Packet Pseudowire Encapsulation over an MPLS PSN
RFC 6658

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                    S. Bryant, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6658                                    L. Martini
Category: Standards Track                                     G. Swallow
ISSN: 2070-1721                                            Cisco Systems
                                                                A. Malis
                                                  Verizon Communications
                                                               July 2012

            Packet Pseudowire Encapsulation over an MPLS PSN

Abstract

   This document describes a pseudowire mechanism that is used to
   transport a packet service over an MPLS PSN in the case where the
   client Label Switching Router (LSR) and the server Provider Edge
   equipments are co-resident in the same equipment.  This pseudowire
   mechanism may be used to carry all of the required layer 2 and layer
   3 protocols between the pair of client LSRs.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6658.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
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   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Bryant, et al.               Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 6658                        Packet PW                      July 2012

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.1.  Requirements Language  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   2.  Network Reference Model  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3.  Client Network-Layer Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   4.  Forwarding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   5.  Packet PW Encapsulation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   6.  Ethernet and IEEE 802.1 Functional Restrictions  . . . . . . .  8
   7.  Congestion Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   8.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   9.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   Appendix A.  Encapsulation Approaches Considered . . . . . . . . . 11
     A.1.  A Protocol Identifier in the Control Word  . . . . . . . . 11
     A.2.  PID Label  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     A.3.  Parallel PWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     A.4.  Virtual Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     A.5.  Recommended Encapsulation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Bryant, et al.               Standards Track                    [Page 2]
RFC 6658                        Packet PW                      July 2012

1.  Introduction

   There is a need to provide a method of carrying a packet service over
   an MPLS PSN in a way that provides isolation between the two
   networks.  The server MPLS network may be an MPLS network or a
   network conforming to the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) [RFC5317].
   The client may also be either an MPLS network or a network conforming
   to the MPLS-TP.  Considerations regarding the use of an MPLS network
   as a server for an MPLS-TP network are outside the scope of this
   document.

   Where the client equipment is connected to the server equipment via a
   physical interface, the same data-link type must be used to attach
   the clients to the Provider Edge (PE) equipments, and a pseudowire
   (PW) of the same type as the data-link must be used [RFC3985].  The
   reason that interworking between different physical and data-link
   attachment types is specifically disallowed in the pseudowire