Performance analysis of the control and forwarding plane in an MPLS router

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) was originally designed to provide higher packet forwarding rates in network equipment. Nevertheless, it was soon realized that it could also provide other advanced features, such as Traffic Engineering and Virtual Private Networks capabilities. The key feature of MPLS is a strict separation between control and forwarding operations, which reflects on the software and hardware architecture of the routers. The paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at evaluating the performance of a Label Switching Router (LSR). In particular, the behaviour of the LSR control and forwarding planes has been analyzed in different working conditions as it concerns both the processing and computational effort due to the control plane and the data traffic to be forwarded.