Simulation-Based Analysis of

MPLS Traffic Engineering

Model Research & Development
OPNET Technologies, Inc.
Bethesda, MD, 20814
E-mail: info@opnet.com
Abstract
It is a well-known behavior [FF99] that when congestion-
sensitive (TCP) and congestion-insensitive (UDP) traic share
a co!!on "ath# an increase in congestion-insensitive traic
adversel$ aects congestion-sensitive traic%s "eror!ance
(e&g&# d'e to TCP%s congestion control !echanis!)& This "a"er
'ses an e(a!"le network scenario to ill'strate the beneits o
'sing )P*+ traic engineering [,),-)99] and .o+ in
eli!inating the 'ndesirable eects o !i(ing congestion-
insensitive lows with congestion-sensitive lows [/+011]& 2e
'se a UDP data low to re"resent a congestion-insensitive
traic low and TCP data lows to re"resent congestion-
sensitive traic lows& , co!"arative si!'lation anal$sis is
"rovided or 3) non-)P*+ enabled network# 4) a network
with two *+Ps# one or a "'re congestion-sensitive low# and
another co!bined one or congestion-insensitive and
congestion-sensitive low# and 5) a network with three *+Ps#
one or each traic low# and traic dierentiation 'sing
2F. on the link carr$ing both congestion-insensitive and
congestion-sensitive low# based on the thro'gh"'t achieved
b$ the congestion-insensitive and congestion-sensitive lows
when the$ share the network reso'rces&
MPLS Overview
)'lti-Protocol *abel +witching ()P*+) [67C13] is the latest
technolog$ in the evol'tion o ro'ting and orwarding
!echanis!s or the core o the Internet& The 8label9 in )P*+
is a short# i(ed-length val'e carried in the "acket:s header to
identi$ a Forwarding ;<'ivalence Class (F;C)& , F;C is a
set o "ackets that are orwarded over the sa!e "ath thro'gh a
network& F;Cs can created ro! an$ co!bination o so'rce
and destination IP addresses# trans"ort "rotocol# "ort n'!bers
etc& *abels are assigned to inco!ing "ackets 'sing a F;C to
label !a""ing "roced're at the edge ro'ters& Fro! that "oint
on# it is onl$ the labels that dictate how the network will treat
these "ackets -- i&e&# what ro'te to 'se# what "riorit$ to assign#
and so on& )P*+ deines label-switched "aths (*+P)# which
are "re-conig'red to carr$ "ackets with s"eciic labels& These
*+Ps can be 'sed to orward s"eciic "ackets thro'gh s"eciic
ro'tes# th's acilitating traic engineering&
The above ig're is a si!"le ill'stration o how )P*+
"eror!s label switching& The ingress label edge ro'ter (*;6)
receives an IP datagra! (an 'nlabeled "acket) with a
destination address o 31&3&9&=& The *;6 then !a"s the "acket
to a F;C# and assigns a label (with a val'e o >) to the "acket
and orwards it to the ne(t ho" in the *+P& In the core o the
network# the *+6s ignore the "acket:s network la$er header
and si!"l$ orward the "acket 'sing a label-swa""ing
algorith!& In the above e(a!"le# the label changes ro! > to ?
to =&
Figure 1: Life cycle of a packet through an MPLS network
1
Network Topology
2e 'sed -P@;T )odeler >&1 or o'r si!'lation anal$sis
'sing -P@;T:s )P*+ !odels available in the -P@;T )odel
*ibrar$& This section e("lains the network !odel 'sed in this
st'd$& The !ain goal is to generate a !i( o one-wa$ (onl$
so'rce to destination) congestion-insensitive and congestion-
sensitive traic and st'd$ the network "eror!ance with and
witho't )P*+ traic engineering (T;)& In order to achieve
this goal# we have "rotot$"ed a network with the ollowing
!ain co!"onentsA
Traic so'rcesBdestinationA -ne congestion-insensitive
traic so'rce (na!ed 8UDP +o'rce9) generating a
var$ing level o traic (3&C )b"s thro'gh ?&1 )b"s) and
two congestion-sensitive traic so'rces (na!ed 8TCP
+o'rce 39 and 8TCP +o'rce 49) each generating 3&C )b"s
o traic to be sent ro! the so'rce nodes to the
res"ective destination nodes& ,ll end-stations are 'll$
TCPBIP-enabled nodes D e&g&# in the event o detecting
congestion# the TCP so'rces will red'ce traic low in"'t
as dictated b$ its congestion control !echanis!&
@etwork to"olog$A The edge network on the so'rce and
destination sides consists o an *;6 connected to the core&
The core network consists o o'r *+6s connected 'sing two
"arallel "aths o ?&C )b"s and 3&C )b"s& The edge network is
conig'red to o"erate at -C-5 (3CC )b"s) data rate so that it
does not introd'ce an$ congestion& 6e!e!ber that o'r !ain
goal is to st'd$ the i!"act o overload in the core network&
,ll ro'ters (*;6s and *+6s) in the given baseline to"olog$
are )P*+ enabled& The$ have been conig'red s'ch that their
label !a""ing and switching algorith!s are enabled onl$
when *+Ps are deined in the network& 2ith no *+Ps deined#
these ro'ters will 'se the ro'tes advertised b$ the d$na!ic
ro'ting "rotocol r'nning on their interaces (-+PF in o'r
e(a!"le)& D'e to the higher bandwidth o the link between
*+63 and *+65# and *+65 and *+6?# the dea'lt ro'te taken
to get ro! the 8Ingress *;69 to the 8;gress *;69 will be
ro! *+63 to *+65 to *+6?&
In ter!s o res'lts anal$sis# we will oc's on the thro'gh"'t
(in bitsBsec) collected at the o'tgoing interaces to the vario's
destinations ro! the egress *;6& 7ario's other !etrics that
can also be anal$Eed or the above network incl'de a""lication
res"onse ti!e# n'!ber o TCP retrans!issions# traic dro""ed
in the core o the network d'e to congestions# etc&
Figure 2: Baseline network topology
2
Figure : !Scenario 1" Baseline network with no MPLS-#E
Simulation Results/Analysis
This section e("lains the res'lts and the corres"onding
anal$sis "eror!ed as "art o this st'd$& 2e !odeled several
dierent casesA
Scenario 1 A The network !odel does not have an$ *+Ps
(i&e&# there is no )P*+-T;)& In this case# o'r goal is to
obtain baseline res'lts to st'd$ the eect o increasing
congestion-insensitive traic over congestion-sensitive
traic& 2e ran !'lti"le si!'lations in which we
increased the a!o'nt o traic generated b$ the 8UDP
+o'rce9 (3&C )b"s# 4&1 )b"s# 4&C )b"s# 5&1 )b"s# 5&C
)b"s# ?&1 )b"s)& /oth TCP (congestion-sensitive) and
UDP (congestion-insensitive) traic low ro! the
8Ingress *;69 to the 8;gress *;69 via *+63# *+65# and
*+6?&
The a!o'nt o traic being s'ccess'll$ received b$ the
destination nodes or vario's loads is shown in Fig're ?&3
thro'gh Fig're ?&?& @otice that when the a!o'nt o UDP
traic sent b$ the 8UDP +o'rce9 is increased be$ond a
val'e s'ch that the co!bined ca"acit$ o TCP and UDP
load is greater than the ca"acit$ o a core link (e&g&# *+63
to *+65)# the a!o'nt o traic received b$ the TCP
destinations starts decreasing& This is beca'se the
connection-oriented TCP low decreases its traic in"'t
when TCP at the so'rce detects congestion& This allows
UDP to send !ore traic# thereb$ 'rther red'cing TCP
thro'gh"'t&
This case de!onstrates that the congestion-insensitive
traic is not at all "enaliEed or the congestion in the
network& The congestion-sensitive traic s'ers to the
e(tent that its thro'gh"'t is al!ost red'ced to Eero when
the UDP traic in"'t is e<'al to the ca"acit$ o the core
network&

Figure $%1: &ll Flows generate 1%' M(ps Figure $%2: )*P Flow increase+ to 2%' M(ps
3

Figure $%: )*P Flow increase+ to %' M(ps Figure $%$: )*P Flow increase+ to $%, M(ps
Scenario 2 A It is clear ro! res'lts o the "revio's
scenario that d$na!ic ro'ting "rotocols s'ch as -+PF do
not atte!"t to 'tiliEe all the available network reso'rces
eicientl$& )P*+ re!edies this deicienc$ b$ acilitating
traic engineering& In this scenario# we enhanced the
baseline network to contain two *+Ps as shown belowA
-ne *+P is conig'red to carr$ traic ro! 8TCP +o'rce
39 and 8UDP +o'rce9# and is "inned to ro'te thro'gh the
high-bandwidth links in the core network& The second
*+P is conig'red to solel$ carr$ TCP low ro! 8TCP
+o'rce 49 thro'gh a dierent section o the core network&
This traic engineering design will allow the traic ro!
8TCP +o'rce 49 to low thro'gh the core network witho't
e("eriencing an$ loss o thro'gh"'t d'e to increase in
UDP traic& Fowever# the traic ro! 8TCP +o'rce 39
will still be s'bGect to the behavior we observed in
+cenario 3& The res'lts or the dierent UDP traic loads
or this case are shown in Fig're H&3 thro'gh Fig're H&?&
This case reveals that )P*+-T; can be instr'!ental in
steering traic ro! congested reso'rces o a network to
'ncongested areas& ,"art ro! al!ost totall$ eli!inating
+*, violations or the newl$ traic engineered lows#
)P*+-T; also hel"s in i!"roving "eror!ance o the
re!aining traic in congested areas o the network&
Figure ': !Scenario 2" Baseline network with two LSPs
4


Figure -%1: &ll Flows generate 1%' M(ps Figure -%2: )*P Flow increase+ to 2%' M(ps

Figure -%: )*P Flow increase+ to %' M(ps Figure -%$: )*P Flow increase+ to $%, M(ps
@otice that the thro'gh"'t or traic generated b$ 8TCP
+o'rce 49 re!ains 'naected b$ the increase in UDP traic
low# whereas the traic generated b$ 8TCP +o'rce 39
red'ces as UDP traic increases& ,n additional advantage o
traic engineering the 8TCP +o'rce 49 traic low is that the
traic ro! 8TCP +o'rce 39 is now able to access !ore
network reso'rce# and s'ers onl$ at ver$-high UDP traic
lows&

Figure .: !Scenario " Baseline network with three LSPs

Scenario A The network ro! +cenario 4 is enhanced to
contain a se"arate *+P or each traic low&Individ'al
*+Ps are conig'red to carr$ the three dierent traic
lows& There are two se"arate *+Ps or 8TCP +o'rce 39
and 8UDP +o'rce9 traic lows& The "aths that these
*+Ps take are "inned thro'gh the high-bandwidth links in
the core networkI thereore# the$ still share co!!on
network reso'rces&
In order to treat the TCP and UDP lows in an isolated
ashion (even tho'gh the$ share co!!on reso'rces)#
2eighted Fair .'e'ing (2F.) has been enabled on the
o't"'t interace o 8*+6 39 (i&e&# the interace orwarding
"ackets on the link connecting 8*+6 39 and 8*+6 59)&
The 2F. conig'ration is s'ch that higher "riorit$ is
given to TCP traic over UDP traic in a 31A3 weighted
ratio&
This traic engineering design integrated with .o+
s'""ort allows traic ro! 8TCP +o'rce 39 to low
thro'gh the core network witho't e("eriencing loss o
thro'gh"'t d'e to increase in UDP traic& The traic
ro! 8TCP +o'rce 49 lows thro'gh the core network
'naected b$ an$ other traic beca'se it is conig'red to
go over 'ncongested "ortions o the network&
@otice that the traic ro! 8TCP +o'rce 39 is not s'bGect
to an$ degradation in "eror!ance beca'se we have
"rioritiEation or this low in o'r e(a!"le scenario& The
UDP traic starts e(hibiting "eror!ance degradation# as
soon the co!bined TCP and UDP load is greater than the
available link bandwidth& The res'lts or the dierent
UDP traic loads or this scenario are shown in Fig're
>&3 thro'gh Fig're >&?&
This case de!onstrates that b$ incor"orating .o+ into o'r
test network# we are able to signiicantl$ i!"rove overall
network "eror!ance& 2e were able to !aintain the
thro'gh"'t or congestion-sensitive traic&
@otice that thro'gh"'t or the traic generated b$ 8TCP
+o'rce 39 re!ains 'naected b$ an increase in UDP
traic low# d'e to the isolation o congestion-sensitive
traic ro! other traic 'sing )P*+ *+Ps&
!

Figure /%1: &ll Flows generate 1%' M(ps Figure /%2: )*P Flow increase+ to 2%' M(ps

Figue 8.!" #DP Flo$ inceased to !.% M&'s Figue 8.4" #DP Flo$ inceased to 4.0 M&'s
Summary
,s a s'!!ar$ o the e("eri!ents cond'cted as "art o this
"a"er# we "resent the ollowing gra"hs& These gra"hs show a
brie co!"arison o all the cases highlighted in this "a"er& The
basic a""roach or each o the three scenarios in the ollowing
gra"hs is to increase the loe o UDP traic ever$ C !in'tes
and observe its eect on TCP traicA
"

#
Scenario 1! No MPLS"T#
UDP Traic low is being increased b$ 3&1
)b"s ever$ C&1 !in'te& This ca'ses
red'ction in thro'gh"'t or all TCP traic
lows
Scenario 2! Partial MPLS"T#
$mplementation
UDP Traic low is being increased b$ 3&1
)b"s ever$ C&1 !in'te (sa!e as +cenario 3)&
This ca'ses red'ction in thro'gh"'t or TCP
traic low sharing co!!on reso'rces with
UDP traic&
Isolated TCP low re!ains 'naected b$
increase in network congestion
Scenario ! %ull MPLS"T# $mplementation
wit& 'oS support
UDP Traic low is being increased b$ 3&1
)b"s ever$ C&1 !in'te (sa!e as +cenario 3)&
+e"arate *+Ps or TCP co!bined with .o+
"rioritiEation over co!!on ro'tes res'lts in
not degrading TCP thro'gh"'t
(onclusion
)P*+ "rovides signiicant advantages with regards to traic
engineering& Using si!'lation anal$sis# o'r scenarios
de!onstrate that network reso'rces 'tiliEation can be
o"ti!iEed 'sing )P*+-T; and .o+& It is i!"ortant to
incor"orate 8traic engineering9 as"ects into a network to
o"ti!all$ 'tiliEe reso'rces across the network# and to res"ect
the service level agree!ents or congestion-sensitive traic
lows while red'cing the i!"act o congestion-insensitive
traic&
Re)erences
[FF99] +& Flo$d and J& Fall# 8Pro!oting the Use o ;nd-to-
;nd Congestion Control in the Internet9# I;;;B,C)
Transactions on @etworking# ,'g'st 3999&
[67C13] ;& 6osen# ,& 7iswanathan# 6& Callon#
8)'lti"rotocol *abel +witching ,rchitect're9# 6FC-5153#
0an'ar$ 4113&
[,),-)99] D& ,wd'che# 0& )alcol!# 0& ,gogb'a# )&
-:Dell# 0& )c)an's# 86e<'ire!ents or Traic ;ngineering
-ver )P*+K# 6FC-4=14# +e"te!ber 3999&
[/+011] P& /hanira!ka# 2& +'n# 6& 0ain# 8.'alit$ o +ervice
'sing Traic ;ngineering over )P*+A ,n ,nal$sis9#
+e"te!ber 4111
$