[AusNOG] VPLS Router Support

[Ben Dale]

Hi Ryan,

> At the present moment I am trying to find out how best to transport
> customer Vlans across my network, if this can achieved with MPLS with
> some degree of success, or if best to go all the way and move into a
> VPLS based solution. Spanning tree is my worse nightmare at the
> moment!
> 
> Cheers, - R

It will depend a bit your topology - if you just need to take a bunch of site-specific VLANS from different locations and bring them all back to a core site, you could achieve this fairly simply using EoMPLS/martini tunnels.  The nice thing about martini tunnels is no mac-learning - just in one end, out the other.  Simple.  You can terminate their VLANs on your interface and drop each one into a separate tunnel, or pass whatever tags they throw at you straight through in a single one.  If they run spanning-tree, it will just pass right on through (the tunnel) without touching your network.

If you need the same L2 domain to appear at more than 2 sites, then VPLS is a better way to go.  You will still have to learn MACs and it's just as susceptible to L2 issues caused by loops joined outside of your PE, but if your customer runs their own spanning-tree, then this isn't your problem (or your gear's).   If you can, police hard to mitigate fall-out from any broadcast storms that do happen (if nothing else, it will shield other customers) and you should be fine.  Be aware that multicast in a VPLS environment is also flooded though.

Good luck! 
(and death to spanning tree - bring on TRILL)


> On 19 April 2010 10:25, Ryan Benson <mail at ryanbenson.net> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> Has anyone got any recommendations on good kit that supports VPLS? I
>> can see I will have to use 7600's and upwards to support this on CISCO
>> but does anyone have any views on any other vendors, Huawei, Juniper,
>> Ericsson...?
>> 
>> Cheers
>> 
>> -R
>> 
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