Large-Scale Multi-Vendor Layer 2 VPNs with MPLS

EANTC 2005 public interoperability event

The MPLS World Congress 2005 interoperability event has been organized by the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance, and facilitated by the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC) and the University of New Hampshire (INH-IOL)

The interoperability tests detailed in this document were conducted using MPLS routers and switches, emulators, as well as customer premises equipment from various vendors, during a hot stage event. Through several rounds of testing and refining the methodology, a final network of interoperable devices was successfully constructed. This network and the test results were demonstrated at MPLS World Congress 2005 in Paris, February 16-18, 2005.

The test scenarios designed specifically for this showcase were based upon the experiences of previous interoperability test events:

• MPLS protocols for the creation of virtual private networks (VPNs) have been verified in interoperability tests before. However, scalability to real-life network sizes in multi-vendor environments has always been an important question for service providers.
• Multi-vendor layer 3 (IP) VPNs can be considered mature by now. Except of carrier-carrier interworking protocols and new extensions to RFCs (multicast), they are proven to be inter-operable regarding functionality and scalability, as shown, for example, during the MPLS World Congress 2004 interoperability event.
• A lot of carriers offer, or are considering the possibility of offering, large-scale multi-point services using Hierarchical Virtual Public LAN Services (H-VPLS). The hierarchical part of the protocol enables service providers to scale the number of customers and endpoints per customer offered using VPLS, without stressing the backbone network.

Consequently, this test event primarily focused on the scalability o hierarchical VPLS provider edge routers (PE-RS) and multi-tenant units (MTUs). Industry support is growing fast; we tested a total of four PE-RS and eight MTU implementations.

• Furthermore, we verified the scalability of Layer 2 Ethernet pseudowires over MPLS beyond previous limits. Almost every participating device supported them.
• A few vendors tested ATM and TDM pseudowires.
• Finally, we continued to investigate MPLS label switch path (LSP) ping and traceroute interoperability.

To ensure the event’s success, a one week hot-staging event with all the participating vendors was conducted before MPLS World Congress. The MPLS hot-stage took place at the EANTC (European Advanced Networking Test Center) in Berlin, Germany.

The Interoperability Working Group of the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance, including EANTC and UNH-IOL, defined the MPLS test plans.

Participants and Devices

The following companies and devices demonstrated their interoperability in the test event:

For the complete White Paper, download the PDF.