MPLS-TP

One of the most important Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities for transport-network operation is fault localization. An in-service, on-demand path segment monitoring function of a transport path is indispensable, particularly when the service monitoring function is activated only between endpoints. However, the current segment monitoring approach defined for MPLS (including the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP)) in RFC 6371 "Operations, Administration, and Maintenance Framework for MPLS-Based Transport Networks" has drawbacks. This document provides an analysis of the existing MPLS-TP OAM mechanisms for the path segment monitoring and provides requirements to guide the development of new OAM tools to support Hitless Path Segment Monitoring (HPSM).

This document describes requirements, architecture, and solutions for MPLS-TP Shared-Ring Protection (MSRP) in a ring topology for point- to-point (P2P) services. The MSRP mechanism is described to meet the ring protection requirements as described in RFC 5654. This document defines the Ring Protection Switching (RPS) protocol that is used to coordinate the protection behavior of the nodes on an MPLS ring.

This document contains updates to MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) linear protection in Automatic Protection Switching (APS) mode defined in RFC 7271. The updates provide rules related to the initialization of the Protection State Coordination (PSC) Control Logic (in which the state machine resides) when operating in APS mode and clarify the operation related to state transition table lookup.

This document describes a framework and several scenarios for a pseudowire (PW) dual-homing local protection mechanism that avoids unnecessary switchovers and does not depend on whether a control plane is used. A Dual-Node Interconnection (DNI) PW is used to carry traffic between the dual-homing Provider Edge (PE) nodes when a failure occurs in one of the Attachment Circuits (AC) or PWs. This PW dual-homing local protection mechanism is complementary to existing PW protection mechanisms.

In some scenarios, MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) pseudowires (PWs) (RFC 5921) may be statically configured when a dynamic control plane is not available. A fast protection mechanism for MPLS-TP PWs is needed to protect against the failure of an Attachment Circuit (AC), the failure of a Provider Edge (PE), or a failure in the Packet Switched Network (PSN). The framework and typical scenarios of dual- homing PW local protection are described in RFC 8184. This document proposes a dual-homing coordination mechanism for MPLS-TP PWs that is used for state exchange and switchover coordination between the dual- homing PEs for dual-homing PW local protection.

This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols. In particular, it defines objects for managing Multiprotocol Label Switching - Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) linear protection.

This specification describes the configuration of proactive MPLS-TP Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions for a given Label Switched Path (LSP) using a set of TLVs that are carried by the LSP Ping protocol.

In MPLS and MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) environments, statically provisioned Single-Segment Pseudowires (SS-PWs) are protected against tunnel failure via MPLS-level and MPLS-TP-level tunnel protection. With statically provisioned Multi-Segment Pseudowires (MS-PWs), each segment of the MS-PW is likewise protected from tunnel failures via MPLS-level and MPLS-TP-level tunnel protection. However, static MS-PWs are not protected end-to-end against failure of one of the Switching Provider Edge Routers (S-PEs) along the path of the MS-PW. This document describes how to achieve this protection via redundant MS-PWs by updating the existing procedures in RFC 6870. It also contains an optional approach based on MPLS-TP Linear Protection.

This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in the Internet community. In particular, it describes managed objects to configure the Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) identifiers for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and the MPLS-based Transport Profile (TP).

This specification describes the configuration of proactive MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions for a given Label Switched Path (LSP) using a set of TLVs that are carried by the GMPLS RSVP-TE protocol based on the OAM Configuration Framework for GMPLS RSVP-TE.

This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in the Internet community. In particular, it describes additional managed objects and textual conventions for tunnels, identifiers, and Label Switching Routers to support Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) MIB modules for transport networks.

This document presents the basic network objectives for the behavior of Shared Mesh Protection (SMP) that are not based on control-plane support. This document provides an expansion of the basic requirements presented in RFC 5654 ("Requirements of an MPLS Transport Profile") and RFC 6372 ("MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Survivability Framework"). This document provides requirements for any mechanism that would be used to implement SMP for MPLS-TP data paths, in networks that delegate protection switch coordination to the data plane.

The IETF Standards Track solution for MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Linear Protection is provided in RFCs 6378, 7271, and 7324.

This document describes the pre-standard implementation of MPLS-TP Linear Protection that has been deployed by several network operators using equipment from multiple vendors. At the time of publication, these pre-standard implementations were still in operation carrying live traffic.

The specified mechanism supports 1+1 unidirectional/bidirectional protection switching and 1:1 bidirectional protection switching. It is purely supported by the MPLS-TP data plane and can work without any control plane.

This document provides guidelines for implementers regarding MPLS forwarding and a basis for evaluations of forwarding implementations. Guidelines cover many aspects of MPLS forwarding. Topics are highlighted where implementers might otherwise overlook practical requirements which are unstated or under emphasized or are optional for conformance to RFCs but are often considered mandatory by providers.

This document contains a number of updates to the Protection State Coordination (PSC) logic defined in RFC 6378, "MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Linear Protection". These updates provide some rules and recommendations around the use of TLVs in PSC, address some issues raised in an ITU-T liaison statement, and clarify PSC's behavior in a case not well explained in RFC 6378.

Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) is an integral part of transport connections; hence, it is required that OAM functions be activated/deactivated in sync with connection commissioning/ decommissioning, in order to avoid spurious alarms and ensure consistent operation. In certain technologies, OAM entities are inherently established once the connection is set up, while other technologies require extra configuration to establish and configure OAM entities. This document specifies extensions to Resource Reservation Protocol - Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) to support the establishment and configuration of OAM entities along with Label Switched Path signaling.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is the set of MPLS protocol functions applicable to the construction and operation of packet- switched transport networks. This document presents considerations for link-layer addressing of Ethernet frames carrying MPLS-TP packets.

This document describes alternate mechanisms to perform some of the functions of MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) linear protection defined in RFC 6378, and also defines additional mechanisms. The purpose of these alternate and additional mechanisms is to provide operator control and experience that more closely models the behavior of linear protection seen in other transport networks.

This document also introduces capabilities and modes for linear protection. A capability is an individual behavior, and a mode is a particular combination of capabilities. Two modes are defined in this document: Protection State Coordination (PSC) mode and Automatic Protection Switching (APS) mode.

This document describes the behavior of the PSC protocol including priority logic and state machine when all the capabilities associated with the APS mode are enabled.

This document updates RFC 6378 in that the capability advertisement method defined here is an addition to that document.

The Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is the common set of MPLS protocol functions defined to enable the construction and operation of packet transport networks. The MPLS-TP supports both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint transport paths. This document defines the elements and functions of the MPLS-TP architecture that are applicable specifically to supporting point-to-multipoint transport paths.

This document specifies how signaling and selection processes for Pseudowire (PW) Virtual Circuit Connectivity Verification (VCCV) are modified to ensure backward compatibility and allow use of proactive Connectivity Verification (CV), Continuity Check (CC), and Remote Defect Indication (RDI) over MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) PWs. This document introduces four new CV types and, to accommodate them, a new VCCV Extended CV parameter for PW Interface Parameters Sub-TLV is defined.

Many MPLS implementations have supported multipath techniques, and many MPLS deployments have used multipath techniques, particularly in very high-bandwidth applications, such as provider IP/MPLS core networks. MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) has strongly discouraged the use of multipath techniques. Some degradation of MPLS-TP Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) performance cannot be avoided when operating over many types of multipath implementations.

Using MPLS Entropy Labels (RFC 6790), MPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs) can be carried over multipath links while also providing a fully MPLS-TP-compliant server layer for MPLS-TP LSPs. This document describes the means of supporting MPLS as a server layer for MPLS-TP. The use of MPLS-TP LSPs as a server layer for MPLS LSPs is also discussed.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is based on a profile of the MPLS and Pseudowire (PW) procedures as specified in the MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS-TE), PW, and Multi-Segment Pseudowire (MS-PW) architectures developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) has specified a Transport Network architecture.

This document provides a thesaurus for the interpretation of MPLS-TP terminology within the context of the ITU-T Transport Network Recommendations.

It is important to note that MPLS-TP is applicable in a wider set of contexts than just Transport Networks. The definitions presented in this document do not provide exclusive or complete interpretations of MPLS-TP concepts. This document simply allows the MPLS-TP terms to be applied within the Transport Network context.

The MPLS Generic Associated Channel (G-ACh) is a generalization of the applicability of the pseudowire (PW) Associated Channel Header (ACH). RFC 5586 defines the concept of TLV constructs that can be carried in messages on the G-ACh by placing them in the ACH between the fixed header fields and the G-ACh message. These TLVs are called ACH TLVs

No Associated Channel Type yet defined uses an ACH TLV. Furthermore, it is believed that handling TLVs in hardware introduces significant problems to the fast path, and since G-ACh messages are intended to be processed substantially in hardware, the use of ACH TLVs is undesirable.

This document updates RFC 5586 by retiring ACH TLVs and removing the associated registry.

This document describes the applicability of the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) with use case studies and network design considerations. The use cases include Metro Ethernet access and aggregation transport, mobile backhaul, and packet optical transport.

This document presents an applicability of existing MPLS protection mechanisms, both local and end-to-end, to the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) in ring topologies. This document does not propose any new mechanisms or protocols. Requirements for MPLS-TP protection especially for protection in ring topologies are discussed in "Requirements of an MPLS Transport Profile" (RFC 5654) and "MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Survivability Framework" (RFC 6372). This document discusses how most of the requirements are met by applying linear protection as defined in RFC 6378 in a ring topology.

This document specifies an extension to the identifiers to be used in the Transport Profile of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS-TP). Identifiers that follow IP/MPLS conventions have already been defined. This memo augments that set of identifiers for MPLS-TP management and Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions to include identifier information in a format typically used by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).

This document provides a security framework for the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP). MPLS-TP extends MPLS technologies and introduces new Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities, a transport-oriented path protection mechanism, and strong emphasis on static provisioning supported by network management systems. This document addresses the security aspects relevant in the context of MPLS-TP specifically. It describes potential security threats as well as mitigation procedures related to MPLS-TP networks and to MPLS-TP interconnection to other MPLS and GMPLS networks. This document is built on RFC 5920 ("Security Framework for MPLS and GMPLS Networks") by providing additional security considerations that are applicable to the MPLS-TP extensions. All the security considerations from RFC 5920 are assumed to apply.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionality of a packet transport network.

This document assigns a Generic Associated Channel (G-ACh) Type for carrying ITU-T MPLS Transport Profile Operations, Administration, and Management (MPLS-TP OAM) messages in the MPLS Generic Associated Channel. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is a profile of the MPLS technology for use in transport network deployments. The work on MPLS-TP has extended the MPLS technology with additional architectural elements and functions that can be used in any MPLS deployment. MPLS-TP is a set of functions and features selected from the extended MPLS toolset and applied in a consistent way to meet the needs and requirements of operators of packet transport networks.

During the process of development of the profile, additions to the MPLS toolset have been made to ensure that the tools available met the requirements. These additions were motivated by MPLS-TP, but form part of the wider MPLS toolset such that any of them could be used in any MPLS deployment.

One major set of additions provides enhanced support for Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM). This enables fault management and performance monitoring to the level needed in a transport network. Many solutions and protocol extensions have been proposed to address the requirements for MPLS-TP OAM, and this document sets out the reasons for selecting a single, coherent set of solutions for standardization. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

A range of Management Information Base (MIB) modules has been developed to help model and manage the various aspects of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks. These MIB modules are defined in separate documents that focus on the specific areas of responsibility of the modules that they describe.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is a profile of MPLS functionality specific to the construction of packet-switched transport networks.

This document describes the MIB-based architecture for MPLS-TP, indicates the interrelationships between different existing MIB modules that can be leveraged for MPLS-TP network management, and identifies areas where additional MIB modules are required. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

Label Switched Path Ping (LSP ping) is an existing and widely deployed Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) mechanism for Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Label Switched Paths (LSPs). This document describes extensions to LSP ping so that LSP ping can be used for on-demand connectivity verification of MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) LSPs and pseudowires. This document also clarifies procedures to be used for processing the related OAM packets. Further, it describes procedures for using LSP ping to perform connectivity verification and route tracing functions in MPLS-TP networks. Finally, this document updates RFC 4379 by adding a new address type and creating an IANA registry. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Continuity Check, Proactive Connectivity Verification, and Remote Defect Indication functionalities are required for MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM).

Continuity Check monitors a Label Switched Path for any loss of continuity defect. Connectivity Verification augments Continuity Check in order to provide confirmation that the desired source is connected to the desired sink. Remote Defect Indication enables an end point to report, to its associated end point, a fault or defect condition that it detects on a pseudowire, Label Switched Path, or Section.

This document specifies specific extensions to Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) and methods for proactive Continuity Check, Continuity Verification, and Remote Defect Indication for MPLS-TP pseudowires, Label Switched Paths, and Sections using BFD as extended by this memo. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Two useful Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions in a transport network are "lock" and "loopback". The lock function enables an operator to lock a transport path such that it does not carry client traffic, but can continue to carry OAM messages and may carry test traffic. The loopback function allows an operator to set a specific node on the transport path into loopback mode such that it returns all received data.

This document specifies the lock function for MPLS networks and describes how the loopback function operates in MPLS networks.

This document updates Sections 7.1.1 and 7.1.2 of RFC 6371. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document describes the requirements for using the Generic Associated Channel Label (GAL) in pseudowires (PWs) in MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) networks, and provides an update to the description of GAL usage in RFC 5586 by removing the restriction that is imposed on using GAL for PWs, especially in MPLS-TP environments. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by the ITU-T.

This document addresses the functionality described in the MPLS-TP Survivability Framework document (RFC 6372) and defines a protocol that may be used to fulfill the function of the Protection State Coordination for linear protection, as described in that document. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Network survivability is the ability of a network to recover traffic delivery following failure or degradation of network resources. Survivability is critical for the delivery of guaranteed network services, such as those subject to strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that place maximum bounds on the length of time that services may be degraded or unavailable.

The Transport Profile of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS-TP) is a packet-based transport technology based on the MPLS data plane that reuses many aspects of the MPLS management and control planes.

This document comprises a framework for the provision of survivability in an MPLS-TP network; it describes recovery elements, types, methods, and topological considerations. To enable data-plane recovery, survivability may be supported by the control plane, management plane, and by Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions. This document describes mechanisms for recovering MPLS-TP Label Switched Paths (LSPs). A detailed description of pseudowire recovery in MPLS-TP networks is beyond the scope of this document.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet-based transport network as defined by the ITU-T.

This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) supports static provisioning of transport paths via a Network Management System (NMS) and dynamic provisioning of transport paths via a control plane. This document provides the framework for MPLS-TP dynamic provisioning and covers control-plane addressing, routing, path computation, signaling, traffic engineering, and path recovery. MPLS-TP uses GMPLS as the control plane for MPLS-TP Label Switched Paths (LSPs). MPLS-TP also uses the pseudowire (PW) control plane for pseudowires. Management-plane functions are out of scope of this document.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by the ITU-T.

This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document specifies an initial set of identifiers to be used in the Transport Profile of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS-TP). The MPLS-TP requirements (RFC 5654) require that the elements and objects in an MPLS-TP environment are able to be configured and managed without a control plane. In such an environment, many conventions for defining identifiers are possible. This document defines identifiers for MPLS-TP management and Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions compatible with IP/ MPLS conventions.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by the ITU-T. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

The framework for MPLS in transport networks (RFC 5921) provides reference models for the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) Transport Service Interfaces, which are a User-to-Network Interface (UNI), and a Network-to-Network Interface (NNI). This document updates those reference models to show detailed reference points for these interfaces, along with further clarification of the functional architecture of MPLS-TP at a UNI and NNI.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by the ITU-T. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

Ethernet pseudowires are widely deployed to support packet transport of Ethernet services. These services in-turn provide transport for a variety of client networks, e.g., IP and MPLS. This document uses procedures defined in the existing IETF specifications of Ethernet pseudowires carried over MPLS networks.

Many of the requirements for the services provided by the mechanisms explained in this document are also recognized by the MPLS transport profile (MPLS-TP) design effort formed jointly by the IETF and ITU-T. The solution described here does not address all of the MPLS-TP requirements, but it provides a viable form of packet transport service using tools that are already available.

This document also serves as an indication that existing MPLS techniques form an appropriate basis for the design of a fully- featured packet transport solution addressing all of the requirements of MPLS-TP. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document provides the network management framework for the Transport Profile for Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS-TP).

This framework relies on the management terminology from the ITU-T to describe the management architecture that could be used for an MPLS-TP management network.

The management of the MPLS-TP network could be based on multi-tiered distributed management systems. This document provides a description of the network and element management architectures that could be applied and also describes heuristics associated with fault, configuration, and performance aspects of the management system.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and PWE3 architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document specifies the requirements for the management of equipment used in networks supporting an MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP). The requirements are defined for specification of network management aspects of protocol mechanisms and procedures that constitute the building blocks out of which the MPLS Transport Profile is constructed. That is, these requirements indicate what management capabilities need to be available in MPLS for use in managing the MPLS-TP. This document is intended to identify essential network management capabilities, not to specify what functions any particular MPLS implementation supports. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

The Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is the set of MPLS protocol functions applicable to the construction and operation of packet-switched transport networks. This document specifies the subset of these functions that comprises the MPLS-TP data plane: the architectural layer concerned with the encapsulation and forwarding of packets within an MPLS-TP network.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document specifies an architectural framework for the application of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to the construction of packet-switched transport networks. It describes a common set of protocol functions -- the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) -- that supports the operational models and capabilities typical of such networks, including signaled or explicitly provisioned bidirectional connection-oriented paths, protection and restoration mechanisms, comprehensive Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions, and network operation in the absence of a dynamic control plane or IP forwarding support. Some of these functions are defined in existing MPLS specifications, while others require extensions to existing specifications to meet the requirements of the MPLS-TP.

This document defines the subset of the MPLS-TP applicable in general and to point-to-point transport paths. The remaining subset, applicable specifically to point-to-multipoint transport paths, is outside the scope of this document.

This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by the ITU-T. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document lists architectural and functional requirements for the Operations, Administration, and Maintenance of MPLS Transport Profile. These requirements apply to pseudowires, Label Switched Paths, and Sections. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

The Generic Associated Channel (G-ACh) has been defined as a generalization of the pseudowire (PW) associated control channel to enable the realization of a control/communication channel that is associated with Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Label Switched Paths (LSPs), MPLS PWs, MPLS LSP segments, and MPLS sections between adjacent MPLS-capable devices.

The MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) is a profile of the MPLS architecture that identifies elements of the MPLS toolkit that may be combined to build a carrier-grade packet transport network based on MPLS packet switching technology.

This document describes how the G-ACh may be used to provide the infrastructure that forms part of the Management Communication Network (MCN) and a Signaling Communication Network (SCN). Collectively, the MCN and SCN may be referred to as the Data Communication Network (DCN). This document explains how MCN and SCN messages are encapsulated, carried on the G-ACh, and demultiplexed for delivery to the management or signaling/routing control plane components on an MPLS-TP node. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document identifies problems that may result from the absence of formal coordination and joint development on protocols of mutual interest between standards development organizations (SDOs). Some of these problems may cause significant harm to the Internet. The document suggests that a robust procedure is required prevent this from occurring in the future. The IAB has selected a number of case studies, such as Transport MPLS (T-MPLS), as recent examples to describe the hazard to the Internet architecture that results from uncoordinated adaptation of a protocol.

This experience has resulted in a considerable improvement in the relationship between the IETF and the ITU-T. In particular, this was achieved via the establishment of the "Joint working team on MPLS-TP". In addition, the leadership of the two organizations agreed to improve inter-organizational working practices so as to avoid conflict in the future between ITU-T Recommendations and IETF RFCs.

Whilst we use ITU-T - IETF interactions in these case studies, the scope of the document extends to all SDOs that have an overlapping protocol interest with the IETF. This memo provides information for the Internet community.

This document specifies the requirements of an MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP). This document is a product of a joint effort of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and IETF to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and PWE3 architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as defined by International Telecommunications Union - Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T).

This work is based on two sources of requirements: MPLS and PWE3 architectures as defined by IETF, and packet transport networks as defined by ITU-T.

The requirements expressed in this document are for the behavior of the protocol mechanisms and procedures that constitute building blocks out of which the MPLS Transport Profile is constructed. The requirements are not implementation requirements. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document generalizes the applicability of the pseudowire (PW) Associated Channel Header (ACH), enabling the realization of a control channel associated to MPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs) and MPLS Sections in addition to MPLS pseudowires. In order to identify the presence of this Associated Channel Header in the label stack, this document also assigns one of the reserved MPLS label values to the Generic Associated Channel Label (GAL), to be used as a label based exception mechanism.

This RFC archives the report of the IETF - ITU-T Joint Working Team (JWT) on the application of MPLS to transport networks. The JWT recommended of Option 1: The IETF and the ITU-T jointly agree to work together and bring transport requirements into the IETF and extend IETF MPLS forwarding, OAM (Operations, Administration, and Management), survivability, network management and control plane protocols to meet those requirements through the IETF Standards Process. This RFC is available in ASCII (which contains a summary of the slides) and in PDF (which contains the summary and a copy of the slides). This memo provides information for the Internet community.