MPLS Working Group Heinrich Hummel Internet Draft Siemens AG Expiration Date: December 1999 Swee Loke Nortel Networks June 1999 Explicit Tree Routing draft-hummel-mpls-explicit-tree-01.txt Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026 except that the right to produce derivative works is not granted. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. Abstract This draft proposes the TREE ROUTE TLV that encodes a tree structured route which can be used to carry explicit routing information. It also specifies the progression of the TLV from the root of the tree to the leaf nodes. Every node that the TLV traversed has to decode/process the TLV in such a way that the correct child link/ nodes are determined as well as the respective subtree route information. Individual Information targetted for a specific node or a contiguous cluster of nodes can also be packed into this TREE ROUTE TLV. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 1]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 The draft also presents the benefits of using TREE ROUTE TLV in MPLS. The applications include constrain based routing, traffic engineering, VPN installations and static multicast tree. The capability of carrying targetted information for individual node in the tree is very powerful in MPLS. This allows different nodes in the tree route to use the same tree route for different FECs. Different bandwidth requirement information targetted for different sections of a tree can also be packed into the TREE TROUTE TLV. The application of this TLV is not mpls-specific. Other Working Groups may consider the proposed TLV as well. 1. Introduction It is agreed that explicit routing is needed in MPLS. Different TLVs and protocols have been designed or enhanced to support explicit routing. Most of the work has been focused on point-to-point LSPs. This draft proposes the TREE ROUTE TLV which can encode a tree structured route. In addition to that, it can also carry targetted information destined to a particular node or a specific contigous cluster of nodes. The tree structured route may be provided based on some static configuration information or derived algorithmically from the results of a dynamic route computation. The decision is up to the protocols that use the TLV, and is outside the scope of this draft. The TREE ROUTE TLV can be used in some LSP setup protocol (E.g., LDP with possibly some new message types) to setup different types of explicit routes such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-point LSPs. The exact specification of supporting TREE ROUTE TLV in the LSP setup protocol is for further study, and is outside the scope of this draft. Section 2 presents different applications of the TREE ROUTE TLV in MPLS and their benefits. The TREE ROUTE TLV is independent of its application. It guides the message/packet to each leaf properly, and indicates if certain piece of targetted information should be processed and/or forwarded by a particular node specified in the TREE ROUTE TLV. However, it has no indication of any application-dependent actions to be taken on the way to the leaves. Instead, to give such instructions, that should be the job of the protocol message (e.g., LDP message) that carries the TREE ROUTE TLV (or of any other TLV). Consequently, the TREE ROUTE TLV can be used for MPLS and NON-MPLS applications. Section 3 specifies the TREE ROUTE TLV. The progression of the TLV from the root to the leaf nodes are specified in section 4. Individual pieces of targetted information Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 2]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 will also be processed and/or forwarded by each traversed node according to the TREE ROUTE TLV. When all intermediate routers process the received TREE ROUTE TLV using the same processing algorithm, the TREE ROUTE TLV will be forwarded exactly along the tree route as indicated by the TLV. 2. Applications and Benefits The TREE ROUTE TLV can be used to setup different types of MPLS LSPs. The following subsections presents different MPLS applications of the TREE ROUTE TLV and their benefits. Although the benefits are presented with examples of point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to- point LSPs, certain benefits are also applicable to point-to-point LSPs. 2.1 mp2p LSP: Egress-rooted Label Switch Tree (ELST) ELST refers to a multipoint-to-point LSP triggered by the Egress LER. This type of Label Switch Tree (LST) is very useful for traffic engineering and VPN configuration. The benefits: - The ELST setup info only needs to to be configured at one node, namely the Egress node. This saves having to configure multiple point-to-point LSPs from the Ingress nodes to Egress. By establishing a multipoint-to-point LST explicitly, we can specify where the merge points are and have more control on the traffic flow. - The capability to indicate if a node along the tree is also an ingress node by tagging the node as a leaf node. The saves the troubles of having to set up multiple point-to-point LSP to achieve the same results. - Information targetted for a node or a contigous sequence of nodes can be carried inside the TREE ROUTE TLV. Information that contains certain preference indications for a particular sequence of nodes can also be carried by the TREE ROUTE TLV. Examples of these are bandwidth requirements and security preference indications. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 3]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 Different bandwidth requiremnet information can be passed to different sections of the same LSP. This is essential since the bandwidth requirement for the links closer to the root may be different than that of the leaf nodes. This capability can also be useful when an LSP traversed across different administrative domain, and needs to conform to different traffic engineering agreement and/or chooses different security peferences on Ingress traffic. Since information targetted for each node can be packed into this TREE ROUTE TLV, the leaf nodes (ingress and intermediate routers) can use the same tree for different FECs. Once data traffic enters the ELST, it will be forwarded to the root, regardless what the FEC is. By defining the FEC(s) for the tree route on each node, it allows other point-to-point LSPs of that FEC to join the tree. - The LST will not be triggered if the Egress node is down. In the existing ER LSP, the Ingress node will always try to set up the ER LSP by sending the label request regardless if the Egress is up. 2.2 p2mp LSP: Ingress-rooted Label Switch Tree (ILST) ILST refers to a point-to-multipoint LSP setup by the Ingress LER. This type of Label Switch Tree (LST) is useful for static multicast tree and VPN. The benefits: - All the same benefits as existing point-to-point ER LSP. - The ILST setup info only needs to be configured at one node, namely the Ingress node. This saves having to configure multiple point-to-point LSPs from the Ingress to multiple Egress nodes. - The capability to indicate if a node along the tree is also an egress node by tagging the node as a leaf node. The saves the troubles of having to set up multiple point-to-point LSPs to achieve the same results. - Information targetted for a node or a contigous sequence of nodes can be carried inside the TREE ROUTE TLV. See description in previous seciton. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 4]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 - The static tree can be used to deliver multicast traffic across different multicast routing domain. Each leaf node of the LST can be the root of its own multicast tree. The tree can allow dynamic branches by allowing the leaf of the tree to be the RP or core of a dynamic multicast tree. This may be useful in certain VPN environmemt where a static multicast tree across the backbone is configured to avoid periodic join/prune messages flooded across the carrier's backbone. The extending/pruning of the LST is for future study. - The point-to-multipoint LST can be used to deliver broadcast type messages to VPN LAN that is emulated across the MPLS backbone. 3. TREE ROUTE TLV Specification This section presents the definition of a tree route and the notation of a TREE ROUTE TLV. 3.1 Tree Route Definition A TREE ROUTE TLV can encode an explicit routing tree that consists of the following types of nodes: - Root node A root node is the node where the initial TREE ROUTE TLV is generated. It is also where the data traffic enters the tree route (in point-to-multipoint case) or where the data traffic terminates (in multipoint-to-point case). There is only one root node per tree. - Transit Node A Transit node is a node that is responsible for forwarding the data traffic along the tree route. Every node in a tree route, except the root node and the pure leaf nodes, is a transit node. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 5]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 - Leaf Node A leaf node is a node + which is to receive data traffic sent to the tree route from the root (in point-to-multipoint case), OR + where the data traffic to be delivered to the root enters the tree route (in multipoint-to-point case) For example, a leaf node in the point-to-multipoint multicast tree is a node that is to receive the traffic from the root, whereas a leaf node in a multipoint-to-point tree acts as an Ingress node for data traffic sent towards the root. A leaf node can be also a transit node. Hence, in the point-to-multipoint case, a leaf node that is also a transit node receives the data traffic itself and also forwards the data traffic along the tree route. - Cluster of nodes A cluster of nodes is defined as a contiguous subsection of a tree. It may be consist of only one node. 3.2 TREE ROUTE TLV The TREE ROUTE TLV contains a sequence of TLVs of the following types: - TYPE "(" - TYPE ")" - TYPE "ER-TLV" - TYPE "Opaque-Info" - TYPE "Node-Info" - TYPE "<Nodes-Info-Begin" - TYPE "Nodes-Info-End>" Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 6]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 "("-TLV and ")"-TLV The "("-TLVs and the ")"-TLVs have no associated values and have type length of zero, as they are used only to shape the tree. The "("-TLV marks the beginning of a branch, and ")"-TLV marks the end of a branch. ER-TLV The "ER-TLV" is the Explicit Route TLV as defined in [CR-LDP]. It specifies one or more hops that form a linear section of the tree route. A TREE ROUTE TLV contains at least one ER-TLV. The hop types currently supported by the TREE ROUTE TLV are "IPv4 prefix" and "IPv6 prefix". Opaque-Info TLV Although "Opaque-Info"-TLV is not really defined by TREE ROUTE TLV, but it is specified here for illustration purpose. Essentially, it is some information that is targetted for a node or a cluster of nodes. It can be the FEC-TLV, PFC-TLV or Traffic-TLV. The TREE ROUTE TLV is unaware of the content of these types of TLVs, but only instructs the nodes to use and/or forward them. Node-Info TLV The "Node-Info" TLV has to be placed immediately after an "ER-TLV", it is targetted to a traversed node that identify with the last ER- HOP in the ER-TLV. E.g., ER[hop1, ... , hopN"], Node-Info [Info-for-hopN]. The "Node-Info" TLV contains a mandatory 8 bit flag that indicates the structure or restriction of a node. Currently only the L bit is defined. An L bit that is set indicates a node is a leaf node. All other bits are reserved for future use and should be set to 0. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +------------+-+ | reserved |L| +------------+-+ The mandatory flag Each "Node-Info" TLV can contain zero or more "Opaque-Info" TLV. All these TLV will be processed by the specified node and not forwarded further. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 7]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 <Nodes-Info-Begin TLV Information targetted for a cluster of nodes can be placed inside the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV as "Opaque-Info"-TLV. The "<Nodes-Info- Begin" must contains at least one "Opaque-Info"-TLV. By proper placement of "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV, specific information can also be targetted for the link where the TREE ROUTE TLV is received and/or the links where the TREE ROUTE TLV is to be forwarded. The evaluations of what type of information is applicable to the link(s) are solely determined by on the type "Opaque-Info" TLV carried inside the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV. The placement of "<Nodes-Info-Begin"-TLV simply indicates that if there is any link/node related information packed inside this "<Nodes-Info- Begin"-TLV, which link/node should this information be applicable to. The "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV contains a mandatory 16 bit sequence number that identifies a particular instance of "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV. The sequence number of each "<Nodes-Info-Begin" within the same TREE ROUTE TLV must be unique. A sequence number of 0 is reserved. Nodes-Info-End> TLV The "Nodes-Info-End>" TLV contains a mandatory 16 bit sequence number that identyfies which instance of "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV it applies to. A "Nodes-Info-End>"-TLV with a sequence number 0 applies to all "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLVs occur before it. Information placed inside the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV is intended to be processed along each traversed node (as indicate in the TREE ROUTE TLV) and forwarded along until terminated by a corresponding "Nodes- Info-End>"-TLV. By proper placing "<Nodes-Info-Begin" and "Nodes-Info-End>", a root node can create a TREE ROUTE TLV that instruct pieces of information to be passed to a cluster of nodes and only that cluster of nodes. Notation Syntax In all examples presented in this draft, the following notations will be used to represent the different TLVs that comprise the TREE ROUTE TLV: ER[...] represents an ER TLV where every ER hop type is IPv4 prefix that represents a router id. Each hop is separated by a period. ) represents a ")"-TLV Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 8]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 ( represents a "("-TLV Node[...] represents a "Node-Info" TLV with Leaf bit not set Node[L;...] represents a "Node-Info" TLV with Leaf bit set <Nodes[N;...] represents a "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV with sequence number N Nodes>[N] represents a "Nodes-Info-End>" TLV with sequence number N Opaque-n represents a piece of information to be forwarded by TREE ROUTE TLV. Each TLV notation are shown separated by a comma. 3.3 General rules for encoding an initial TREE ROUTE TLV - The first contained ER TLV is always an ER-TLV whose first hop either points to the next receiving node or denotes the link to the next receiving node. - Each entire subtree route following a branching node is embraced with "("-TLV and ")"-TLV. E.g., ER[R1], (, ER[R2], ... ,), (, ER[R7], ... ,), ... - A leaf node X is specified by the presence of a "Node-Info" TLV with the leaf bit set. E.g., ER[ ... X], Node[L], ... - Information targetted for node X is packed inside the "Node-Info" TLV immediately after the ER-TLV where node X is specified. E.g., ER[ ... X], Node[Opaque-i], ... - Information targetted for a cluster of nodes starts from node X is packed inside the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV before or after the ER-TLV where node X is specified. - When the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV is placed before an ER-TLV, it implies that the information packed inside the TLV is targetted for the node and both the link(s) where the TREE ROUTE TLV is received and also the link(s) where the TREE ROUTE TLV Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 9]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 is to be forwarded if it is to be forwarded. E.g., <Nodes[123; Opaque-i] , ... , ER[ ... X] - When the "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV is placed after an ER-TLV, it implies that the information packed inside the TLV is only targetted for the node and the link(s) where TREE ROUTE TLV is to be forwarded. E.g., ER[ ... X], <Nodes[123; Opaque-i ], ... - Information to be forwarded to all branches can be placed at the last hop before the node braches. E.g., ER[ ... X], <Nodes[123; Opaque-i] ( , ER[Y], ... ) ( , ER[Z], ... ) The information Opaque-i is applicable to node X and the links where X uses to send the TREE ROUTE TLV to Y and Z. It is also applicable to nodes Y and Z, and the links where Y and Z received the TREE ROUTE TLV from. - Information to be forwarded to a particular branch but not to other branch should be placed after the "(" TLV. E.g., ER[ ... X], ( , <Nodes[123; Opaque-i ] , ER[Y] , ... , ) ( , ER[Z] , ... , ) The information Opaque-i is applicable to node Y and the link where X uses to send the TREER ROUTE TLV to Y, and the link where Y received the TREE ROUTE TLV from. However, this information is NOT applicable to node Z, and the link(s) between X and Z. To have the information applicable to node Y and the link where Y forwards this TLV, but NOT applicable to the link where Y received the TREE ROUTE TLV from X, the TREE ROUTE TLV should be: ER[ ... X], ( , ER[Y] , <Nodes[123; Opaque-i ] , ( , ER[Z] , ... , ) Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 10]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 Here is an example on how to encode a simple tree where no specific information is targetted to any node. R0 is the root, R2, R3, R4 are the leaf nodes. +-----+ +----+ +----+ |R0= |----|R1 |--+--|R2= | |Root | | | | |Leaf| +-----+ +----+ | +----+ | | +----+ +----+ +--|R3= |----|R4= | |Leaf| |Leaf| +----+ +----+ Figure 1 Example 1: The initial TREE ROUTE TLV generated by the root node R0 to specify the tree in Figure 1 is: ER[R1],(,ER[R2], Node[L] ,) (,ER[R3], Node[L] , ER[R4], Node[L] ) Note that here the last two "Node[L]"s are redundant and can be omitted because the last node before the ")" TLV is always a leaf. Example 2: Here the TREE ROUTE TLV specifies the tree in Figure 1, but with the following information to be forwarded along: - Opaque-2 is targetted to only R2 - Opaque-34 is targetted to R3 and R4 and the link between R3 and R4. ER[R1],(,ER[R2], Node[L;Opaque-2] ,) (,ER[R3], Node[L] , <Nodes[1; Opaque-34], ER[R4], Node[L] , Nodes>[1] ) Note that here "Nodes>[1]" is redundant and can be omitted because the information cannot be forwarded further anyway. Example 3: Here the TREE ROUTE TLV specifies the same tree in Figure 1, but with following information to be forwarded along: Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 11]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 - A piece of information (Opaque-1234) is to be targetted to R1, R2, R3 and R4, and all the links from R1 on. ER[R1], <Nodes[1; Opaque-1234] , (,ER[R2], Node[L] ,) (,ER[R3], Node[L], ER[R4], Node[L], ) 3.4 General rules of processing a received TREE ROUTE TLV - When a node receives a TREE ROUTE TLV, it only needs to process a section of the TREE ROUTE TLV to decide its role, what information is targetted to it, and what information is to be forwarded along. - It expects to see at least one ER-TLV in the TREE ROUTE TLV. - There can be zero or more "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV procedes the first ER-TLV. "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV indicates that the information packed inside it should be processed and continued forwarding to all nodes until they are explicitly instructed to be stopped forwarding. The opaque information packed inside a "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV is application to the node and the link where the node received the TREE ROUTE TLV from. If the opaque information is to be forwarded further, the information is also applicable to the link(s) where the node uses to forward the TREE ROUTE TLV. - The ER-TLV should be interpreted as described in [CR-LDP]. It is composed of one or more Explicit Route Hop TLVs (ER-Hop TLVs). If the first hop in ER-TLV indicates a strict hop, but not at the receiving node, the receiving node should conclude that it cannot forward the TREE ROUTE TLV and not process it further. It is up to the protocol that make use of TREE ROUTE TLV to determine the exact actions required. If the first hop in the ER-TLV indicates a loose hop, but at not the receiving node, it should be forwarded accoding to the protocol that make use of the TREE ROUTE TLV. For example, it may consult the local forwarding table to decide where to forward it. If the first hop in the ER-TLV indicates the receiving node, the receiving node should remove the ER-HOP TLV from the ER-TLV and continue forwarding the TREE ROUTE TLV. Additional actions are Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 12]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 required when the last hop in an ER-TLV is reached. - The last hop of an ER-TLV typically denotes (at least) one of the following: + The node is a leaf node, + The node is a branching node, + The node is to receive some target information + The node needs to start forwarding some information to some cluster of nodes + The node needs to stop forwarding some information further - After an ER-TLV (e.g., ER[ ... , R1] ), the possible TLVs followed are: + Node-Info TLV Node-Info TLV indicates if R1 is a leaf node. There can also be specific information targetted for it packed inside the Node-Info TLV. + <Nodes-Info-Begin TLV "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV indicates that the information packed inside this TLV is applicable to R1 and the link(s) which R1 uses to forward the TREE TROUTE TLV further. This information is not applicable to the link where R1 uses to receive the TREE ROUTE TLV. + Nodes-Info-End> TLV "Nodes-Info-End>" TLV indicates that the information packed inside the corresponding "<Nodes-Info-Begin" TLV is applicable to R1 and only the link from which R1 received the TREE ROUTE TLV. This information is not to be forwarded further and is not applicable on the link(s) where R1 uses to send the TREE ROUTE TLV further. + "(" TLV This indicates that R1 is a branching node. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 13]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 + ")" TLV This indicates that R1 is the last node of a branch. With the presence of this TLV, it is implied that R1 is a leaf node. No additional "Node-Info" TLV with the Leaf bit set is required to convey this information. 4. The Progression of TREE ROUTE TLV This section shows an example of a tree and how the corresponding TREE ROUTE TLV looks like at the beginning. It then shows how each transit node determines the child links and what information to accept and forward along. Any node that receives a TREE ROUTE TLV must apply the same decoding algorithm in order to determine its immediate child links and the respective TREE ROUTE TLVs to be sent down these links. A transit node will also determine if it is a leaf node as well. +----+ +---+ +----+ +----+ +----+ |R1= |-----|R2 |-----|R3= |-----|R4= |----|R5= | |Root| | | |Leaf| |Leaf| |Leaf| +----+ +---+ +----+ +----+ +----+ | +---+ +----+ | | |R7= | |R6 |------|Leaf| +---+ +----+ Figure 2 Figure 2 shows a tree that consist of nodes R1 to R7 . A setup message needs to be sent from router R1 (Root) to all nodes in the tree. R3, R4, R5 and R7 are leaf nodes. There are 3 different pieces of targetted information to be forwarded to a subset of nodes: - Opaque-1 is to be used by R2 and forward to R3 only. R3 is not to forward this information further. This information is also targetted to the links between R1-R2, and R2-R3. - Opaque-2 is to be forwaded by R2 to R3, then from R3 to R4, R6 and R7. This information is not to be forwarded from R4 to R5. It is also targetted to all the links between these nodes that receive the information. - Opaque-3 is to be used only by R5. Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 14]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 The notiations used below are as specified in section 3.2. Router R1 sends a message to Router R2, with a TREE ROUTE TLV that contains the following TLVs (shown separated by commas): <Nodes[1; Opaque-1] ER[R2], <Nodes[2;Opaque-2] , ER[R3], Node[L], Nodes>[1] , ( ER[R4] , Node[L], Nodes>[2] , ER[R5], Node[L;Opaque-3] ) ( ER[R6.R7] ) ER[...] represents an ER TLV where each hop is of type IPv4 prefix that specifies a router. R2 decodes the received TREE ROUTE TLV, concludes that it should use Opaque-1. It also knows that it needs to forward Opaque-2 to R3. R2 then sends the following revised TREE ROUTE TLV to R3: <Nodes[1; Opaque-1] , <Nodes[2; Opaque-2] , ER[R3], Node[L], Nodes>[1], ( ER[R4] , Node[L], Nodes>[2] , ER[R5], Node[L;Opaque-3] ) , ( ER[R6.R7] ) R3 recognizes itself being a leaf node in addition to a branching node. It also interprets that: - it should use but not forward Opaque-1. - it should use and forward Opaque-2 R3 sends to R4: <Nodes[2; Opaque-2] , ER[R4] , Node[L], Nodes>[2] , ER[R5], Node[L;Opaque-3] R3 sends to R6: <Nodes[2; Opaque-2] , ER[R6.R7] R4 recognizes itself being a leaf node. It also concludes that it is getting Opaque-2 but needs to stop forwarding it. R4 then sends to R5: ER[R5], Node[L;Opaque-3] R5 recognizes itself being a leaf node, getting Opaque-3. R6 sends to R7: <Nodes[2; Opaque-2] , ER[R7] Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 15]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 R7 recognizes itself being a leaf node, getting Opaque-2, since R7 is the last node of the sequence it will not forward Opaque-2 further. Hence the "Nodes-Info-End>" TLV is optional in this example. 6. Conclusion This draft proposes a generic TREE ROUTE TLV that can be used in different areas, inside and outside of MPLS. In MPLS, it can be used to establish LSPs for point-to-multipoint or multipoint-to-point flows. The TREE ROUTE TLV is designed to specify a tree structure route and to deliver targetted information to certain nodes in the tree. The protocol message that carries the TREE ROUTE TLV should instruct the traversed nodes what actions are required. The TREE ROUTE TLV works well also in case of linear routes. The strength of carrying different information targetted for different sets of nodes in an LSP is valuable even for point-to-point LSPs. The application of this TLV is not mpls-specific. Other Working Groups (e.g. which are dealing with Multicast) may consider the proposed TLV as well. The specification of handling TREE ROUTE TLV in LSP setup protocols is for further study. 7. Intellectual Property Considerations Siemens AG and Nortel Networks may seek patent or other intellectual property protection for some or all of the technologies disclosed in this document. If any standards arising from this document are or become protected by one or more patents assigned to Siemens AG or Nortel Networks, Siemens AG and Nortel Networks intend to disclose those patents and license them under openly specified and non-discriminatory terms. 8. References [MPLS-ARCH] Rosen, Viswanathan, Callon: A Proposed Architecture for MPLS, (Work In Progress) Internet Draft, draft-ietf-mpls-arch-05.txt, April 1999. [CR-LDP] Constraint-Based LSP Setup using LD, (Work In Progress) Internet Draft, draft-ietf-mpls-cr-ldp-01.txt, Feb 1999 Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 16]
Explicit Tree Routing Exp. Dec 1999 9. Authors' Addresses Heinrich Hummel Siemens AG Hofmannstrasse 51 81379 Munich, Germany Tel: +49 89 722 32057 Email: heinrich.hummel@icn.siemens.de Swee Loke Nortel Networks P.O.Box 3511 Station C Ottawa ON K1Y 4H7 Canada Tel: (613) 763-9658 Email: loke@nortelnetworks.com Hummel & Loke June 1999 [Page 17]