IS-IS Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

PDF

IS-IS Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

MPLS label distribution protocol IGP synchronization

Want to summarize with AI?

Log in

Describes MPLS LDP IGP synchronization, providing instructions for configuring MPLS LDP IS-IS synchronization to ensure label distribution protocol and IGP alignment, preventing traffic loss during state changes.


MPLS label distribution protocol IGP synchronization is a network feature that

  • ensures Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) completes label exchange before an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) path is used for MPLS switching

  • coordinates LDP session status with IS-IS link metrics to minimize MPLS packet loss, and

  • improves network stability and reliability by preventing traffic loss during adjacency changes.

Table 1. Feature History Table

MPLS Label Distribution Protocol IGP Synchronization

Release 25.4.1

Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8700 [ASIC: K100])(select variants only*)

*This feature is supported on Cisco 8711-48Z-M routers.

MPLS Label Distribution Protocol IGP Synchronization

Release 25.1.1

Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only*)

*This feature is supported on Cisco 8011-4G24Y4H-I routers.

MPLS Label Distribution Protocol IGP Synchronization

Release 24.4.1

Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200 [ASIC: P100], 8700 [ASIC: P100, K100])(select variants only); Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100])(select variants only*)

You can now prevent traffic loss during IGP adjacency establishment or LDP session closure by synchronizing LDP with IS-IS. This feature ensures that LDP completes its label exchange before the IGP path is used for switching, thus preventing MPLS packet loss. This synchronization enhances network stability and reliability by coordinating LDP and IGP operations, particularly in dynamic network environments.

*This feature is supported on:

  • 8212-48FH-M

  • 8711-32FH-M

  • 8712-MOD-M

  • 88-LC1-36EH

  • 88-LC1-12TH24FH-E

  • 88-LC1-52Y8H-EM

Causes of MPLS traffic loss

MPLS traffic loss can happen in two main situations:

  • When an IGP adjacency is established, a router might start forwarding packets over the new link before LDP has exchanged labels with the peer on that link.

  • When an LDP session closes, the router may keep forwarding traffic across the affected link, instead of switching to an alternate path with an established LDP session.

Synchronization mechanism

This feature provides a synchronization mechanism between LDP and IS-IS by dynamically changing the link metric in IS-IS according to the LDP session state. When an IS-IS adjacency is present but the LDP session is down or label exchange is incomplete, IS-IS advertises the maximum metric for that link. Synchronization is considered achieved when IS-IS returns to advertising the regular configured or default metric.

Metric advertisement behavior

When an IS-IS adjacency is established on a link but the LDP session is lost or label exchange is incomplete, IS-IS advertises the maximum metric for that link. Synchronization is considered achieved once IS-IS resumes advertising the normal configured metric.

Note

In IS-IS, a link with the maximum wide metric (0xFFFFFF) is not considered for shortest path first (SPF). For MPLS LDP IGP synchronization, a maximum wide metric value of -1 (0xFFFFFE) is used with this feature.


Configure MPLS LDP IS-IS synchronization

Enable MPLS LDP synchronization alongside IS-IS routing to ensure robust MPLS operations and minimize traffic loss.

MPLS LDP IS-IS synchronization coordinates label distribution with routing updates, reducing the risk of routing black holes and optimizing network stability. Only IPv4 unicast address family is supported.

Before you begin

  • Ensure IS-IS routing is enabled.

  • Confirm access to interface configuration mode.

Procedure

1.

Enter IS-IS router configuration mode.

Example:

Router(config)# router isis isp
2.

Enter interface configuration mode for the desired interface.

Example:

Router(config-isis)# interface HundredGigE 0/1/0/3
3.

Specify the IPv4 address family.

Example:

Router(config-isis-if)# address-family ipv4 unicast
4.

Enable MPLS LDP synchronization for the interface (optionally specify level 1 or 2).

Example:

Router(config-isis-if-af)# mpls ldp sync level 1