IxNetwork — Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Test Solution

Highlights

• Increase productivity and simplify management with complete test coverage using one test tool

• Ensure smooth deployment by testing with mixed VPN technologies to mimic real-world deployment in lab environment

• Deliver quality and timely products and services by stress-testing under real-world scale to ensure performance and stability

• Validate IPv6 readiness by qualifying IPv6 routes exchange and IPv6 traffic delivery in MPLS network

• Benchmark key performance metrics for failure detection and convergence with flexible action and dynamic label update

Problem: MPLS and Evolving Advanced Applications Require Constant Testing

MPLS provides a scalable, fast, and protocol-independent transport technology that quickly gained popularity in replacing previous leased line technologies for providing guaranteed services. Many advanced MPLS applications, such as various virtual private network (VPN) services and traffic engineering, have provided value-added services across the Internet. With its popularity and wide deployment, MPLS technology and applications are continuously evolving to support new requirements and new use cases. This trend requires constant testing before rolling out new product releases and new services to ensure quality delivery and smooth deployment.

Solution: A Comprehensive and Scalable Test Solution to Validate Advanced MPLS Features

Keysight’s IxNetwork MPLS test solution provides simulation of various MPLS and VPN technologies that include LDP and RSVP-TE as signaling protocols, various advanced VPN technologies that include L2VPN, L3VPN, Multicast VPN, Ethernet VPN, as well as MPLS OAM and MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP).  

The solution emulates scaled MPLS VPN networks to stress-test provider edge and core devices under Internet scale and dynamic conditions with the flexibility and advanced operation to test every aspect of real-world user scenarios.

Key features

• Emulates MPLS signaling protocols that include LDP and RSVP-TE to validate basic Label Switched Path (LSP) and Traffic Engineering tunnel setup capability, as well as fast switching based on fixed-bit MPLS labels of Ingress, Egress, and Transit Label Switched Routers (LSR)
• Extension to LDP and RSVP-TE that supports P2MP (Point to Multi-Point) LSP to qualify multicast delivery using MPLS technology

• Support different L2VPN technologies, including LDP-based pseudo wire and VPLS, BGP-based VPLS, and BGP auto discovery with FEC129

• Emulate various components of L3VPN devices including Provider (P), Provider Edge (PE), and Customer Edge (CE) routers to validate the capability to support large VPN instances without service leakage and degradation

• Support 6PE and 6VPE to qualify IPv6 capability

• Support MPLSoUDP and MPLSoGRE as additional tunnel type for L3VPN Services

• Combination of OSPF/ISIS, LDP/RSVP-TE, and BGP extensions supporting VPN services

• enables emulation of full VPN topology to validate PE and P router capability to support advanced VPN technologies

• Support dynamic label update to measure failure detection and convergence in MPLS network

• Support BGP Labeled Unicast to validate L3 Inter-AS VPN Options

• Support BGP RT-Constraint to validate efficient VPN route advertisement of RouteReflector

• Rosen draft Multicast VPN and NextGen Multicast VPN emulation validates multicast delivery in VPN network using different technology flavors

• Emulates various MPLS OAM mechanism to test LSP failure detection and diagnostics capability of MPLS device and network

• Ethernet VPN emulation validates next-generation VPN technology, delivering both L2 and L3 VPN services using a unified technology with better multi-homing support and more optimized multicast delivery

• MPLS-TP emulation validates device under test (DUT) capability of supporting MPLSTP as transport technology