Use of BGP label block
[email protected] Mon, 16 Jun 2003 13:00:31 +0100
| Newsgroups | gmane.ietf.ppvpn |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <B5E87B043D4C514389141E2661D255EC019C0E95@i2km41-ukdy.domain1.systemhost.net> |
I have a question from an operators perspective regarding the use of the label block in the BGP signalling drafts. The recommended algorithm uses a CE or VE identifier as an index to determine the correct label a receiving PE should use to send packets destined for a particular VPN to a particular PE. The drafts state that the CE/VE IDs must be unique within a particular VPN but not across VPNs. This doesn't seem too bad in the intra-provider case as the operator can manage his own CE/VE ID space and simply allocate the next CE to join a VPN the next available ID for that particular VPN. However, in the inter-AS case how are operators to co-ordinate their use of CE/VE IDs? For large operators that might peer with several other large operators, keeping track of which CE/VE IDs belong to which operator, and mapping the CE/VE IDs to the correct VPNs doesn't sound appealing. Obviously when choosing a signalling protocol there are many things to take into consideration, and as a result an operator may decide that having to manage CE/VE IDs is a minor consequence. However, generally speaking the use of a label block to overcome BGPs inability to signal labels on an individual point-to-point basis will lead to an increase in operational costs (compared to signalling mechanisms that don't use a label block and therefore CE/VE IDs do not need to be provisioned and managed). Are there any plans to produce guidelines on how CE/VE IDs should be provisioned and managed, particularly in the inter-provider case? Thanks, Richard