MPLS Interview Questions and Answers Vol 1.0
MPLS Interview Questions and Answers Vol 1.0
MPLS Interview Questions and Answers Vol 1.0
Label Value: As the name suggests it is where you will find the actual value of the label.
0-15 are the reserved labels and are never made available for allocation. Label 0 is the
explicit NULL label, whereas label 3 is the implicit NULL label. Label 1 is the router alert label,
whereas label 14 is the OAM alert label.
EXP: These are the three experimental bits. These are used for QoS, normally the IP
precedence value of the IP packet will be copied here or the first three DSCP bits will be
copied here.
S: This is the “bottom of stack” bit. In MPLS it’s possible to add more than one label.
Suppose there are three labels stacked together then the first two labels will have this field
as ‘0’ while the bottom label will have this bit set with a value of ‘1’.
TTL: Just like in the IP header, this is the time to live field. You can use this for traces in the
MPLS network. Each hop decrements the TTL by one.
Ingress Label Edge Router (LER) is present on the edge of mpls cloud and is the entry point
where the data packet originates from its source. Ingress LER imposes label via PUSH action
and then forward packets towards destination.
Egress Label Edge Router (LER) is present on the edge of mpls network and is an exit point
of data packet towards destination. Egress LER performs label removal via POP function and
forwards IP packet towards destination.
Ques 18. What is a Label Switch Router (LSR)?
LSR router receives a labeled packet, SWAPs it with an outgoing one, and forwards the new
packet towards outgoing interface.
Note – Cisco 880 and 870 don’t support CSC customer edge, LER and LSR configuration.
Ques 21. How much overhead does an MPLS LSP tunnel have?
An MPLS LSP tunnel has one label (four bytes) or two labels (for example, when using Link
Protection Fast reroute) of overhead. The label stack is imposed on to the packet that takes
the tunnel path.
Ques 22. How does the LSR know which is the top label, bottom label, and a middle label of
the label stack?
The label immediately after the Layer 2 header is the top label, and the label with the S bit
set to 1 is the bottom label.
Ques 24. What label values are reserved? What do the reserved values signify?
Label values 0-15 are reserved, and values 4-15 are reserved for future use. Values 0-3 are
defined as:
A value of 0 represents the IPv4 Explicit NULL Label. This label indicates that the
label stack must be popped, and the packet forwarding must be based on the IPv4 header.
This helps to keep Exp bits safe until the egress router. It is used in MPLS based QoS
A value of 1 represents the Router Alert Label. When a received packet contains this
label value at the top of the label stack, it is delivered to a local software module for
processing. The actual packet forwarding is determined by the label beneath it in the stack.
However, if the packet is forwarded further, the Router Alert Label should be pushed back
onto the label stack before forwarding. The use of this label is analogous to the use of the
Router Alert Option in IP packets (for example, ping with record route option)
A value of 2 represents the IPv6 Explicit NULL Label. It indicates that the label stack
must be popped, and the packet forwarding must be based on the IPv6 header
A value of 3 represents the Implicit NULL Label. This is a label that an LSR can assign
and distribute. However, it never actually appears in the encapsulation. It indicates that the
LSR pops the top label from the stack and forwards the rest of the packet (labeled or
unlabeled) through the outgoing interface (as per the entry in LFIB). Although this value
might never appear in the encapsulation, it needs to be specified in the Label Distribution
Protocol, so a value is reserved.
Ques 25. How many bits in an MPLS label?
In MPLS a Label of length 32 bits is inserted in between the IP header and the Ethernet
header.
Ques 28. What is the difference between the FIB and the LFIB?
FIB is built in the Data Plane by CEF. LFIB is built in the Data Plane. The LFIB contains
forwarding information based on label information. The FIB has forwarding information
from CEF and IP reachability. If a frame arrives with a label then the LFIB is consulted. If it is
unlabeled then the FIB is used.
Ques 29. What options are available for load balancing MPLS packets?
MPLS packets can be load balanced with the MPLS label information and/or the source and
destination address of the essential IP header.
Ques 30. Can we configure an 802.1Q trunk between two Cisco Catalyst switches on different
sites over a MPLS connection?
When you connect to a remote site through MPLS, it is a layer 3 connection, and the 802.1Q
trunk is a layer 2 protocol, so we cannot have an 802.1Q trunk across a MPLS connection.
Ques 31. Does the DHCP relay function work in the MPLS VPN network?
Yes, the DHCP request is forwarded within the VRF across the MPLS VPN network and the
egress Provider Edge sends it in the same VRF to the DHCP server.
Ques 32. What protocol and port numbers do LDP and TDP use to distribute labels to LDP/TDP
peers?
Ques 34. What is CEF and without enabling CEF, can we make MPLS work?
Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF) is advanced, Layer 3 IP switching technology. CEF optimizes
network performance and scalability for networks with large and dynamic traffic patterns,
such as the Internet, on networks characterized by intensive applications, or chatty sessions.
CEF is mandatory in Cisco routers for MPLS.
Ques 39. With MPLS VPN-aware NAT, what additional information is tracked inside the NAT
translation table?
VRF information
Ques 40. What is the difference between VPN and MPLS?
Ques 44. What is the relationship between MPLS and the IP Routing?
Ques 45. What protocols does MPLS support besides IP?
Other than IP, MPLS supports following at Network Layer -
IPv6
IPX
AppleTalk
Ques 46. What differences are there in running MPLS in OSPF versus IS-IS environments?
Only major difference between running OSPF vs IS-IS in MPLS is IS-IS being more scalable
than OSPF.
Ques 50. Label 3 routing protocols and label exchange protocols exist at which MPLS plane?
Control Plane
Ques 53. In neighbor discovery command, I am receiving only xmit, what does it mean?
You can see only xmit in neighbor discovery command which means neighboring router isn't
sending any ldp hello packets. You can check on neighboring router whether MPLS enabled
or not
Ques 65. What is the difference between P and PE router in terms of MPLS?
P routers acts as LSR (Label Switching Router). It creates LSP (Label Switching Path) between
PE routers. P routers don't participate in BGP routing in the MPLS Core, and only participates
in the IGP routing in order to pass MPLS Labels through the core between the various PE
routers.
PE router maintains routing information of the site with which it is connected in the
network. Each PE router maintains a VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) table for each of
its sites. Each customer connection is mapped to specific VRF. PE routers, are the
termination points for customer CE routers and therefore, need to participate in BGP (MP-
BGP more like it) in order to pass routers from 1 customer CE router to another, where ever
the destination may be.
The PE router is both the interface between the customer-facing network and the MPLS
core, and the point where customer data is given an MPLS label and/or the label is removed.
Ques 66. Two routers are having 4 equal cost links, how many ldp sessions will be
established?
1 session will be formed
Ques 69. What is the default range of MPLS labels in Cisco routers?
MPLS label range from 0 to 1,048,575 (configurable on Cisco IOS) .Labels 0 through 15 are
reserved labels.
Ques 74. What are the requirement to run MPLS Traffic Engineering in the network?
MPLS TE has the following prerequisites -
• Network must support Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
• Network must support at least one of the following Interior Gateway protocols -
o Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS)
o Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
• Ensure that the MPLS feature set is installed and enabled
• IP Cisco Express Forwarding should be enabled