MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
First Published: September 29, 2008
Last Updated: September 01, 2011
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature provides a mechanism for tunneling Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packets over a non-MPLS network.
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature utilizes MPLS over generic routing encapsulation (MPLSoGRE) to encapsulate MPLS packets inside IP tunnels thus creating virtual point-to-point links across non-MPLS networks.
Finding Feature Information
Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the "Feature Information for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE" section.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Contents
•Prerequisites for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Restrictions for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Information About MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•How to Configure MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Configuration Examples for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Additional References
•Feature Information for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
Prerequisites for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
Before you configure the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature, ensure that your MPLS Virtual Private Network (VPN) is configured and working properly. See the Configuring MPLS Layer 3 VPNs module for information about setting up MPLS VPNs.
Ensure that the following routing protocols are configured and working properly:
•Label Distribution Protocol (LDP)—for MPLS label distribution. See MPLS Label Distribution Protocol Overview.
•Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP)—for VPN route and label distribution. See Configuring MPLS Layer 3 VPNs.
Restrictions for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature does not support the following:
•Quality of service (QoS) service policies configured on the tunnel interface; they are supported on the physical or subinterface
•GRE options: sequencing, checksum, and source route
•IPv6 GRE
•Advanced features such as Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) and Interautonomous System (Inter-AS)
•For provider edge-to-provider edge (PE-to-PE) tunneling, configure tunnels with the same source and destination address.
Information About MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature provides a mechanism for tunneling MPLS packets over non-MPLS networks.
MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE allows you to create a GRE tunnel across a non-MPLS network. The MPLS packets are encapsulated within the GRE tunnel packets, and the encapsulated packets traverse the non-MPLS network through the GRE tunnel. When GRE tunnel packets are received at the other side of the non-MPLS network, the GRE tunnel packet header is removed and the inner MPLS packet is forwarded to its final destination.
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature supports three GRE tunnel configurations:
•PE-to-PE Tunneling
•P-to-PE Tunneling
•P-to-P Tunneling
PE-to-PE Tunneling
The provider edge-to-provider edge (PE-to-PE) tunneling configuration provides a scalable way to connect multiple customer networks across a non-MPLS network. With this configuration, traffic that is destined to multiple customer networks is multiplexed through a single GRE tunnel.
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Note A similar nonscalable alternative is to connect each customer network through separate GRE tunnels (for example, connecting one customer network for each GRE tunnel).
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As shown in Figure 1, the PE routers assign VPN routing and forwarding (VRF) numbers to the customer edge (CE) routers on each side of the non-MPLS network.
The PE routers use routing protocols such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), OSPF Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), or Routing Information Protocol (RIP) to learn about the IP networks behind the CE routers. The routes to the IP networks behind the CE routers are stored in the associated CE router's VRF routing table.
The PE router on one side of the non-MPLS network uses the routing protocols (that are operating within the non-MPLS network) to learn about the PE router on the other side of the non-MPLS network. The learned routes that are established between the PE routers are then stored in the main or default routing table.
The opposing PE router uses BGP to learn about the routes that are associated with the customer networks behind the PE routers. These learned routes are not known to the non-MPLS network.
For this example, BGP defines a static route to the BGP neighbor (the opposing PE router) through the GRE tunnel that spans the non-MPLS network. Because the routes that are learned by the BGP neighbor include the GRE tunnel next hop, all customer network traffic is sent using the GRE tunnel.
Figure 1 PE-to-PE Tunneling
P-to-PE Tunneling
As shown in Figure 2, the provider-to-provider edge (P-to-PE) tunneling configuration provides a way to connect a PE router (P1) to an MPLS segment (PE-2) across a non-MPLS network. In this configuration, MPLS traffic that is destined to the other side of the non-MPLS network is sent through a single GRE tunnel.
Figure 2 P-to-PE Tunneling
P-to-P Tunneling
As shown in Figure 3, the provider-to-provider (P-to-P) configuration provides a method of connecting two MPLS segments (P1 to P2) across a non-MPLS network. In this configuration, MPLS traffic that is destined to the other side of the non-MPLS network is sent through a single GRE tunnel.
Figure 3 P-to-P Tunneling
How to Configure MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Configuring the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE Tunnel Interface (required)
Configuring the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE Tunnel Interface
To configure the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature, you must create a GRE tunnel to span the non-MPLS networks. You must perform this procedure on the devices located at both ends of the GRE tunnel.
Prerequisites
Before configuring the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature, ensure that your MPLS VPN and the appropriate routing protocols are configured and working properly. See the "Prerequisites for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE" section.
SUMMARY STEPS
1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. interface tunnel tunnel-number
4. ip route prefix mask {ip-address | interface-type interface-number [ip-address]} [dhcp] [distance] [name next-hop-name] [permanent | track number] [tag tag]
5. tunnel source source-address
6. tunnel destination destination-address
7. mpls ip
8. exit
9. show ip route
DETAILED STEPS
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Step 1 |
enable
Router> enable |
Enables privileged EXEC mode. •Enter your password if prompted. |
Step 2 |
configure terminal
Router# configure terminal |
Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 3 |
interface tunnel tunnel-number
Router(config)# interface tunnel 1 |
Creates a tunnel on the specified interface and enters interface configuration mode. |
Step 4 |
ip route prefix mask {ip-address | interface-type interface-number [ip-address]} [dhcp] [distance] [name next-hop-name] [permanent | track number] [tag tag]
Router(config-if)# ip route 209.165.200.253 255.255.255.224 FastEthernet 0/0 |
Configures a static route to the BGP neighbor on the SIP 2 interface or tunnel interface. |
Step 5 |
tunnel source source-address
Router(config-if)# tunnel source 209.165.200.254 |
Specifies the tunnel's source IP address. |
Step 6 |
tunnel destination destination-address
Router(config-if)# tunnel destination 209.165.200.255 |
Specifies the tunnel's destination IP address. |
Step 7 |
mpls ip
Router(config-if)# mpls ip |
Enables MPLS on the tunnel's physical interface. |
Step 8 |
exit
Router(config-if)# exit |
Exits interface configuration mode. |
Step 9 |
show ip route
Router(config)# show ip route |
Displays the current state of the routing table. |
Examples
The following example shows a GRE tunnel configuration that spans a non-MPLS network. This example shows the tunnel configuration on the PE devices (PE1 and PE2) located at both ends of the tunnel:
PE1 Configuration
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# interface Tunnel 1
Router(config-if)# ip address 209.165.200.253 255.255.255.224
Router(config-if)# tunnel source 209.165.200.254
Router(config-if)# tunnel destination 209.165.200.255
Router(config-if)# mpls ip
PE2 Configuration
Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# interface Tunnel 1
Router(config-if)# ip address 209.165.200.235 255.255.255.224
Router(config-if)# tunnel source 209.165.200.240
Router(config-if)# tunnel destination 209.165.200.245
Router(config-if)# mpls ip
Configuration Examples for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
•Example: Configuring the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE Tunnel Interface
•Example: Verifying Unicast Routes
Example: Configuring the MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE Tunnel Interface
The following basic MPLS configuration example uses a GRE tunnel to span a non-MPLS network. This example is similar to the configuration shown in Figure 1.
PE1 Configuration
route-target import 100:1
route-target export 100:1
ip address 209.165.200.225 255.255.255.224
interface GigabitEthernet 0/1/2
ip address 209.165.200.226 255.255.255.224
ip address 209.165.200.227 255.255.255.224
tunnel source 209.165.200.228
tunnel destination 209.165.200.229
interface GigabitEthernet 0/1/3
ip address 209.165.200.230 255.255.255.224
neighbor 209.165.200.231 remote-as 100
neighbor 209.165.200.231 update-source loopback0
neighbor 209.165.200.232 activate
neighbor 209.165.200.232 send community-extended
address-family ipv4 vrf vpn1
neighbor 209.165.200.240 remote-as 20
neighbor 209.165.200.240 activate
PE2 Configuration
route-target import 100:1
route-target export 100:1
ip address 209.165.200.240 255.255.255.224
interface GigabitEthernet 0/1/1
ip address 209.165.200.241 255.255.255.224
ip address 209.165.200.244 255.255.255.224
tunnel source 209.165.200.245
tunnel destination 209.165.200.247
interface GigabitEthernet 0/0/5
ip address 209.165.200.249 255.255.255.224
neighbor 209.165.200.250 remote-as 100
neighbor 209.165.200.252 update-source loopback0
neighbor 209.165.200.253 activate
neighbor 209.165.200.254 send community-extended
address-family ipv4 vrf vpn1
neighbor 209.165.200.254 remote-as 30
neighbor 209.165.200.255 activate
Example: Verifying Unicast Routes
The following example shows how to display unicast routes. This display shows the next hop for the BGP neighbor depending on the selected interface.
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route
o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route
Gateway of last resort is not set
209.165.200.225/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O 209.165.200.226 [110/3] via 209.165.200.250, 00:09:55, POS2/0/0
209.165.200.227/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
C 209.165.200.229 is directly connected, Loopback0
209.165.200.230/32 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O 209.165.200.231 [110/2] via 209.165.200.232, 00:09:55, POS2/0/0
S 209.165.200.240/8 [1/0] via 209.165.200.252
209.165.200.245/32 is subnetted, 2 subnets
S 209.165.200.247 is directly connected, POS2/0/0
O 209.165.200.248 [110/3] via 209.165.200.249, 00:09:55, POS2/0/0
C 209.165.200.254/8 is directly connected, POS2/0/0
Additional References
Related Documents
Standards
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No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature. |
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MIBs
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No new or modified MIBs are supported by this feature, and support for existing MIBs has not been modified by this feature. |
To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs |
RFCs
Technical Assistance
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The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password. |
http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html |
Feature Information for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
Table 1 lists the release history for this feature.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
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Note Table 1 lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
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Table 1 Feature Information for MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE
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MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature |
12.0(22)S 12.2(13)T 12.0(26)S 12.2(33)SRE |
The MPLS VPN—L3VPN over GRE feature provides a mechanism for tunneling Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packets over a non-MPLS network. This feature uses no new or modified commands. |
Cisco and the Cisco Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1005R)
Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
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