MPLS: Technology and Applications
This guide sets the groundwork for and gives explanations of MPLS, RFCs, QoS, VPNs, and more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS MPLS: Technology and Applications
Chapter 5: MPLS Core Protocols
We have considered the fundamental concepts that underlie label switching, and we have looked at two approaches in detail. The IETF s MPLS working group is in the process of defining a standard approach to label switching. At the time of writing, the group has met nine times officially, plus its original Birds of a Feather (BOF) at the 37th IETF in December 1996. In this chapter we examine the core protocols and architectural concepts that have been standardized by this group. The following three chapters expand on some of the more advanced MPLS capabilities, most of which are still in the midst of the standardization process. Before looking at the protocols, however, we begin with a brief survey of the working group s history and examine its charter.
5.1 Working Group Origins and Charter
The MPLS working group was formally chartered by the IETF in the spring of 1997 after the December 1996 BOF established beyond a doubt that there was sufficient interest to form a working group an estimated 800 people attended the session, perhaps creating a record. The impetus to form the group had come from Cisco Systems, which had declared its intention to pursue standardization of label switching at the time the first Tag Switching Internet drafts were published. Support was quickly forthcoming from several other companies, notably IBM. The working group was formed with two cochairs representing Cisco and IBM.
The charter of the MPLS working group is available on-line at the IETF Web site. The document contains...
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