• Explain the reasons MPLS was originally created, and the applications offered by label-switched paths.
• Describe the structure of an MPLS label, the mechanics of the data plane, and the protocols that can advertise labels.
• Configure static LSPs, verify the routing tables they populate, and explain the label actions these LSPs perform.
• Explain the purpose and advantages of RSVP, then configure a service provider network to host RSVP LSPs.
• Configure and verify a basic RSVP label-switched path.
• Explain the purpose of the MPLS traffic engineering database, and create LSPs that use this database to calculate a path.
• Explain the purpose of RSVP bandwidth reservations, and how to configure an LSP to reserve bandwidth.
• Explain the use-cases for RSVP LSP priority levels, and configure different priority levels of a variety of LSPs.
• Explain how the Constrained Shortest-Path First algorithm can calculate traffic-engineered paths.
• Explain the messages involved in tearing down, rerouting, and maintaining LSPs and RSVP sessions.
• Describe how primary and secondary paths can be used in times of link and node failure.
• Describe the advantages of RSVP local repair paths, and how to configure the one-to-one method of local repair, otherwise known as fast reroute.
• Explain the mechanics, configuration, and verification of facility backup, otherwise known as link protection and node-link protection.
• Explain how RSVP LSPs can automatically find and signal better, more optimal paths.
• Explain how LSPs can gracefully move traffic to new paths with no downtime to the user.
• Explain the mechanics by which LDP creates a full mesh of label-switched paths.
• Configure and verify a basic LDP deployment in a service provider network.
• Describe some important LDP enhancements and best practices that increase the integrity of real-world LDP deployments.
• Explain how to configure LDP to advertise labels for more than just a router’s loopback.
• Explain how segment routing differs from RSVP and LDP, and configure segment routing as a replacement for LDP.

DAY 1

1. Course Introduction

2. MPLS—Introduction

• Describe the BGP remote next-hop mechanic, and hop-by-hop forwarding
• Explain the original historical motivations for MPLS
• List the alternative modern use cases for MPLS

3. MPLS—The Mechanics

• Explain how labels are built, and how they flow between routers
• Describe the end-to-end data plane of a packet across a label-switched path
• Summarize the four primary protocols that can build label-switched paths

4. MPLS—Static LSPs and the Forwarding Plane

• Configure a service provider’s edge and core devices for MPLS
• Configure the headend router of an LSP and explain the impact this has on the router’s inet.3 table
• Configure transit routers and verify their mpls.0 tables

Lab 1: Static LSPs and the Forwarding Plane

5. RSVP—Introduction

• Explain the purpose, features, and advantages of RSVP
• Configure a service provider network to be ready to host RSVP label-switched paths

6. RSVP—Configuring A Basic LSP

• Configure and verify an RSVP label-switched path that follows the metrically best path
• Explain the purpose of MPLS self-ping
• Explain how an RSVP LSP is signaled and created

7. RSVP—The Traffic Engineering Database

• Describe the purpose of the IS-IS/OSPF traffic engineering extensions
• Configure and verify an LSP that uses the traffic engineering database to calculate its path
• Explain the impact that loose and strict hops can have on an LSP

Lab 2: RSVP LSPs

DAY 2

8. RSVP—LSP Bandwidth Reservation

• Describe the use cases for RSVP bandwidth reservations, and the Path message objects that are used
• Configure LSP bandwidth reservations, and verify how these reservations are advertised

9. RSVP—LSP Priorities

• Describe problems that can be caused by RSVP LSP bandwidth reservations, and the solution offered by priority levels
• Describe the default RSVP LSP priority levels, and configure alternative settings
• Configure LSP soft preemption to avoid downtime

Lab 3: RSVP—LSP Bandwidth and Priorities

10. RSVP—Constrained Shortest Path First, and Admin Groups

• Describe the CSPF algorithm, along with its tie breakers
• Configure and verify admin groups on LSPs

11. RSVP—LSP Failures, Errors, and Session Maintenance

• Describe the events that can tear down an LSP, and the RSVP messages that make it happen
• Describe how RSVP has changed over the years from a soft-state protocol to a reliable stateful protocol

12. RSVP—Primary and Secondary Paths

• Explain the use cases and configuration for primary and secondary paths
• Identify the benefits and trade-offs of standby secondary paths
• Show the advantage of pre-installing backup paths to the forwarding table

Lab 4: RSVP—Primary and Secondary Paths

13. RSVP—Local Repair, Part 1—One-to-One Backup or Fast Reroute

• Demonstrate the downtime that can be caused by a link or node failure in an MPLS network, and how a local repair path can significantly reduce this downtime
• Explain the mechanics of the one-to-one backup method
• Explain the many different meanings of the term “fast reroute”
• Configure and verify the one-to-one backup method of local repair

14. RSVP—Local Repair, Part 2—One-to-One Backup or Fast Reroute

• Demonstrate the downtime that can be caused by a link or node failure in an MPLS network, and how a local repair path can significantly reduce this downtime
• Explain the mechanics of the one-to-one backup method
• Explain the many different meanings of the term “fast reroute”
• Configure and verify the one-to-one backup method of local repair

Lab 5: RSVP—One-to-One Backup and Facility Backup

DAY 3

15. RSVP—LSP Optimization

• Describe the LSP optimization algorithm and how to configure this feature

16. RSVP—Make-Before-Break and Adaptive

• Describe the make-before-break mechanic, and list the features that use this mechanic by default
• Explain how shared explicit signaling can prevent double-counting of bandwidth, and configure this feature for all other LSPs

17. LDP—The Label Distribution Protocol

• Describe the key features, advantages, and trade-offs of LDP
• Explain the particular methods by which LDP generates and advertises MPLS labels

18. LDP—Configuration

• Configure a basic LDP deployment, and describe the protocol messages that this configuration generates
• Verify the interface messages, sessions, and labels that this configuration generatesLab 4: RSVP— Primary and Secondary Paths

19. LDP—Enhancements and Best Practices

• Explain the LDP-IGP Synchronization feature that reduces dropped packets during topology changes
• Describe how the BGP next-hop resolution process can be altered in LDP
• Configure session protection to improve the integrity of LDP during network failure 20 LDP—Egress, Import, and Export Policies
• Configure and verify LDP egress policies to advertise any FEC of your choosing
• Configure and verify LDP import and export policies to limit the distribution of FECs

Lab 6: LDP—Label Distribution Protocol

A. Appendix: Segment Routing