Even though MPLS tends to be a service provider type of technology, there are more and more enterprise that are starting to implement their own MPLS cloud. Typically the best practices and common deployment limits how we use the protocol and one goal is to setup MPLS in the most simplistic way to make it more supportable…with that said, MPLS has the potential of being complicated, depending on features that needs to be implemented. Due to this practice in the industry, the less obvious features may be ignored; therefore CCIE Routing and Switching candidates are missing points on those features. You need to have a good understanding of how MPLS works and what the options are…and how to use them in ways they may not have been intended. This document will attempt to cover the general operation of MPLS, but also how MPLS may be used within the CCIE R&S practical exam based on the version 5.0 blue-print.
The goal is to give the candidate an understanding of how MPLS works and how they may be used within the CCIE R&S practical exam and therefore will help shorten the time spent configuring and troubleshooting MPLS within the exam. We will look at how MPLS can be used to support IPv4 with Layer 3 VPNs.
We will look at the history of MPLS, how it relates to the CCIE R&S Exam, Operational Overview, Configuration, Troubleshooting Tips and CCIE like exercises…in other words how MPLS might apply in a CCIE R&S exam type of scenario.