
3
LSRs in the same routing or administrative domain form an MPLS domain.
An MPLS domain consists of the following types of LSRs:
•
Ingress LSRs receive and label packets coming into the MPLS domain.
•
Transit LSRs forward packets along LSPs to their egress LERs according to the labels.
•
Egress LSRs remove labels from packets and forward the packets to their destination networks.
LSP establishment and label distribution
This section describes how MPLS sets up LSPs and distribute labels.
LSP establishment
Establishing LSPs is to bind FECs with labels on each LSR involved and notify its adjacent LSRs of
the bindings, so as to establish the LFIB on each LSR. LSPs can be manually established through
configuration, or dynamically established through label distribution protocols.
•
Establishing a static LSP through manual configuration:
Static LSPs do not dynamically change in response to network topology changes, and are
suitable for small-scale, stable, and simple networks. To establish a static LSP, assign a label to
the FEC on each LSR along the packet forwarding path. Establishment of static LSPs
consumes fewer resources than dynamic LSP establishment.
•
Establishing an LSP through a label distribution protocol:
Label distribution protocols are MPLS signaling protocols. They can classify FECs, distribute
labels, and establish and maintain LSPs. Label distribution protocols include protocols
designed specifically for label distribution, such as the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), and
protocols extended to support label distribution, such as BGP and RSVP-TE.
This document discusses LDP only. For more information about LDP, see "
NOTE:
In this document, the term "label distribution protocols" refers to all protocols for label distribution.
The term "LDP" refers to the RFC 5036 LDP.
A dynamic LSP is established in the following procedure:
A downstream LSR classifies FECs according to destination addresses. It assigns a label to a FEC,
and distributes the FEC-label binding to its upstream LSR, which then establishes an LFIB entry for
the FEC according to the binding information. After all LSRs along the packet forwarding path
establish a LFIB entry for the FEC, an LSP is established for packets of this FEC.