MPLS network simulation

Gregor Škaper (2012) MPLS network simulation. EngD thesis.

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Abstract

The thesis deals with the MPLS protocol, which represents an important upgrade of an IP network. An IP network which uses MPLS protocol is called an MPLS network. The main idea behind the MPLS protocol is the connection-oriented principle which is brought into a connectionless-oriented IP network, which means that a path is established between two end nodes before IP-packets are transferred. This improves the speed and reliability of IP-packet transmission. An important feature of MPLS protocol is traffic engineering. With traffic engineering the network traffic is redirected to the desired path in the network which provides less network load and optimal utilization of network resources. The experimental part of the study was aimed at simulating the IP network and MPLS network to check the impact of MPLS protocol on the operation of an IP network. The implementation of simulation models and the simulation process were performed using a network simulator NS-2. Simulation models were implemented with the OTcl programming language. In experimental work we focused on the simulation of traffic engineering. In the course of the simulation, we monitored certain quality of service parameters, e.g. delay, delay variation (jitter), and throughput. The simulation was carried out for different network loads and different types of network traffic. The simulation results, which were obtained using the AWK programming language, were in accordance with our expectations, except for a small number of interesting phenomena, which were properly evaluated.

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