CSI-HO-002 – Hands-On MPLS and Layer 3 VPNs

CellStream, Inc. – Telecom Consulting and Training!

2.5 -Day Instructor Led Hands On Lab Class Available in either Web Based delivery or On-Site Delivery Minimum 10 students – Maximum 16 students

 

Course Description:

Internet growth in traffic, convergence of voice/data/video has placed a tremendous burden on service providers and equipment manufacturers to handle the unprecedented amount of traffic that now travels on packet networks. Efforts began as the Internet boomed to address the scalability of IP Networking, first by addressing the speed with which routers could forward packets with large routing tables, and later in significantly reducing the Operational Expenses that quickly mounted for service providers and network administrators alike. MPLS and the common control plane concept has swiftly emerged as the solution to this huge demand on networks and equipment whilst reducing the operational expenses (OPEX) faced by the network managers.

Knowing the fundamentals of the MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), L3VPNs (Layer 3 Virtual Private Networks), and MPLS Traffic Engineering is vital to anyone who is in the networking field today, whether it be Service Provider level or Enterprise level. This insightful and revealing course has been designed to focus on the systems approach, the engineering thinking behind the world of MPLS Networking.

Whether your network is large or small, at some point you will be faced with the option of using, or at least addressing the MPLS technology and services. This Hands-On MPLS course is designed to fully bring any telecommunications individual up-to-speed on what MPLS is, why it is used so heavily, and exactly how MPLS operates. This course is both a skills-based and knowledge based course, that is instructor led by certified MPLS specialists using real network routers in hands-on configuration exercises to meet the objectives of the course.

The course is a combination of knowledge training, systems analysis, with hands-on exercises using Cisco routers and Cisco IOS, revealing the details and opportunities of MPLS, L3-VPNs, and basics of MPLS Traffic Engineering and the common control plane in a swift, comprehensive, and understandable way.

Course Objectives:

The objectives of the course are:

1. Develop a hands-on skill set targeted at MPLS networking in the following key areas:
   • MPLS Basic Operations
   • MPLS Traffic Engineering
   • MPLS L3 VPN Service
2. Basic MPLS Principles
3. MPLS Label Usage and Network Architecture
4. Signaling and Control of Label Distribution
5. Standard Layer 3 VPNs Solution including MP-BGP
6. Layer 3 VPN Topology options
7. Gaining Internet Access for L3VPN Customers
8. The operation and options of MPLS Traffic Engineering

These objectives are met by covering the necessary technical bases in a straight forward manner, by keep the content in context of the objectives – connecting the dots. Utilizing a short, subject specific architecture with exercises to drive home key points and Hands-On experience that reveal these points builds skills and knowledge based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. The presentation is always industry current and up-to-date using a technology specialists.

Audience:

The target audience for this course is anyone in the telecommunications field that requires a solid and complete understanding of the fundamental operations of MPLS networking, and desires hands-on skills that can be applied to their job function. Ideal candidates are:

• Central Office Technicians, Engineers, and Supervisors
• Line Technicians, and Customer Service Technicians
• Operations individuals that will provide MPLS configuration and support services
• Development Engineers that must know MPLS networking in order to provide hardware and software solutions
• Network Design Engineers that need to understand MPLS services and applications
• Network Management individuals that are providing element and network management tools
• Network Administrators and IT professionals
• Technical sales individuals that must be able to correlate features with functionality
• Technical marketing individuals that want more than just a basic understanding of MPLS
• Certification Track individuals that need to expand their knowledge and studies

Course Prerequisites:

This course to appeal to anyone needing the skills and knowledge of MPLS networking and fundamentals of L3VPN and Traffic Engineering utilizing MPLS tunnels. The ideal student will have some experience in IP routing, networking and operations, however no prior knowledge is necessary.

All students must attend with a lap-top computer in order to interface to the Router Lab. If the course is held at a classroom where computers are available, the Lap-top computer will not be required.

Course Materials:

Students will be provided with a Course Student Guide and a Lab Guide. Also, a lab system for configuration and labs will be provided.

Related Content:

This course can be followed up with learning in two areas: 1. Hands-On Advanced MPLS (focuses on handling IPv6, Multicast, Provider to Provider MPLS, Provider Serving Provider, Hierarchical LDP and RSVP, TE Protection and Resilience and OA&M), and 2. Mastering AToM (focuses on Layer 2 VPNs, Pseudowires, Encapsulation, Signaling and Control Extensions, EoMPLS, and QoS) courses.

Course Outline:

The course outline is as follows:

• Section 1: The Groundwork
  • Overview and Introductions
  • Definition of MPLS & the problem it solves
  • MPLS Resources
  • History of MPLS Development
  • LAB 1: Getting Set Up for MPLS Networking
• Section 2: MPLS Architecture and Principles of Operation
  • Label Switching Routers
  • MPLS Labels and Label Switched Paths
  • LAB 2: Installing an IGP
  • Control of Label Distribution
  • MPLS Label Retention
• Section 3: MPLS Label Distribution Protocol
  • Label Distribution Protocol
  • Configuring Basic MPLS Operation
  • LAB 3: MPLS Installation
  • MPLS Time To Live Loop Prevention
  • LAB 4: TTL Propagation Lab
  • Conditional Label Assignment
  • LAB 5: Conditional Label Distribution Lab
  • MPLS Network Monitoring
• Section 4: Legacy L2 and L3 VPN Overview
  • Layer 2 “Network” VPNs
  • Layer 3 IP VPNs
  • Opportunities Moving Forward
• Section 5: MPLS L3 VPN Introduction
  • L3 VPN Services & Types
• Section 6: The MPLS L3 VPN Solution
  • The Problem we need to Solve
  • VRF’s, Route Distinguishers & Route Targets
  • Modifying BGP for MPLS L3 VPN
  • Dual Label Stack
  • Modifying VPN Topology
• Section 7: PE to CE Control Plane & Routing Instances
  • Message Formats for BGP
  • Control Plane Operational Models
• Section 8: MPLS L3 VPN Configuration
  • VRF’s, RD’s, and RT’s
  • LAB 6: VRF Configuration
  • BGP Address Families
  • LAB 7: M-BGP
  • PE to CE Routing
  • LAB 8: PE-CE Routing
  • Troubleshooting MPLS L3 VPNs
• Optional Section 9: Advanced VRF Features
  • VRF Route Limit
  • Selective Import
  • Selective Export
  • Site of Origin
  • Internet VRF
• Section 10:The Problem MPLS TE Solves
  • Performance Objectives
  • Hose & Pipe Models
• Section 11: Constraining Path Selection in MPLS TE Networks
  • Traditional Routing
  • Constraint Based Routing (CBR)
• Section 12: MPLS TE Architecture
  • Network Attributes
  • Tunnel Attributes
• Section 13: Extending RSVP for MPLS TE
  • Protocol Format
  • Extensions for TE
  • Reservation Styles
• Section 14: Enhancing OSPF and IS-IS for MPLS TE
  • OSPF
  • IS-IS
• Section 15: Configuring MPLS TE
  • Platform and Network
  • IGP Configuration
  • LAB 9: Preparing Router Lab Network for TE Tunnels
  • Configuring a Dynamic Tunnel
  • LAB 10: Dynamic Tunnels
  • Configuring a Static/Explicit Tunnel
  • LAB 11: Explicit Tunnels and Network Failure
  • TE Configurations Options
• Section 16: Troubleshooting and Monitoring MPLS TE