MPLS Network Management: MIBs,Tools and Techniques From an
Implementer's PerspectiveOctober 2003
Thomas D. Nadeau
Technical Leader
tnadeau@cisco.com
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Agenda• Introduction• Challenges and Hurdles• Obstacle Avoidance• Observations/Conclusions

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Introduction

This presentation we will cover a variety of tools
and techniques available for the management of various MPLS
services including L2 and L3 VPNs. The discussion will coverboth standards-based as well as proprietary options. Thepresenter will take the perspective of one implementing
these tools by highlighting potential pitfalls often encounteredwhen building them. Suggested ways around those pitfalls aswell as suggestions for approaches that may tend to be moreinteroperable will also be presented.

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Introduction
Goals of Presentation• Describe interaction between
vendors with 3rd party NMS
vendors and ISP customers
who wish to build NM
applications to manage theMPLS MIBs and OAM tools.
• Describe Challenges andHurdles• Present ideas for how toOvercome these Challenges
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Introduction
Set the Stage -- What is MPLS NM/OAM?

Fault-management
Configuration
Accounting
Performance
Security
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS MIBs
Summary – Lots of MIBs!

• MPLS
LSR, LDP, FTN, TE, TE-FRR, LC-IF, TE-LINK,PPVPN-MPLS-VPN, IF-MIB, DSTECISCO-VPN, CISCO-TE, CISCO-MPLS-SSO,etc…

• GMPLS
LSR, TE, LMP• PWE3
PW, PW-MPLS, PW-ENET, PW-CEM, PW-ATM,PW-FR
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS OAMSummary• LSP ping, path trace/tree trace• Virtual Circuit Connectivity Verification (VCCV)BFD, LSP ping Mode

• VRF-aware MPLS ICMP-based ping
• Service Assurance Agent (SAA)• MPLS-aware NetFlow• MPLS OAM NM Applications• LSR Self-Test
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Agenda• Introduction• Challenges and Hurdles• Obstacle Avoidance• Observations/Conclusions

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS MIBs
Hurdles: Standards• Drafty drafts
Multi-vendor interop withdrafts.
SNMP issues.
Different interpretations.
Many tables to support
different aspects ofimplementations; some notapplicable to someimplementations.
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS MIBs
Hurdles: Standards (cont)• Standards organizations are inherently slow.
• Some standards authored by those not close toan implementation.
Sometimes propose things not efficient forimplementations.

• Customers request new things after draft ispublished.
Changing the draft is the easiest part.

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS MIBs
Hurdles: Implementation• Multiple code branch support• Multiple hardware support
Some hardware may not support some aspects requiredby the MIB.

• New features added to original feature.
If MIB is not RFC, can be changed, otherwise
proprietary extensions needed.

• Multiple Development Models Possible

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS OAM Challenges/Hurdles
Standards• Long History.
• Two Standards Bodies Working on MPLS OAM
ITU, IETF• Requests for new things after draft is published.
Changing the draft is the easiest part.

• Problems Discovered in Drafts Needed to Be
Fixed.
• In short, MPLS OAM is a hard problem.
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS OAM Challenges/Hurdles
Implementation• Multiple code branch support• Multiple hardware support
Some hardware may not support some aspects required bythe standard.

• New features added to original feature.
If is not RFC, can be changed, otherwise proprietary
extensions needed.

• Multiple Development Models Possible• Building the plane as it takes off!

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS MIBs
Two Development Models• Develop as you go model.
Build NM applications along with the MIBs and thefeatures at the same time.
Pros: tightly coupled, better collaboration, better
standards. Cheaper in the long run.
Cons: expensive to develop/coordinate (moreexpensive initially).

• Develop after the fact model.
Build NM applications and/or MIBs later.
Pros: cheaper initial cost (develop as you go)
Cons: sometimes prone to errors/omissions resulting
in requirement for proprietary extensions/re-spin ofstandard: potential higher cost later.
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Agenda• Introduction• Challenges and Hurdles• Obstacle Avoidance• Observations/Conclusions

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS OAM/NMMaking The Process Better•

Participate in standards– Drive Requirements– Contribute to or review IETF drafts and ITU
recommendations.
– If standards are not satisfying your needs,
work directly with vendors; standards willfollow.
– Let your requirements be heard.
This is the only way they can be satisfied!

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS OAM/NM
Making The Process Better• Customers and vendors need to be as engaged
as possible.
As early in the process as possible!

• Provide feedback through EFTs
• Provide feedback, in general either directly orthrough account contacts.
• Interoperability Events–sponsor/coordinate/encourage• Closer cooperation with your vendors when they
implement MIBs.
–SDKs, partnerships, etc...
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Questions?

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Observations/Conclusions• There are hurdles in the process to
successful NM application development.
• There are definite ways of avoiding them.

MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Thank You
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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MPLS Network Management: MIBs,Tools, and Techniques is the first andonly book that will help you master
MPLS management technologies andtechniques, as they apply to classic
MPLS networks, traffic-engineered
networks, and VPNs. Written by theco-author of most current MPLS
management standards, it provides
detailed, authoritative coverage of
official MIBs, examining key topics
ranging from syntax to access levels
to object interaction. It also offers
extensive consideration of third-party
management interfaces, including
tools for metering traffic andpredicting traffic growth andbehavior. If you're a network
operator, network device engineer, orMPLS application developer, you needthis book to get all you can out of allof MPLS's many capabilities.
http://www.elsevierinternational.com/catalogue/title.cfm?ISBN=155860751X
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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Biography
Tom works at Cisco Systems where he is the technical leader of MPLS
network management and OAM development. He leads a team ofthat design and develops MIBs and other management tools for
Cisco's routing and switching platforms. He also works on othernetwork management-related activities at Cisco such as OAM,GMPLS, L2/L3 VPNs, Traffic Engineering, Pseudo-wire Emulation,and SNMP in general. He is co-author of all but one of the MPLS andGMPLS-related IETF MIBs, as well as numerous other IETF protocol
and architecture documents.
Tom has filed several patents for network management technology. He
received his BSCS from The University of New Hampshire, and an
MSc from The University of Massachusetts in Lowell, where he has
been an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science since 2000. Heteaches courses in the topic of data communications. He is thetechnical editor of Enabling VPN Aware Network With MPLS
(Prentice-Hall Publishers, 2001), and author of MPLS Network
Management: Tools and Techniques (Morgan-Kaufman, 2002). The
anticipated publication date of Tom’s second book entitled, “MPLSOperations and Management” is the first quarter of 2004.
MPLS Japan 2003 October 2003, Tokyo, Japan© 2003 Thomas D. Nadeau All rights reserved.

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