IEEE Workshop on High Performance Switching and Routing

Tutorials - Wednesday, 11th May 2005

Venue: Banyan (level 3), New World Renaissance Hotel

9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Speakers
Alton Lo, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Mallik Tatipamula, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Abstract
MPLS and GMPLS are fundamental building blocks for today's evolving networks. Switch and router manufacturers as well as Service Providers are looking to MPLS and GMPLS to leverage new revenue streams, to provide new services, and to extract better performance and capacity from their existing equipment. In order to offer competitively differentiated services, it is necessary to understand the basic principles of the protocols, how they are implemented and deployed, and their advanced capabilities.

Outline
This tutorial will start by reviewing the fundamental concepts in MPLS, MPLS-TE and GMPLS, and will highlight the key components of these protocols. It will then describe some aspects of the software implementation of the protocols drawing on the presenters' wide experience of different implementations, switches and deployments to highlight some of the common pitfalls and misconceptions.

The final section of the tutorial will focus on advanced applications and latest developments in MPLS and GMPLS networks. It will cover:

• Extending the existing protocols to provide end-to-end service across multiple network domains. This includes establishing connectivity between TE tunnel endpoints by providing capabilities to setup tunnel that spans across different IGP areas or Autonomous Systems.
• Network failure protection and recovery schemes to support simultaneously mission-critical applications and dynamic, reliable signaling and control for optical transport network infrastructure and voice/video services.
• Operations and Management (OAM) features that are essential to ensure the correct functioning of the network.
• New developments including Error and Alarm Reporting, Layer One VPNs, and Interworking with the ITU-T's ASON architecture.

Profiles
Alton Lo is a Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, Inc. where he leads MPLS development for Cisco Systems high speed, carrier-class routing business unit. Most recently Alton has been focused on designing and developing MPLS Traffic Engineerring and VPN solutions.

Mallik Tatipamula is a Senior Product Manager at Cisco Systems, Inc. where he is responsible for Emerging technologies in Routing Technologies Group. Mallik has over 14 years of experience in telecom and networking. He closely works with service providers and national research networks around the world in deploying advanced technologies (IPv6, GMPLS) in their next generation networks.

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Speaker
Liang Cheng, Ph.D.
Director, Laboratory Of Networking Group (LONGLAB)
Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University

Abstract
This tutorial discusses the design and implementation of “network systems” such as Ethernet switches and Internet routers. It covers design principles and issues of traditional protocol processing systems and network processor technology. This tutorial is a concise version of the course offered by Dr. Cheng at Lehigh University: CSE398 -- Network Systems Design (URL: http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~cheng/Teaching/NSD398/syllabus.html).

Outline
Part I: Traditional Network Systems (1 hour)

• Introduction on computer networks
• Computer architecture of network systems
• Packet processing algorithms
• Packet processing functions
• Demo: firewall, ethereal
• Protocol software
• Hardware architecture for packet processing
• Classification and forwarding
• Switching fabrics

Part II: Network Processor Technology (1 hour)

• Network processor introduction
• Complexity of network processor design
• Network processor architectures
• Scaling a network processor
• Design tradeoffs and consequences

Part III: Example Network Processor (1 hour)
-- with lab demos co-designed with Dr. Dale Parson of Agere Systems, Inc.

• Overview of Agere network processor and FPL classification language
• Demo: SPA network processor simulator
• System architecture and modeling
• Stateful network processor applications
• Policing, buffer management and traffic shaping
• Demo: Stateful FPL application
• Network processing trends

Profile
Liang Cheng is the Director of LONGLAB (Laboratory Of Networking Group, http://long.cse.lehigh.edu) and an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Department at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA. His research interests include: sensor, ad-hoc, and wireless LAN networks, middleware computing/architecture, network management of heterogeneous networks, network processing, and computer supported collaborative works. Dr. Cheng currently advises six Ph.D. students and supervises one postdoctoral research associate and one visiting scholar. He has more than 40 publications of book chapters, journal and conference/workshop papers, and holds one U.S. patent in the above-mentioned areas. Dr. Cheng has been the principle investigator (PI) and a Co-PI of seven projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and Agere Systems, Inc. He has served 2005 IEEE Sarnoff Symposium on Advances in Wired and Wireless Communications as the Program Chair. Cheng is an awardee of Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Foundation Minority Junior Faculty Award with Career Enhancement Grant. More details can be found at http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~cheng/.