Network Working Group Luca Martini
Internet Draft Nasser El-Aawar
Expiration Date: January 2001 Level 3 Communications, LLC.
Dimitri Stratton Vlachos
Daniel Tappan
Eric C. Rosen
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Steve Vogelsang
John Shirron
Laurel Networks, Inc.
July 2000
Transport of Layer 2 Frames Over MPLS
draft-martini-l2circuit-trans-mpls-02.txt
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
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Abstract
This document described a method for transporting the Protocol Data
Units (PDUs) of layer 2 protocols such as Frame Relay, ATM AAL5, and
ethernet across an MPLS network.
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Table of Contents
1 Specification of Requirements .......................... 2
2 Introduction ........................................... 2
3 Tunnel Labels and VC Labels ............................ 3
4 Optional Sequencing and/or Padding ..................... 4
5 Protocol-Specific Issues ............................... 5
5.1 Frame Relay ............................................ 5
5.2 ATM .................................................... 5
5.2.1 F5 OAM Cell Support .................................... 6
5.2.2 CLP Bit ................................................ 6
5.2.3 PTI Field in ATM Cell Mode ............................. 6
5.3 Ethernet VLAN .......................................... 7
5.4 Ethernet ............................................... 7
6 LDP .................................................... 7
7 Security Considerations ................................ 10
8 References ............................................. 10
9 Author Information ..................................... 10
1. Specification of Requirements
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
2. Introduction
In an MPLS network, it is possible to carry the Protocol Data Units
(PDUs) of layer 2 protocols by prepending an MPLS label stack to
these PDUs. This document specifies the necessary label distribution
and encapsulation procedures for accomplishing this. We restrict
discussion to the case of point-to-point transport. QoS related
issues are not discussed in this draft.
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3. Tunnel Labels and VC Labels
Suppose it is desired to transport layer 2 PDUs from ingress LSR R1
to egress LSR R2, across an intervening MPLS network. We assume that
there is an LSP from R1 to R2. That is, we assume that R1 can cause
a packet to be delivered to R2 by pushing some label onto the packet
and sending the result to one of its adjacencies. Call this label
the "tunnel label", and the corresponding LSP the "tunnel LSP".
The tunnel LSP merely gets packets from R1 to R2, the corresponding
label doesn't tell R2 what to do with the payload, and in fact if
penultimate hop popping is used, R2 may never even see the
corresponding label. (If R1 itself is the penultimate hop, a tunnel
label may not even get pushed on.) Thus if the payload is not an IP
packet, there must be a label, which becomes visible to R2, that
tells R2 how to treat the received packet. Call this label the "VC
label".
So when R1 sends a layer 2 PDU to R2, it first pushes a VC label on
its label stack, and then (if R1 is not adjacent to R2) pushes on a
tunnel label. The tunnel label gets the MPLS packet from R1 to R2;
the VC label is not visible until the MPLS packet reaches R2. R2's
disposition of the packet is based on the VC label.
If the payload of the MPLS packet is, for example, an ATM AAL5 PDU,
the VC label will generally correspond to a particular ATM VC at R2.
That is, R2 needs to be able to infer from the VC label the outgoing
interface and the VPI/VCI value for the AAL5 PDU. If the payload is
a Frame Relay PDU, then R2 needs to be able to infer from the VC
label the outgoing interface and the DLCI value. If the payload is
an ethernet frame, then R2 needs to be able to infer from the VC
label the outgoing interface, and perhaps the VLAN identifier. This
process is unidirectional, and will be repeated independently for
bidirectional operation. It is desirable, but not required, to assign
the same VC, and Group ID for a given circuit in both directions.
Note that the VC label must always be at the bottom of the label
stack, and the tunnel label, if present, must be immediately above
the VC label. Of course, as the packet is transported across the
MPLS network, additional labels may be pushed on (and then popped
off) as needed. Even R1 itself may push on additional labels above
the tunnel label. If R1 and R2 are directly adjacent LSRs, then it
may not be necessary to use a tunnel label at all.
This document does not specify a method for distributing the tunnel
label or any other labels that may appear above it on the stack. Any
acceptable method of MPLS label distribution will do.
This document does specify a method for assigning and distributing
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the VC label. Static label assignment MAY be used, and
implementations SHOULD provide support for this. If signaling is
used, the VC label MUST be distributed from R2 to R1 using LDP in the
downstream unsolicited mode; this requires that an LDP connection be
created between R1 and R2.
Note that this technique allows an unbounded number of layer 2 "VCs"
to be carried together in a single "tunnel". Thus it scales quite
well in the network backbone.
The MPLS network should be configured with a MTU that is at least 12
bytes larger then the largest packet size that will be transported in
the LSPs. If a packet, once it has been encapsulated, exceeds the
LSP MTU , it MUST be dropped.
4. Optional Sequencing and/or Padding
Sometimes it is important to guarantee that sequentiality is
preserved on a layer 2 virtual circuit. To accommodate this
requirement, we provide an optional control word which may appear
immediately after the label stack and immediately before the layer 2
PDU. This control word contains a sequence number. R1 and R2 both
need to be configured with the knowledge of whether a control word
will be used for a specific virtual circuit.
Sometimes it is necessary to transmit a small packet on a medium
where there is a minimum transport unit larger than the actual packet
size. In this case, padding is appended to the packet. When the VC
label is popped, it may be desirable to remove the padding before
forwarding the packet.
To facilitate this, the control word has a length field. If the
packet's length (without any padding) is less than 256 bytes, the
length field MUST be set to the packet's length (without padding).
Otherwise the length field MUST be set to zero. The value of the
length field, if non-zero, can be used to remove any padding.
The control word is defined as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Reserved | Length | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The first 8 bits are reserved for future use. They MUST be set to 0
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when transmitting, and MUST be ignored upon receipt. The length byte
is set as specified above.
The next 16 bits are the sequence number that is used to guarantee
ordered packet delivery. For a given VC label, and a given pair of
LSRs, R1 and R2, where R2 has distributed that VC label to R1, the
sequence number is initialized to 0, and is incremented by one for
each successive packet carrying that VC label which R1 transmits to
R2.
The sequence number space is a 16 bit unsigned circular space. PDUs
carrying the control word MUST NOT be delivered out of order. They
may be discarded or reordered.
5. Protocol-Specific Issues
5.1. Frame Relay
A Frame Relay PDU is transported in its entirety, including the Frame
Relay Header. The sequencing control word is OPTIONAL.
The BCN and FCN signals are carried unchanged across the network in
the frame relay header. These signals do not appear in the MPLS
header, and are unseen by the MPLS network.
If the MPLS edge LSR detects a service affecting condition as defined
in [2] Q.933 Annex A.5 sited in IA FRF1.1, it will withdraw the label
that corresponds to the frame relay DLCI. The Egress side should
generate the corresponding errors and alarms as defined in [2] on the
Frame relay VC.
The ingress LSR MAY consider the DE bit of the Frame Relay header
when determining the value to be placed in the EXP fields of the MPLS
label stack. In a similar way, the egress LSR MAY consider the EXP
field of the VC label when queuing the packet for egress.
5.2. ATM
Two modes are supported for ATM transport, ATM Adaptation Layer 5
(AAL5) and ATM cell.
In ATM AAL5 mode the ingress LSR is required to reassemble AAL5
CPCS-PDUs from the incoming VC and transport each CPCS-PDU as a
single packet. No AAL5 trailer is transported. The sequencing control
word is OPTIONAL.
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In ATM cell mode the ingress LSR transports each ATM cell payload as
a single packet. No ATM cell header is transported. The sequencing
control word is OPTIONAL.
5.2.1. F5 OAM Cell Support
F5 OAM cells are not transported on the VC LSP.
If an F5 end-to-end OAM cell is received from a VC by a LSR with a
loopback indication value of 1 and the LSR has a label mapping for
the VC, the LSR must decrement the loopback indication value and loop
back the cell on the VC. Otherwise the loopback cell must be silently
discarded by the LSR.
A LSR may optionally be configured to periodically generate F5 end-
to-end loopback OAM cells on a VC. In this case, the LSR must only
generate F5 end-to-end loopback cells while a label mapping exists
for the VC. If the VC label mapping is withdrawn the LSR must cease
generation of F5 end-to-end loopback OAM cells. If the LSR fails to
receive a response to an F5 end-to-end loopback OAM cell for a pre-
defined period of time it must withdraw the label mapping for the VC.
If an ingress LSR receives an AIS F5 OAM cell, fails to receive a
pre-defined number of the End-to-End loop OAM cells, or a physical
interface goes down, it must withdraw the label mappings for all VCs
associated with the failure. When a VC label mapping is withdrawn,
the egress LSR must generate AIS F5 OAM cells on the VC associated
with the withdrawn label mapping.
5.2.2. CLP Bit
The ingress LSR MAY consider the CLP bit when determining the value
to be placed in the EXP fields of the MPLS label stack.
The egress LSR MAY consider the value of the EXP field of the VC
label when determining the value of the ATM CLP bit.
5.2.3. PTI Field in ATM Cell Mode
ATM cell mode is intended for transporting non-AAL5 traffic only. The
ingress LSR must transport cells with a PTI of 0. Cells with a PTI
other than 0 are not transported on the LSP. The egress LSR must set
the PTI to 0 for cells switched from a VC LSP to an outgoing VC.
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5.3. Ethernet VLAN
For and ethernet 802.1q VLAN the entire ethernet frame without the
preamble or FCS is transported as a single packet. The sequencing
control word is OPTIONAL. If a packet is received out of sequence it
MUST be dropped. The VLAN 4 byte tag is transported as is, and MAY be
overwritten by the egress LSR. The ingress LSR MAY consider the user
priority field [4] of the VLAN tag header when determining the value
to be placed in the EXP fields of the MPLS label stack. In a similar
way, the egress LSR MAY consider the EXP field of the VC label when
queuing the packet for egress. Ethernet packets containing hardware
level CRC, Framing errors, or runt packets MUST be discarded on
input.
5.4. Ethernet
For simple ethernet port to port transport,the entire ethernet frame
without the preamble or FCS is transported as a single packet. The
sequencing control word is OPTIONAL. If a packet is received out of
sequence it MUST be dropped. As in the Ethernet VLAN case, ethernet
packets with hardware level CRC, framing, and runt errors are
discarded.
6. LDP
The VC label bindings are distributed using the LDP downstream
unsolicited mode described in [1]. The LSRs will establish an LDP
session using the Extended Discovery mechanism described in [1,
section 2.4-2.5], for this purpose a new type of FEC TLV element is
defined. The FEC element type in 128. [note1]
The Virtual Circuit FEC TLV element, is defined as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VC tlv | VC Type |C| VC ID len |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Group ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
| VC ID |
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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- VC Type
A 15 bit quantity containing a value which represents the type of
VC. Assigned Values are:
VC TypeDescription
0x0001 Frame Relay DLCI
0x0002 ATM AAL5 PVC
0x0003 ATM Cell
0x0004 Ethernet VLAN
0x0005 Ethernet
0x0006 HDLC ( Cisco )
0x0007 PPP
The highest order bit is used to flag the presence of a sequencing control
word as follows:
bit 15 = 1 control word present on this VC.
bit 15 = 0 no control word present on this VC.
- VC ID length
Length of the VC ID field in octets. If this value is 0, then it
references all VCs using the specified group ID
- Group ID
An arbitrary 32 bit value which represents a group of VCs that is
used to augment the VC space. This value MUST be user
configurable. The group ID is intended to be used as either a
port index , or a virtual tunnel index. In the latter case a
switching function at ingress will map a particular circuit from
a port to a circuit in the virtual tunnel for transport to the
egress router.
- VC ID
Identifies a particular VC. The interpretation of the identifier
depends on the VC type:
* Frame Relay
A 32-bit value representing a 16-bit DLCI value as follows:
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0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Reserved | DLCI |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
* ATM AAL5 PVC
A 32-bit value representing a 16-bit VPI, and a 16-bit VCI as
follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VPI | VCI |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
* ATM Cell
A 32-bit value representing a 16-bit VPI, and a 16-bit VCI as
follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VPI | VCI |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
* Ethernet VLAN
A 32 bit value representing 16bit vlan identifier as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Reserved | VLAN ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
* Ethernet
A 32 bit port identifier.
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* HDLC ( Cisco )
A 32-bit port identifier (details TBD).
* PPP
A 32-bit port identifier (details TBD).
The reserved fields in the above specifications MUST be set
to 0 in the FEC TLV, and ignored when received. In some cases
the the
7. Security Considerations
This document does not affect the underlying security issues of MPLS.
8. References
[1] "LDP Specification", draft-ietf-mpls-ldp-07.txt ( work in
progress )
[2] ITU-T Recommendation Q.933, and Q.922 Specification for Frame
Mode Basic call control, ITU Geneva 1995
[3] "MPLS Label Stack Encoding", draft-ietf-mpls-label-encaps-07.txt
( work in progress )
[4] "IEEE 802.3ac-1998" IEEE standard specification.
[note1] FEC element type 128 is pending IANA approval.
9. Author Information
Luca Martini
Level 3 Communications, LLC.
1025 Eldorado Blvd.
Broomfield, CO, 80021
e-mail: luca@level3.net
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Nasser El-Aawar
Level 3 Communications, LLC.
1025 Eldorado Blvd.
Broomfield, CO, 80021
e-mail: nna@level3.net
Dimitri Stratton Vlachos
Cisco Systems, Inc.
250 Apollo Drive
Chelmsford, MA, 01824
e-mail: dvlachos@cisco.com
Dan Tappan
Cisco Systems, Inc.
250 Apollo Drive
Chelmsford, MA, 01824
e-mail: tappan@cisco.com
Eric Rosen
Cisco Systems, Inc.
250 Apollo Drive
Chelmsford, MA, 01824
e-mail: erosen@cisco.com
Steve Vogelsang
Laurel Networks, Inc.
2607 Nicholson Rd.
Sewickley, PA 15143
e-mail: sjv@laurelnetworks.com
John Shirron
Laurel Networks, Inc.
2607 Nicholson Rd.
Sewickley, PA 15143
e-mail: sjv@laurelnetworks.com
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