Implementing IPv6 over MPLS

IPv6 over MPLS backbones enables isolated IPv6 domains to communicate with each other over an MPLS IPv4 core network. This implementation requires only a few backbone infrastructure upgrades and no reconfiguration of core routers because forwarding is based on labels rather than the IP header itself, providing a very cost-effective strategy for the deployment of IPv6.

Additionally, the inherent Virtual Private Network (VPN) and MPLS traffic engineering (MPLS-TE) services available within an MPLS environment allow IPv6 networks to be combined into IPv4 VPNs or extranets over an infrastructure supporting IPv4 VPNs and MPLS-TE.

Using any circuit transport for deploying IPv6 over MPLS networks has no impact on the operation or infrastructure of MPLS, and requires no configuration changes to the core or provider edge routers. Communication between the remote IPv6 domains runs native IPv6 protocols over a dedicated link, where the underlying mechanisms are fully transparent to IPv6. The IPv6 traffic is tunneled using the Any Transport over MPLS (MPLS/AToM) or Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS) feature with the routers connected through an ATM OC-3 or Ethernet interface, respectively.

The figure below shows the configuration for IPv6 over any circuit transport over MPLS.

Figure 1

IPv6 over a Circuit Transport over MPLS

Using tunnels on the customer edge (CE) routers is the simplest way of deploying IPv6 over MPLS networks with no impact on the operation or infrastructure of MPLS, and no configuration changes to the core or provider edge routers. Communication between the remote IPv6 domains uses standard tunneling mechanisms and requires the CE routers to be configured to run dual IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks. The figure below shows the configuration using tunnels on the CE routers.

Figure 2

IPv6 Using Tunnels on the CE Routers

Refer to Implementing Tunneling for IPv6 for configuration information on manually configured tunnels, automatic tunnels, and 6to4 tunnels.

Limitations on using tunnels involve the manual configuring of a mesh of tunnels on the CE routers, creating scaling issues for large networks.

The Cisco implementation of IPv6 provider edge router over MPLS is called 6PE, and it enables IPv6 sites to communicate with each other over an MPLS IPv4 core network using MPLS label switched paths (LSPs). This feature relies on multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) extensions in the IPv4 network configuration on the provider edge (PE) router to exchange IPv6 reachability information in addition to an MPLS label for each IPv6 address prefix to be advertised. Edge routers are configured to be dual stack running both IPv4 and IPv6, and use the IPv4 mapped IPv6 address for IPv6 prefix reachability exchange.

A hierarchy of labels is imposed on the 6PE ingress router to keep the IPv6 traffic transparent to all the core routers. The top label provides connectivity inside the IPv4 MPLS core network and the label is distributed by Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), Tag Distribution Protocol (TDP), or Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). TDP and LDP can both be used for label distribution, but RSVP is used only in the context of MPLS-TE label exchange. The bottom label, automatically assigned to the IPv6 prefix of the destination, is distributed by multiprotocol BGP and used at each 6PE egress router for IPv6 forwarding.

In the figure below the 6PE routers are configured as dual stack routers able to route both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. Each 6PE router is configured to run LDP, TDP, or RSVP (if traffic engineering is configured) to bind the IPv4 labels. The 6PE routers use multiprotocol BGP to exchange reachability information with the other 6PE devices within the MPLS domain, and to distribute aggregate IPv6 labels between them. All 6PE and core routers--P routers in Figure 3--within the MPLS domain share a common IPv4 Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) or Integrated Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS).

Figure 3

6PE Router Topology

The interfaces on the 6PE routers connecting to the CE router can be configured to forward IPv6 traffic, IPv4 traffic, or both types of traffic depending on the customer requirements. 6PE routers advertise IPv6 reachability information learned from their 6PE peers over the MPLS cloud. Service providers can delegate an IPv6 prefix from their registered IPv6 prefixes over the 6PE infrastructure; otherwise, there is no impact on the CE router.

The P routers in the core of the network are not aware that they are switching IPv6 packets. Core routers are configured to support MPLS and the same IPv4 IGP as the PE routers to establish internal reachability inside the MPLS cloud. Core routers also use LDP, TDP, or RSVP for binding IPv4 labels. Implementing the Cisco 6PE feature does not have any impact on the MPLS core devices.

Within the MPLS network, IPv6 traffic is forwarded using label switching, making the IPv6 traffic transparent to the core of the MPLS network. No IPv6 over IPv4 tunnels or Layer 2 encapsulation methods are required.

• 6PE Multipath

To deploy IPv6 over a circuit transport over MPLS, the IPv6 routers must be configured for IPv6 connectivity. Refer to Implementing IPv6 Addressing and Basic Connectivity for details on basic IPv6 configuration. The MPLS router configuration requires AToM configuration or EoMPLS configuration.

• Specifying the Source Address Interface on a 6PE Router
• Binding and Advertising the 6PE Label to Advertise Prefixes
• Configuring iBGP Multipath Load Sharing

1.    show bgp ipv6 {unicast | multicast} [ipv6-prefix / prefix-length] [longer-prefixes] [labels

2.    show bgp ipv6 {unicast | multicast} neighbors [ipv6-address] [received-routes | routes | flap-statistics | advertised-routes | paths regular-expression | dampened-routes

3.    show mpls forwarding-table [network{mask| length}| labels label[- label] | interface interface| nexthop address| lsp-tunnel[tunnel-id]] [vrf vrf-name] [detail]

4.    show ipv6 cef [ipv6-prefix / prefix-length] | [interface-type interface-number] [longer-prefixes | similar-prefixes | detail | internal | platform | epoch | source]]

5.    show ipv6 route [ipv6-address | ipv6-prefix / prefix-length | protocol | interface-type interface-number

• Output Examples