Configuring InterAS MPLS VPNs - CSC (Carriers Supporting Carriers)

In this blogtorial we will take a peek at how to configure InterAS MPLS. InterAS MPLS can be deployed to support customer sites traversing different SPs (Service Providers). 

In this topology we will have 3 customer Sites. 2 of them connection to two different PEs routers in the same AS and another site connected to another PE router in a different AS. 

Topology below and let's get started. 

Relevant configurations are posted below.

How to configure QOS with IPSEC VPN

In this blogtorial we will discuss how to do QOS with IPSec and the challenges that are associated with it. 

Consider the topology below and let's get started. 

Relevant configurations are posted below. 

Configuring MPLS FRoMPLS DLCI-To-DLCI

Recently, I have been posting about AToM (Any transport over MPLS) and to continue I will post how to configure Frame Relay DLCI-TO-DLCI in this blogtorial.

Consider this simple topology and let's get started.

Relevant configurations are posted below.

Configuring MPLS EoMPLS VLAN Mode - L2VPN

In this blogtorial we will configure EoMPLS VLAN mode so we can preserve the VLAN tagging from one site to another. Consider the simple topology and let's get started. 

Relevant Configurations are posted below.

Configuring QEMU (Linux Host) in GNS3

In this blogtorial we are going to see how to configure a Qemu Linux Host. I will keep this simple with screen shots and less words. So let's get started. 

1. Download GNS3 and get it setup. 
2. Download Linux MicroCore image. 

Now follow the screen-shots and you should be good to go.

Configuring DMVPN with OSPF (mGRE and IPSEC)

"I can build you any network you want -- fast/cheap/reliable. Just pick any 2" -- Not sure who said that however  it is true on many levels.

In this blogtorial we are going to take a quick tour on how to configure DMVPN (Dynamic Multipoint Virtual Private Network). So what is DMVPN? DMVPN gives you the ability to create VPN tunnels dynamically as needed between spokes in a hub-to-spoke topology. It can also scale very well to support a large number of remote endpoints. Please keep in mind that DMVPN is Cisco proprietary, however there are ways to implement it using Linux (OpenNHRP).

So here is the topology and let's get started.

Relevant configurations are posted below.

Configuring MPLS Traffic Engineering

In this blogtorial we are going to see how we can configure MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS TE). With MPLS TE we can achieve SONET (50ms) style failover between links and we can achieve this by creating backup tunnels and using fast re-route.

In this topology we will be configuring both explicit/static tunnels/paths and also dynamic auto-tunnels. 


Consider the simple topology below and let's get started.

Relevant configurations are posted below.

Configuring MPLS L2VPN InterAS VPWS - EoMPLS Port Mode

In this blogtorial I am going to show you a quick how-to on implementing L2VPN and more specifically Virtual Private Wire Service (EoMPLS Port Mode). VPWS can save money thus increasing the revenue for service providers because P2P circuits are usually more expensive. We are going to be configuring EoMPLS (Ethernet Over MPLS - Port Mode). Note: EoMPLS Modes - Port Mode, VLAN mode and VLAN Re-write mode. AToM (Any transport over MPLS) is sort of the umbrella which covers EoMPLS, FRoMPLS, and ATMoMPLS.

Consider the simple topology below.

Relevant configurations are posted below.

Configuring BGP - Redundant Route Reflectors

In my previous blogtorial we saw how we can deploy route reflectors to circumvent the need for iBGP full mesh design. And my good friend "IT GURU" Tom brought up a good point about redundancy. So in this blogtorial we are going to see how we can configure dual route reflectors to avoid single point of failure (SPOF).


Consider the topology below.

Imagine that R3 and R4 in Sparks, R5 and R6 are in Vegas and R1 in Reno and R2 in Wells. If Reno Route reflector goes down all remote locations will still able to get to all other locations. 


Let's get started!! 

Configuring BGP - Route Reflectors

To route reflect, or not to route reflect, that is the question. If a full iBGP mesh is required then consider Route Reflectors. If you had to iBGP full mesh 10 sites you would need 45 iBGP connections (10*(9)/2 or n * (n-1)/2 where n is the # of sites) = NIGHTMARE!!! In this blogtorial I will show you how to deploy a route reflector and drastically reduce the number of connections needed to achieve the same results as a full iBGP mesh design. 


Consider the simple topology and let's get started. 

Relevant configurations are posted below.

Configuring FHRP - IRDP

The less known, the unpopular, the quiet and the secretive protocol of First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP) is ... dun dun dun .. IRDP (ICMP Router Discovery Protocol). In this blogtorial we will configure IRDP which uses 'ICMP' to send the default gateway information to hosts. This will be a short and simple blogtorial so consider the topology below and let's get started.

Objectives:

• Configure R1 and R2 to with IRDP
• R1 should be the primary default gateway and R2 should be the backup default gateway
• R2 should take over when R1 goes down

Relevant configurations are posted below. 

Configuring FHRP - VRRP

Both FHRPs (HSRP & GLBP) are Cisco proprietary so what do you when you have to support a Cisco and a non-Cisco device in a redundant setup? Well you turn to the industry standard Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) RFC 2338. One of the biggest advantages of using VRRP is that you do not need an additional IP for the "Virtual IP". It can be the IP of the actual interface. For example in both HSRP and GLBP blogtorial you can see how my virtual IP was set to 192.168.1.254, however on this blogtorial notice that my virtual IP is the same as R1's interface IP (192.168.1.1). 

Consider the topology and let's get started. 

Objectives: 

• Configure R1 and R2 with VRRP and authentication
• R1 should be the master router and R2 should be the backup router. 

Relevant configurations are posted below. 

Configuring FHRP - GLBP

In my previous blogtorial we saw how we can configure HSRP. One downfall for using HSRP is that you can only use one router at a time. What if you wanted to use both R1 and R4 for load-balancing and failover? This is where Gateway Load Balancing Protocol comes in. Note that GLBP is Cisco proprietary. 

Consider the simple topology below. 

Objectives:

• Configure R1 and R4 in a GLBP group with authentication
• Configure R1 to be Active Virtual Gateway (AVG) and R4 to be Active Virtual Forwarder (AVF)

Relevant configurations are posted below. 

Configuring FHRP - HSRP

In any network, redundancy and high availability should be a top priority especially when it involves mission critical applications. In this blogtorial I am going to walk you through how to configure Hot-Standby Routing Protocol aka. HSRP. HSRP is a one of many First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP). Note that HSRP is Cisco proprietary.

Consider the topology below and let's get started.

Objectives: 

• Configure HSRP on R1 and R2 with authentication.
• Enable failover in less than a second. 
• R1 should be the active router and R2 should be on standby
• If R1 goes offline, then R2 should take over and when R1 comes back online then R1 should take over. 

Relevant configurations are posted below so let's proceed.