eLSR)—The eLSR provides the edge function of MPLS
label switching. The eLSR is where the label is first applied when traffic is directed
toward the core of the MPLS network or last referenced when traffic is directed
toward the customer. The eLSR functions as an MPLS Provider Edge (PE) node in an
MPLS network. The eLSRs are functional PEs that send traffic to P nodes to traverse
the MPLS core, and they also send traffic to the customer interface known in MPLS
terminology as the Customer Edge (CE). The eLSRs use IP routing toward the
customer interface and "label swapping" toward the MPLS core. The term label edge
router (LER) is also used interchangeably with eLSR.

Terminology:

Also
MPLS LSR MPLS Functional MPLS Network
Performs: Referred to
Function Use Position
As:

IP prefix lookup for Label Service provider

Ingress eLSR Provider Edge (PE)
label imposition pushing edge

Service provider
Routing Provider Edge (PE) to edge to customer
IP prefix lookup for
Customer Edge (CE) premise
Egress outbound interface
link
eLSR

With MPLS label switching, packets arriving from a customer network connection are
assigned labels before they transit the MPLS network. The MPLS labels are first imposed at
the edge (eLSR) of the MPLS network, used by the core LSRs, and then removed at the far
edge (destination eLSR) of the destination path. The use of labels facilitates faster switching
through the core of the MPLS network and avoids routing complexity on core devices.
MPLS labels are assigned to packets based on groupings or forwarding equivalency classes
(FECs) at the ingress eLSR. A FEC is a group of packets from a source IP address that are all
going to the same destination. The MPLS label is imposed between Layer 2 and Layer 3
headers in a frame-based packet environment, or in the Layer 2 virtual path identifier/virtual
channel identifier (VPI/VCI) field in cell-based networks like ATM. The following example
presumes the use of frame-based MPLS in the routing of an IP packet.

Customer site "A" sources an IP packet destined for customer site "B" that reaches the service
provider's eLSR and then performs an ingress eLSR (PE) function. The ingress eLSR
examines the Layer 3 IP header of the incoming packet, summarizes succinct information,
and assigns an appropriate MPLS label that identifies the specific requirements of the packet
and the egress eLSR (PE). The MPLS label is imposed or, more specifically, "shimmed"
between the Layer 2 and Layer 3 headers of the current IP packet.

Prior to the first packet being routed, the core LSRs (P nodes) have already predetermined
their connectivity to each other and have shared label information via an LDP. The core LSRs
can, therefore, perform simple Layer 2 label swapping and then switch the ingress eLSR's
labeled packet to the next LSR along the label-switched path, helping the ingress eLSR get
the packet to the egress eLSR. The last core LSR (penultimate hop P node) prior to the target
egress eLSR removes the MPLS label, as label swapping has served its usefulness in getting
the packet to the proper egress eLSR.

The egress eLSR is now responsible for examining the Customer A-sourced Layer 3
IP header once again, searching its IP routing table for the destination port of customer site B
and routing the Customer A packet to the Customer B destination output interface.

CELL BASED MPLS

Adding MPLS functionality to ATM switches allows service providers with ATM
requirements to more easily deploy Layer 3, high-value IP feature capabilities, supporting
MPLS VPNs, MPLS traffic engineering, packet voice services, and additional Layer 3
managed offerings. This is the ultimate definition of next-generation multiservice networks—
networks that are capable of supporting circuit-based Layer 2 and packet-based Layer 2 and
Layer 3 services on the same physical network infrastructure. By leveraging the benefits of
the Cisco IP+ATM multiservice architecture with MPLS, operators are migrating from basic
transport providers to service-oriented providers.

MPLS on ATM switches must use the Layer 2 ATM header, specifically the VPI/VCI field of
the ATM header. Since this is pure ATM, all signaling and data forwarding is accomplished
with 53-byte ATM cells. Therefore, MPLS implementations on the ATM platforms are
referred to as cell-based MPLS. Non-ATM platforms such as pure IP-based routers also use
MPLS, but that implementation uses frame headers and is referred to as frame-based MPLS,
as you learned in the previous section. In the discussion that follows, cell-based MPLS is
presumed.

Customer site A sources a packet destined for customer site B that reaches the service
provider's eLSR or ATM eLSR and then performs an ingress eLSR function. The ingress
eLSR examines the Layer 3 IP header of the incoming packet, summarizes succinct
information, and assigns an MPLS label that identifies the egress eLSR. The MPLS label
is imposed and placed within the ATM VPI/VCI field of the ATM Layer 2 header. This
MPLS label allows IP packets to be label-switched as ATM cells through the core ATM
LSRs (P nodes) of the MPLS network without further examination of the IP header until the
cells reach the egress eLSR (which reassembles the cells back into packets prior to delivery
to customer site B).

The core ATM LSRs have already predetermined their connectivity to each other and have
shared label information via an LDP. The core ATM LSRs can, therefore, perform simple
Layer 2 label swapping within the ATM VPI/VCI field, converting the ingress eLSR labeled
packet to cells and switching the labeled cells to the next P node along the label-switched
path, helping the ingress eLSR get the sourced packet to the egress eLSR. The last core ATM
LSR (penultimate hop P node) prior to the target egress eLSR removes the MPLS label, as
label swapping has served its usefulness in getting the cells to the proper egress eLSR.

The egress eLSR is now responsible for reassembling all cells belonging to the original
packet, for examining the Customer A-sourced Layer 3 IP header once again, searching its IP
routing table for the destination port of customer site B, and routing the Customer A packet to
the Customer B destination output interface.

Functionally, both frame-based and cell-based MPLS eLSRs support Layer 3 routing toward
the customer, Layer 3 routing between other eLSRs, and Layer 2 label switching toward the
provider core, while the core LSRs provide Layer 2 label switching through the core.

MPLS BENEFITS AND SERVICES

MPLS Services

MPLS provides both Layer 2 and Layer 3 services. Layer 2 services include Ethernet and IP
VPNs. Ethernet is migrating from LANs to WANs but needs service-level agreement (SLA)
capabilities such as QoS, traffic engineering, reliability, and scalability at Layer 2.

For example, the ability to run Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS) improves the economics of
Ethernet-based service deployment and provides an optimal Layer 2 VPN solution in the
metropolitan area. Ethernet is a broadcast technology, and simply extending Ethernet over
classic Layer 2 networks merely extended all of these broadcasts, limiting scalability of such
a service. EoMPLS can incorporate some Layer 3 routing features to enhance Ethernet
scalability.

MPLS is also access technology independent and easily supports a direct interface to Ethernet
without using Ethernet over SONET/SDH mapping required by many traditional Layer 2
networks. Using a Cisco technology called Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), an MPLS
network can now support a Layer 2 Ethernet multipoint network.

Additional MPLS Layer 2 services include Any Transport over MPLS (AToM). At Layer 2,
AToM provides point-to-point and like-to-like connectivity between broadband access media
types. AToM can support Frame Relay over MPLS (FRoMPLS), ATM over MPLS
(ATMoMPLS), PPP over MPLS (PPPoMPLS), and Layer 2 virtual leased-line services. This
feature allows providers to migrate to a common MPLS core and still offer traditional Layer
2, Frame Relay, and ATM services with an MPLS-based network. Both VPLS and AToM are
discussed further in Chapter 4, "Virtual Private Networks."

MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS TE) is another MPLS Layer 2 service that allows network
managers to more automatically direct traffic over underutilized bandwidth trunks, often
forestalling costly bandwidth upgrades until they're absolutely needed. Since IP routing
always uses shortest path algorithms, longer paths connecting the same source and
destination networks would generally go unused. MPLS TE simplifies the optimization of
core backbone bandwidth, replacing the need to manually configure explicit routes in every
device along a routing path.
MPLS Benefits

The Benefits of MPLS Networks

Improve Uptime - by sending data over an alternative path in less than 50 milliseconds (if
one exists). MPLS also reduces the amount of manual intervention your network provider has
to do to create a WAN, reducing the likelihood of human error bringing down your circuit.

Create Scalable IP VPNs - with MPLS it's easy to add an additional site to the VPN. There
is no need to configure a complex mesh of tunnels, as is common with some traditional
approaches.

Improve User Experience - by prioritising time-sensitive traffic such as VoIP. Multi-

Protocol Label Switching offers multiple Classes of Service, enabling you to apply separate
settings to different types of traffic.

Improve Bandwidth Utilisation - by putting multiple types of traffic on the same link, you
can let high priority traffic borrow capacity from lower priority traffic streams whenever
required. Conversely, when the lower priority traffic needs to burst beyond its usual amount
of bandwidth, it can use any capacity that's not being used by higher priority services.

Hide Network Complexity - an MPLS connection between two sites can be configured to
act like a long ethernet cable, with the hops involved hidden from view. This is sometimes
known as VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service).

Reduce Network Congestion - Sometimes the shortest path between two locations isn't the
best one to take, as congestion has made it less attractive (at least for the time being). MPLS
offers sophisticated traffic engineering options that enable traffic to be sent over non-standard
paths. This can reduce latency (the delay in sending/receiving data). It also reduces
congestion on the paths that h

MSPP

The primary appeal for MSPPs is to consolidate long-established SONET/SDH ADMs in the
multiservice metro, while incorporating Layer 2 and new Layer 3 IP capabilities with packet
interfaces for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet opportunities. Many MSPPs
contain additional support for multiservice interfaces and dense wavelength division
multiplexing (DWDM) to optimize the use of high-value metropolitan optical fiber. Deployed
as a springboard for the rapid provisioning of multiple services, the intrinsic value of these
new-generation platforms is to build a bridge from circuit-based transport to packet-based
services. MSPPs help providers to execute that strategy while maintaining established
services with TDM switching support and SONET/SDH capabilities.

Next-generation MSPPs are the building blocks of metropolitan connectivity. The diverse
features and services of the MSPP platform allow for consolidation of traditional metro
equipment and a migration to both circuit and packet-based services. MSPPs are optimized
for the metro access and the metro edge. MSPPs are fundamentally based on SONET/SDH
add/drop multiplexing. These multipurpose, next-generation MSPPs are very strong in the
three areas of optical multiplexing support, TDM switching, and packet based Ethernet
services.

MSPP

The MSSP is a natural follow-on to the success of the MSPP. The MSSP is a new-generation
SONET/SDH, metro-optimized switching platform that switches higher-bandwidth traffic
from MSPP edge to edge or from edge to core, allowing metro networks to scale efficiently.
The MSSP serves that need by aggregating high-bandwidth MSPP edge rings onto the
provider's interoffice ring. Its high-density design and small footprint positions the MSSP
device to replace multiple, often stacked, high-density SONET ADMs and broadband digital
cross-connects (BBDXCs) that are used to groom access rings to interoffice rings. This
allows a reduction in network element platforms and single points of failure within central
offices of the MAN architecture.

The MSSP is a true multiservice platform that leverages a provider's investment in SONET or
SDH optical infrastructure. Supporting a wide variety of network topologies makes the MSSP
adaptable to any optical architecture.

The MSSP also incorporates MSPP functions, which is necessary to perform the following
tasks:

 Connect and switch TDM voice to Class 5 TDM voice switches

 Switch ATM cells to ATM switches

 Switch packets to IP routers

All of these devices are typically found in a provider's service point of presence (POP). By
including support for Gigabit Ethernet in the MSSP, the platform can perform MSPP
functions at this service POP level, reducing or eliminating the need for a discrete MSPP
platform in that portion of the provider's network. This capability also strengthens integration
between MSPP-to-MSSP-to-MSPP services, as MSPP edge traffic passes through the metro
core, often destined for other edge MSPPs.