Performance study of the control and forwarding planes in a high speed MPLS network

Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) was originally conceived to improve the efficiency of packet forwarding in network equipments and it relies on a strict separation between the control and forwarding planes in the network functions as well as in the software and hardware architecture of the routers. The paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at evaluating the performance of the control and forwarding planes in a metropolitan MPLS network, interconnecting three sites, located in Pisa and equipped with M10 Juniper routers. In particular, experimental tests have been carried out to deeply investigate the behaviour of the network control and forwarding planes in different working conditions.