Virtualized PE for BGP/MPLS L3-VPN using Open-Source Software

In this presentation, we describe how we created an open-source software-based virtual Provider Edge (vPE) router for BGP/MPLS (RFC 2547bis) L3-VPN service. The RF …

In this presentation, we describe how we created an open-source software-based virtual Provider Edge (vPE) router for BGP/MPLS (RFC 2547bis) L3-VPN service. The RFC 2547bis L3-VPN service allows a service provider to interconnect (often geographically dispersed) sites of a customer. The service provider leverages a common IP/MPLS network to serve multiple customers such that (i) traffic of each customer remains isolated from others; and (ii) same IP address ranges can be used across customers without any interference. As the name indicates, the PE router sits at the edge of the service provider’s network, connecting to routers of one or more customers, and thus plays a critical role as the entry and exit point for traffic coming from and going to customer sites. Traditionally, the PE routers have been built as Physical Network Functions (PNFs). With the advent of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), there has been a growing interest in virtualizing PE routers not only to reduce cost but to also allow service providers to provide new and innovative services for customers. In this talk, we present our work in creating a virtualized L3-VPN PE (vPE) using open-source software. In our presentation we describe the open-source components used in the design of our vPE, along with their configurations. We also provide details of modifications we made to the open-source software to meet our objectives.