International Journal of Research in Computer and ISSN (Online) 2278- 5841

Communication Technology, Vol 3, Issue 8, August - 2014 ISSN (Print) 2320- 5156

Traffic Protection against Link and Node

Failures Using Fast Re-Route for MPLS Networks
Chokkapu Narayanarao, Kanakeswari Devara
M.Tech Student, CSE Department, Raghu Engineering College

Assistant Professor, CSE Department, Raghu Engineering College

Abstract
The increase of data transfer over the Internet is
complexity process for providing internet services as
badly affected the quality of service and the dataflow.
To reduce this problem, in this paper I am introducing a
concept called Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)
will combines the scalability of IP protocol and the
efficiency of label switching improve network data
transfer. In this paper I propose an algorithm in MPLS
based networks to evaluate a fast re-route path maintain.
The main advantage of this algorithm is satisfies all the
performance criteria deploys effectively base on the
conditions of this fault. In this paper I simulated the
scenario by using GNS3.
Keywords:
MPLS, Traffic Engineering (TE), Fast Re Routing
Mechanism, GNS3, label-switched paths (LSPs).
1.

Introduction:

MPLS employs two basic concepts for network

recovery: (i) protection switching, where a precomputed alternative path, which is usually disjoint
from the working path, is set up for every flow and (ii)
rerouting, where an alternative path is dynamically
recomputed after a fault is detected. For both concepts,
the alternative path can be either global or local. MPLS
is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) specified
framework that provides for the efficient routing,
Forwarding, and switching of traffic flows through the
network. The idea of MPLS is to improve the
performance of network layer routing and the scalability
of the network layer. Traffic Engineering refers to the
process of selecting the paths conscript by data traffic in
order to Balance the traffic load on the various links,
routers, and switches in the network. Traffic
engineering is most supreme in networks where
multiple Parallel or alternate paths are available. The
main advantage of Internet Traffic Engineering is to
facilitate efficient and definitive. Network operations
while simultaneously optimizing network resource

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utilization and traffic performance. The main idea of

label switching is simple. Instead of a destination
address being used to make the routing, a number (a
label) is associated with the packet. In computer
networks, a label is placed in a packet header and is
used in place of an address (an IP address, usually), and
the label is used to direct the traffic to its destination.be
lost traffic, lost connections, and overall poor
performance in an IP-based network. Label switching,
in contrast to IP forwarding, is proving to be an
effective solution to the problem. Label Switching is
much faster because the label value that is placed in an
incoming packet header is used to access the forwarding
table at the router; that is, the label is used to index into
the table.
MPLS performs the following functions:
A. Provides mechanisms to manage traffic flows of
various granularities, such as flows between different
applications.
B. Remains independent of the Layer-2 and Layer-3
protocols
C. Provides a means to map IP addresses to simple,
fixed-length labels used by different packet-forwarding
and packet-switching technologies
Interfaces to existing routing protocols such
as resource reservation protocol(RSVP) and
open shortest path first(OSPF)
Supports the IP, ATM, and frame-relay
Layer-2 protocols
2. Types of MPLS Nodes:
Ingress LSR: Receives native-modeuser traffic and
classifies it into an FEC. It then generates an MPLS
header and assigns a label. The IP datagram is
encapsulated into the MPLS PDU, with the MPLS
header attached to the datagram.
Transit LSR: Receives the PDU and the uses the
MPLS header to make forwarding decisions. It will also
perform label swapping. It is not concerned with
processing the L_3 header, only the label header.
Egress LSR: Performs the de-capsulation operations, in
that it removes the MPLS header

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Figure 2.1 MPLS Nodes

MPLS LDP (Label Distribution Protocol)
MPLS LDP provides the means for LSRs to request,
distribute, and release label prefix binding information
to peer routers in a network. LDP enables LSRs to
discover potential peers and to establish LDP sessions
with those peers for the purpose of exchanging label
binding information. MPLS LDP enables one LSR to
inform another LSR of the label bindings it has made.
Once a pair of routers communicates the LDP
parameters, they establish a label-switched path (LSP).
MPLS LDP enables LSRs to distribute labels along
normally routed paths to support MPLS forwarding.
This method of label distribution is also called hop-byhop forwarding. With IP forwarding, when a packet
arrives at a router the router looks at the destination
address in the IP header, performs a route lookup, and
forwards the packet to the next hop. With MPLS
forwarding, when a packet arrives at a router the router
looks at the incoming label, looks up the label in a table,
and then forwards the packet to the next hop. MPLS
LDP is useful for applications that require hop-by-hop
forwarding, such as MPLS VPNs.
2.1Traffic Engineering
Traffic engineering refers to the process of
selecting the paths chosen by data traffic in order to
balance the traffic load on the various links, routers, and
switches in the network. Traffic engineering is most
important in networks where multiple parallel or
alternate paths are available. A major goal of Internet
Traffic Engineering is to facilitate efficient and reliable
network operations while simultaneously optimizing
network resource utilization and traffic performance.
The goal of TE is to compute a path from one given
node to another (source routing), such that the path does
not
violate
the
constraints
(e.g.
Bandwidth/administrative requirements...) and is
optimal with respect to some scalar metric. Once the
path is computed, TE (a.k.a. Constraint based routing) is
responsible for establishing and maintaining forwarding
state along such a path.

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In order to support Traffic engineering, besides explicit

routing (source routing), the following components
should be available:
Ability to compute a path at the source by
taking into account all the constraints. To do
so the source need to have all the information
either available locally or obtained from other
routers in the network (e.g. Network topology)
Ability to distribute the information about
network topology and attributes associated
with links throughout the network once the
path is computed, need a way to support
forwarding along such a path
Ability to reserve network resources and to
modify link attributes (as the result of certain
traffic taking certain routes)MPLS TE
leverages several foundation technologies:
Constraint shortest path first algorithm used in
path calculation. This is a modified version of
the well-known SPF algorithm extended to
constraints support
RSVP extension used to establish the
forwarding state along the path, as well as to
reserve resources along the path
Link state IGPs with extension (OSPF with
Opaque LSAs, IS-IS with Link State Packets
TLV (type, length, value)) keeping track of
topology changes propagation
Fault tolerance in MPLS
If a failure occurs in a network, recovery is achieved by
moving traffic from the failed part of the network to
another portion of the network. It is important that this
recovery operation can be performed as fast as possible
to prevent too many packets from getting dropped at the
failure point. If this is achieved fast the failure can be
unnoticeable (resilient) or minimal for end-users.
Recovery techniques can be used in both Circuit
Switched and Packet switched networks. When a link or
node in a network fails, traffic that was using the failed
component must change the path used to reach the
destination. This is done by the adjacent routers to the
failure that updates their forwarding tables to forward
packets on a different path that avoids the failing
component. The path that the traffic was using before
the failure is called the primary path or the working path
and the new path is called the backup path. Often
recovery techniques consist of four steps.
First, the network must be able to detect the failure.
Second, nodes that detect the failure must notify certain
nodes in the network of the failure. Which nodes that
are notified of the failure depend on which recovery
technique that is used. Third, a backup path must be
computed. Forth, instead of sending traffic on the
primary path a node called Path Switching Node must
send traffic on the backup path instead. This step is

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Communication Technology, Vol 3, Issue 8, August - 2014 ISSN (Print) 2320- 5156

called switchover and completes the repair of the

network after a failure.
When a link fails on the path between the sender and the
receiver, users experience service disruption until these
four steps are completed. The length of the service
disruption is the time between the last bits was sent
before the failure occurred is received, and the instance
when the first bit of data that uses the backup path
arrives at the receiver. The total time of service
disruption is:
Service Disruption = Time to detect failure + Time to
notify + Time to compute backup + Time to switchover.
Failure Detection / Notification in MPLS
If a failure occurs in a network there must be a way to
detect that the failure has occurred so that the recovery
operation can start. Failure detection depends on the
type of failure and may be done by the failing node, at a
node adjacent to the failure or at a configured point of
repair in the network.
The fault in a path can be detected with the
possessed control that is used between the neighbours
LSRs. For instance Keep Alive messages can be used
which are exchanged periodically between all
neighbouring routers in the path. The LSR that detects
the failure may be able to switch the flow to the
alternative path. If the LSR is not in place to react
immediately, then must send Fault Indication Signal
(FIS) messages in order to inform the others. When the
router responsible to reroute the traffic receives FIS
messages, then the procedure of recovering from the
failure must start. The FIS messages are transmitted
with high priority so this ensures that FIS will be
propagated fast to the LSR which is in charge to restore
the influenced flow.
To detect when a failure has occurred, routing protocols
use timers. The routing protocol on a node periodically
sends hello messages to its neighbor nodes. If a
neighbor doesn't receive a preset number of hello
messages in a time interval, then the routing protocol
interprets this as a failure on the link to that node. When
a network failure has been detected then all the nodes in
the network has to be notified about the failure. This is
done by the node that detected the failure, which sends a
LSA (Link State Advertisement) to all other nodes in
the network. Then each node has to perform a shortest
path first calculation with the failed link pruned from
the network. When all nodes have finished the
calculation
2.4 Features of MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE)
Fast Reroute (FRR) Link and Node Protection
MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE) Fast Re-Route
(FRR) Link and Node Protection has the following
features:
Backup Tunnel Support
Backup Bandwidth Protection
RSVP Hello

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Backup Tunnel Support

Backup tunnel support has the following capabilities:
Backup Tunnels Can Terminate at the Next-Next
Hop to Support FRR
Multiple Backup Tunnels Can Protect the Same
Interface
Backup Tunnels Provide Scalability
SIMULATION
Graphical Network Simulator 3
GNS3 is a Graphical Network Simulator that allows
emulation of complex networks. The programs
VMware, Virtual Box or Virtual PC that are used to
emulate various operating systems in a virtual
environment allow you to run operating systems such as
Windows XP Professional or Ubuntu Linux in a virtual
environment on our computer. GNS3 allows the same
type of emulation using Cisco Internetwork Operating
Systems. It allows us to run a Cisco IOS in a virtual
environment on our computer. Dynamics is the core
program that allows IOS emulation. GNS3 runs on top
of Dynamics to create a more user friendly, graphical
environment.
GNS3 also supports other emulation programs,
namely Qumbu, Peru and Virtual Box. This software is
used to emulate Cisco ASA and PIX firewalls, Cisco
IPS, Juniper routers as well as hosts (Linux, Windows,
Mac OS X, and FreeBSD etc.) GNS3 makes all of this
emulation magic work together and allow you, for
instance, to have our Cisco router talking to our Linux
host. The possibilities are almost endless!
GNS3 allows the emulation of Cisco IOSs on
your Windows, Linux and Mac OS X based computer.
Emulation is possible for a long list of router platforms
and other devices. There are a number of router
simulators on the market, but they are limited to the
commands that the developer chooses to include.
Almost always there are commands or parameters that
are not supported when working on a practice lab. In
these simulators you are only seeing a representation of
the output of a simulated router. The accuracy of that
representation is only as good as the developer makes it.
With GNS3 we are running an actual Cisco IOS, so we
will see exactly what the IOS produces and will have
access to any command or parameter supported by the
IOS.
In addition, GNS3 is an open source, free
program for us to use. However, due to licensing
restrictions, we will have to provide our own Cisco
IOSs to use with GNS3. Also, GNS3 will provide
around 1,000 packets per second throughput in a virtual
environment. A normal router will provide a hundred to
a thousand times greater throughput. GNS3 does not
take the place of a real router, but is meant to be a tool
for learning and testing in a lab environment.
Scenario1: Traffic Protection against Link Failure
Using Fast Re-Route

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Communication Technology, Vol 3, Issue 8, August - 2014 ISSN (Print) 2320- 5156

To verify traffic protection against link failure, do the

following
Enter shutdown command for the protected interface
of the primary tunnel
Enter the command showmpls traffic-eng fastreroute data to check whether fast reroute for the
tunnels active
Enter Ping and Traceroute commands to verify
thereachbility of the destination
Procedure:
1. Shutdown the protected interface

This screenshot shows the tunnels fast

reroute status as active. As shown in the previous
screen , when we shut down the ser1/0 interface of
router 3 which was included in the primary path, the
primary tunnel will not go down as it is configured with
back up tunnel, this alternate path will be used by the
primary tunnel to reroute the traffic.

This screenshot shows the protected

interface of the tunnel goes down by entering command
shut. Immediately link state changed to down.
2. Enter the command show mpls traffic-eng fastreroute data to check whether fast reroute for the
tunnels active.

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This screenshot shows fast reroute database summary

information the number of protected interfaces,
protected LSPs, backup tunnels and active interfaces. It
also shows primary tunnels information and the state of
the fast re-routing configured, input stream and output
stream labels and FRR out label.
3. Enter show mpls traffic-eng tunnel backup
command to check whether backup tunnels are in
active state.

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2.

Enter the command show mpls traffic-eng fastreroute data to check fast reroute database
information.
3. Enter Ping and Traceroute commands to verify
the backup tunnel
Procedure:
1. Stop the Label switch router which is
protected.

This screenshot shows tunnels fast reroute backup

information. Here the backup tunnels become active
because the primary interface goes down.
4. Enter Ping and Traceroute commands to verify
the reachbility of the destination

This screenshot verifies the possibility of

the communication between source to destination even
after failure of the link along the primary path. As the
link is protected by fast reroute mechanism, the source
reroutes the traffic along the backup path.
Traffic Protection against Node Failure Using Fast
Re-Route
To verify traffic protection against node failure, do the
following
1. Stop the node which is protected

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Here LSR3 is stopped which is protected which

means router was failed
2. Enter the command show mpls traffic-eng
fast-reroute data to check fast reroute
database information.

This screen shows the primary tunnel 1000

using the backup tunnel 2. Tunnel 1000 which uses
router 3 to reach to the destination, even after failure of
router 3, tunnel was not down because it uses fastreroute
backup tunnel immediately to reach to the destination.
But tunnel 2000 which also uses router 3 in its primary
path
wentdown
because
it
is
bandwidth
protected.Tunnel 1 wasalso down because tunnel 2000

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configured to use backup tunnel 1.So both tunnels were

down.
3.

Enter the command show mpls traffic-eng fastreroute data detail to check fast reroute database
information summary.

This screen shows fast reroute database summary

information. Here we have to observe only one backup
tunnel is active. Using this tunnel when node was failed
the primary tunnel reroutes the traffic.
Enter Ping and Trace route commands to verify the
backup tunnel

increasing interest in MPLS network reliability and

survivability. Therefore each algorithm proposed for the
restoration of MPLS networks must be reliable and fast.
The recovery of the MPLS network is based on the
algorithm that is applied in order to detect the faults and
route the data flow in an alternative path. There are
various algorithms that have been proposed in the
bibliography. Each algorithm proposed for fault
tolerance in MPLS, applies different techniques in order
to be able to tolerate faults in the MPLS network and to
satisfy specific criteria selected by the algorithm. Also,
one can observe that all current algorithms are either
employing protection switching or rerouting technique.
This mechanism (local protection) provides faster
recovery because the decision of recovery is strictly
local. For comparison, when recovery mechanisms are
employed at the IP layer, restoration may take several
seconds which is unacceptable for real-time applications
(such as VoIP). In contrast, MPLS local protection
meets the requirements of real-time applications with
recovery times comparable to those of SONET rings (<
50 ms)

6. REFERENCES
[1] E.Rosen, A. Viswanathan, R.Callon Multiprotocol
Label
Switching
Architecture
(RFC
3031)
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3031.txt
[2] V. Alwayn Advanced MPLS Design and
Implementation ISBN 1-58705-020-X
[3] L. Andersson, P. Doolan, N. Feldman, A. Fredette,
B. Thomas LDP Specification (RFC 3036) http://rfc3036.rfc-list.net/
[4] S. Harnedy The MPLS Primer
032980-0

ISBN 0-13-

[5] D. Awduche, L. Berger, D. Gan, T. Li, V.

Srinivasan, G. Swallow RSVP-TE: Extensions to
RSVP for LSP Tunnels (RFC 3209) http://rfc-3209.rfclist.net/
This screenshot verifies the possibility of
the communication between sources to destination even
after failure of the node along the primary path. As the
node is protected by fast reroute mechanism, the source
reroutes the traffic along the backup path.

[6] R. Braden, L. Zhang, S. Berson, S. Herzog, S.

Jamin Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP)
(RFC2205) http://rfc-2205.rfc-list.net/ September 1997
[7] Y. Rekhter, E. Rosen Carrying Label Information
in BGP-4 (RFC 3107) http://rfc-3107.rfc-list.net/

CONCLUSION
Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) has become an
attractive technology of choice for Internet backbone
service providers. MPLS features the ability to perform
traffic engineering and provides support for Quality of
Service traffic provisioning. This has resulted in

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[8] D. Awduche, J. Malcolm, J. Agogbua, M. O'Dell, J.

McManus Requirements for Traffic Engineering Over
MPLS (RFC 2702) http://rfc-2702.rfc-list.net/rfc2702.htm September 1999

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[9] C. Huang, V. Sharma, K. Owens, S.Makam

Building Reliable MPLS Networks Using a Path
Protection Mechanism
IEEE Communications
Magazine March 2002 .
[10] G.Swallow MPLS Advantages for traffic
engineering
IEEE
Communications
Magazine
December 1999
[11] M. Goyal, K.K. Ramakrishnan, Wu-chi Feng
Achieving Faster Failure Detection in OSPF
Networks IEEE ICC 03 May 2003
[12] E. Dobranowska Network ideology, Traffic
Engineering, MPLS, Resiliency
Master thesis August 2003

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