As MPLS-based networks become more competitively priced, migrating from Frame Relay connections to MPLS backbones makes sense. However, to fully optimize and take advantage of the MPLS-based backbone, you must understand the full implications of the migration, including BGP requirements and Quality of Service (QoS) issues. In this course, we condensed the information from three separate courses into a single, focused week in which you'll cover the topics necessary to plan, design, configure, and manage this new topology.

You will discover and explore the concepts and requirements of an enterprise network that is migrating from Frame Relay connections to an MPLS-based service provider. You'll get an overview of BGP, focusing on enterprise network requirements. Then, you'll cover MPLS/VPN and QoS and examine how the MPLS network topology impacts the Enterprise QoS SLAs.

What You'll Learn

• BGP and the enterprise network
• MPLS and MPLS VPNs, emphasizing PE-to-CE BGP as an access protocol
• Enterprise QoS in an MPLS domain
• Effects of BGP auto-summarization
• Prevent your network from becoming a transit autonomous system (AS)
• Filter updates to external routers using AS-path filters and regular expressions
• Use prefix lists to filter the routes advertised to your AS
• Less disruptive ways to make your BGP policy take effect
• Control BGP path selection with the weight attribute, local preference attribute, AS-path prepending, and the multi-exit discriminator (MED) attribute
• Tag paths using the Community attribute

Who Needs to Attend

Individuals interested in replacing legacy enterprise WAN networks with BGP over MPLS.

Prerequisites

• CCNA or equivalent knowledge
• ROUTE or equivalent knowledge

• CCNAX - CCNA Boot Camp v1.1
• ROUTE - Implementing Cisco IP Routing v1.0
• BGP - Configuring BGP on Cisco Routers v3.2

Follow-On Courses

• QOS - Implementing Cisco Quality of Service
• MPLS - Implementing Cisco MPLS v2.2

Course Outline

1. BGP

• Establishing BGP Sessions
• BGP Path Attributes
• BGP Routes
  • Processing
  • Using Static Routes
  • Using Route-Maps
  • Influencing BGP Route Selection with Weights
• Basic Configuration
• Monitoring and Troubleshooting
• Using Multihomed BGP Networks
• Using AS-Path Filters
• Using Prefix-Lists
• Implementing Changes
• Setting Local Preference
• Using AS-Path Prepend
• Using MED
• Using Communities
• Customer-to-Provider Connectivity
  • Connecting to Single Service Provider
  • Connecting to Multiple Service Providers
• Using Peer Groups
• Route Dampening

2. MPLS

• Basic Concepts
• Labels and Label Stacks
  • Label Distribution
• MPLS VPN
  • Architecture
  • Routing
  • Forwarding Packets
• Configuring BGP between the PE and CE
• Managed MPLS Services

3. QoS

• The Need for QoS
• IP QoS
• Models and Mechanisms
• Differentiated Services
• Packets
  • High-Priority vs. Low-Priority
  • Classification and Marking
• NBAR
• Queuing
  • FIFO and WFQ
  • CBWFQ and LLQ
• Congestion Avoidance
• WRED
  • CB-WRED
• Policing and Shaping

Labs

Lab 1: Network Setup

Establish physical connectivity between the student routers, configure IP addressing, enable an Interior Routing Protocol, and verify routing among the student routers.

Lab 2: Configuring EBGP Peerings

Create two EBGP peerings, advertise networks into BGP, and redistribute your IGP into BGP. Observe the effects of BGP auto-summarization and summarize your pod's routes to your external neighbor.

Lab 3: Configuring IBGP Peerings

Configure an IBGP peering with the other edge router in your pod, simulating a network with redundancy and giving a backup path in case there are problems with your other external path. Learn peering with loopback interfaces, the effect of BGP synchronization, and BGP next-hop behavior. Examine the effects of multihoming on path selection, both internally and on the external neighbors.

Lab 4: Using AS-Path Filters and Regular Expressions

Filter updates to the external routers and manipulate path selection between the external peers using a combination of AS-path filters and regular expressions.

Lab 5: Using Prefix Lists

Implement a policy on routes that your AS accepts and advertises. Filter the routes advertised to your autonomous system by using prefix lists applied to routing updates from your external neighbors.

Lab 6: Soft Reconfiguration and Route Refresh

Explore less disruptive ways to make your BGP policy take effect other than clearing your peer relationships. Monitor and verify the actions of BGP Route Refresh and configure BGP soft inbound reconfiguration.

Lab 7: Configuring the Weight Attribute

Set a policy on individual routers using the Weight attribute in order to control BGP path selection on those routers. Configure a second BGP peering for each of your BGP routers, then set a weight value for routes received from each EBGP neighbor, and monitor the resulting path choice.

Lab 8: Configuring the Local Preference Attribute

Set a policy that affects your entire autonomous system using the Local Preference attribute to control BGP path selection by all routers with your autonomous system.

Lab 9: AS-Path Prepending

Use AS-Path Prepending to influence the BGP path chosen by other routers in the Internet for traffic bound for your AS. Configure AS-Path Prepending in order to make one path into your AS look more attractive than the other.

Lab 10: Configuring the MED

Use the MED attribute to influence the BGP path selection by routers in neighboring autonomous systems for traffic bound to your autonomous system.

Lab 11: Using the Community Attribute

Explore ways of using the Community attribute to tag routes. Configure the use of that attribute in setting local preference BGP policies within your autonomous system.