L2VPN Advanced VPLS

FAT pseudowires are used to load-balance traffic in the core when equal cost multipaths are used. The MPLS labels add an additional label to the stack, called the flow label, which contains the flow information of a VC. For more information about FAT pseudowires, see PWE3 Internet-Draft Flow Aware Transport of MPLS Pseudowires (draft-bryant-filsfils-fat-pw).

Two Cisco 6500 series switches can be connected to form one logical switch. One switch is designated as the master, while the other is the slave. The two switches are connected by a virtual switch link (VSL). The two switches are used for link redundancy, load-balancing, and failover.

For more information on virtual switch systems, see Configuring VSS in the Catalyst 6500 Release 12.2SXH and Later Software Configuration Guide

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    pseudowire-class name

4.    encapsulation mpls

5.    load-balance flow

6.    flow-label enable

7.    end

DETAILED STEPS

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	enable Example: Router> enable	Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2	configure terminal Example: Router# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 3	pseudowire-class name Example: Router(config)# pseudowire-class class1	Establishes a pseudowire class with a name that you specify and enters pseudowire class configuration mode.
Step 4	encapsulation mpls Example: Router(config-pw)# encapsulation mpls	Specifies the MPLS tunneling encapsulation type.
Step 5	load-balance flow Example: Router(config-pw)# load-balance flow	Enables load-balancing on ECMPs.
Step 6	flow-label enable Example: Router(config-pw)# flow-label enable	Enables the imposition and disposition of flow labels for the pseudowire.
Step 7	end Example: Router(config-pw)# end	Exits pseudowire class configuration mode and enters privileged EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    port-channel load-balance method

4.    exit

DETAILED STEPS

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	enable Example: Router> enable	Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2	configure terminal Example: Router# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 3	port-channel load-balance method Example: Router(config)# port-channel load-balance src-mac	Specifies the load distribution method among the ports in a bundle.
Step 4	exit Example: Router(config)# exit	Exits global configuration mode and enters privileged EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    interface virtual-ethernet num

4.    transport vpls mesh

5.    neighbor remote-router-id [pw-class pw-class-name]

6.    exit

7.    switchport

8.    switchport mode trunk

9.    switchport trunk allowed vlan {add | except | none | remove} vlan [,vlan[,vlan[,...]]

10.    exit

DETAILED STEPS

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	enable Example: Router> enable	Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2	configure terminal Example: Router# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 3	interface virtual-ethernet num Example: Router(config)# interface virtual-ethernet 1	Creates a virtual Ethernet interface and enters interface configuration mode.
Step 4	transport vpls mesh Example: Router(config-if)# transport vpls mesh	Create a full mesh of pseudowires and enters VPLS transport mode.
Step 5	neighbor remote-router-id [pw-class pw-class-name] Example: Router(config-if-transport)# neighbor 10.19.19.19 pw-class 1	Specifies the PE routers to be used in the pseudowire.
Step 6	exit Example: Router(config-if-transport)# exit	Exits VPLS transport configuration mode and enters interface configuration mode.
Step 7	switchport Example: Router(config-if)# switchport	Configures the port for Layer 2 switching.
Step 8	switchport mode trunk Example: Router(config-if)# switchport mode trunk	Enables permanent trunking mode and negotiates to convert the link into a trunk link.
Step 9	switchport trunk allowed vlan {add | except | none | remove} vlan [,vlan[,vlan[,...]] Example: Router(config-if)# switchport trunk allowed vlan 10, 20	Configures the list of VLANs allowed on the trunk.
Step 10	exit Example: Router(config)# exit	Exits interface configuration mode and enters privileged EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    interface tunnel number

4.    ip unnumbered type number

5.    tunnel destination ip-address

6.    tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng

7.    tunnel mpls traffic-eng autoroute announce

8.    tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option number {dynamic | explicit {namepath-name} | identifierpath-number} [lockdown]

9.    end

DETAILED STEPS

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	enable Example: Router> enable	Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2	configure terminal Example: Router# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 3	interface tunnel number Example: Router(config)# interface tunnel10	Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
Step 4	ip unnumbered type number Example: Router(config-if)# ip unnumbered loopback 0	Assigns an IP address to the tunnel interface. An MPLS traffic engineering tunnel interface should be unnumbered because it represents a unidirectional link.
Step 5	tunnel destination ip-address Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel destination 10.20.1.1	Specifies the destination for a tunnel. The ip-address keyword is the IP address of the host destination expressed in dotted decimal notation.
Step 6	tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng	Configures the tunnel encapsulation mode to MPLS traffic engineering.
Step 7	tunnel mpls traffic-eng autoroute announce Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel mpls traffic-eng autoroute announce	Configures the IGP to use the tunnel in its enhanced SPF calculation.
Step 8	tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option number {dynamic | explicit {namepath-name} | identifierpath-number} [lockdown] Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option 1 explicit identifier 1	Configures the tunnel to use a named IP explicit path or a path dynamically calculated from the traffic engineering topology database. A dynamic path is used if an explicit path is currently unavailable.
Step 9	end Example: Router(config-if)# exit	Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1.    enable

2.    configure terminal

3.    interface type number

4.    tunnel mode {greip|gremultipoint}

5.    mpls ip

6.    tunnel source {ip-address | interface-typeinterface-number}

7.    tunnel destination {hostname | ip-address}

8.    end

9.    ip route ip-address tunnel num

DETAILED STEPS

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	enable Example: Router> enable	Enables privileged EXEC mode. Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2	configure terminal Example: Router# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 3	interface type number Example: Router(config)# interface tunnel 1	Specifies the interface type and number and enters interface configuration mode. To configure a tunnel, use tunnel for the type argument.
Step 4	tunnel mode {greip|gremultipoint} Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel mode gre ip	Specifies the encapsulation protocol to be used in the tunnel.
Step 5	mpls ip Example: Router(config-if)# mpls ip	Enables MPLS on the tunnel.
Step 6	tunnel source {ip-address | interface-typeinterface-number} Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel source 1.1.1.1	Configures the tunnel source. Use the ip-address argument to specify the source IP address. Use the interface-type and interface-number arguments to specify the interface to use. Note    The tunnel source and destination IP addresses must be defined on both PE routers.
Step 7	tunnel destination {hostname | ip-address} Example: Router(config-if)# tunnel destination 3.3.3.3	Configures the tunnel destination. Use the hostname argument to specify the name of the host destination. Use the ip-address argument to specify the IP address of the host destination. Note    The tunnel source and destination IP addresses must be defined on both PE routers.
Step 8	end Example: Router(config-if)# exit	Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 9	ip route ip-address tunnel num Example: Router(config)# ip route 10.2.2.2 255.255.255.255 Tunnel1 Example:	Creates a static route.

The following example shows how to create two VPLS domains under VLANs 10 and 20. Each VPLS domain includes two pseudowires to peer PE routers 10.2.2.2 and 10.3.3.3. Load-balancing is enabled through the load-balanceflow and flow-labelenable commands.

pseudowire-class cl1
   encap mpls
   load-balance flow
   flow-label enable   
!
port-channel load-balance src-mac 
!
interface virtual-ethernet 1
   transport vpls mesh
      neighbor 10.2.2.2 pw-class cl1 
      neighbor 10.3.3.3 pw-class cl1 
   switchport
   switchport mode trunk
   switchport trunk allowed vlan 10, 20

The following example shows the creation of two VPLS domains and uses MPLS Traffic Engineering tunnels to specify the explicit path.

pseudowire-class cl1 
   encap mpls
!
port-channel load-balance src-mac 
!
interface Tunnel1
   ip unnumbered Loopback0
   tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng
   tunnel destination 192.168.1.1
   tunnel mpls traffic-eng autoroute announce
   tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option 1 explicit name LSP1
!
ip explicit-path name LSP1 enable
   next-address 192.168.2.2
   next-address loose 192.168.1.1
!
interface Tunnel2
   ip unnumbered Loopback0
   tunnel mode mpls traffic-eng
   tunnel destination 172.16.1.1
   tunnel mpls traffic-eng autoroute announce
   tunnel mpls traffic-eng path-option 1 explicit name LSP2
!
ip explicit-path name LSP2 enable
   next-address 172.16.2.2
   next-address loose 172.16.1.1
!
interface virtual-ethernet 1
    transport vpls mesh 
      neighbor 10.2.2.2 pw-class cl1 
      neighbor 10.3.3.3 pw-class cl1 
   switchport 
   switchport mode trunk
   switchport trunk allowed vlan 10,20

The following example shows the creation of two VPLS domains under VLANs 10 and 20. Each VPLS domain includes two pseudowires to peer PEs 10.2.2.2 and 10.3.3.3. The pseudowires are MPLS over GRE tunnels because the core is IP.

pseudowire-class cl1 
   encap mpls
   load-balance flow
!
port-channel load-balance src-mac 
!
int tunnel 1
   tunnel mode gre ip
   mpls ip 
   tunnel source 10.1.1.1
   tunnel destination 10.2.2.2
!
int tunnel 2
   tunnel mode gre ip
   mpls ip 
   tunnel source 10.1.1.1
   tunnel destination 10.3.3.3
!
interface virtual-ethernet 1
   transport vpls mesh 
      neighbor 10.2.2.2 pw-class cl1 
      neighbor 10.3.3.3 pw-class cl1 
   switchport 
   switchport mode trunk
   switchport trunk allowed vlan 10, 20
ip route 10.2.2.2 255.255.255.255 Tunnel1
ip route 10.2.2.2 255.255.255.255 Tunnel2