CloudLabBox
Try the free demo

MPLS and L3VPN lab 1 of 11

LDP on IOS and RouterOS

Switch on label switching across a core of two Cisco and two MikroTik routers. Read discovery, sessions, bindings and the forwarding table in both vendors, and find penultimate hop popping and explicit null in real output.

Run this lab

It needs Lite: its 4 nodes are set to 4 vCPU and 1,536 MB in total. That fits the free demo too.

In your workspace: Shared, then MPLS and L3VPN guided labs, then 01 - LDP on IOS and RouterOS

Try it free for 30 minutesRun it on Lite from £3 a day

The free demo needs no card and no email. Every lab plan includes every guided lab.

Level
Intermediate
Time
About 60 minutes
Nodes need
4 vCPU, 1,536 MB
Smallest plan
Lite

The scenario

Wrenfield Networks, a regional carrier in AS 65100, runs a small core of four routers. Two came from a Cisco shop (R1, R2) and two from a MikroTik shop (R3, R4), because the company grew by buying a smaller provider. Your first job is to turn on label switching across the lot, then explain to the team exactly what each router does with a label. The rest of this course builds VPNs on top of what you switch on today.

RouterRunsLoopbackRole here
R1IOS10.255.0.1/32Edge
R2IOS10.255.0.2/32Core
R3RouterOS10.255.0.3/32Core
R4RouterOS10.255.0.4/32Edge
DeviceInterfaceAddressConnects to
R1Loopback010.255.0.1/32
R1Gi0/010.0.12.1/30R2 Gi0/0
R2Loopback010.255.0.2/32
R2Gi0/010.0.12.2/30R1 Gi0/0
R2Gi0/110.0.23.1/30R3 ether1
R3loopback10.255.0.3/32
R3ether110.0.23.2/30R2 Gi0/1
R3ether210.0.34.1/30R4 ether1
R4loopback10.255.0.4/32
R4ether110.0.34.2/30R3 ether2

What you’ll practise

  • Enable LDP on IOS and RouterOS and read the session state on both
  • Explain hellos, transport addresses and which side opens the TCP session
  • Tell the LIB from the LFIB and say which label is actually used
  • Find penultimate hop popping in both vendors and explain why it exists
  • Use explicit null and explain when it matters

The tasks

  1. See the network before labels
  2. Turn on LDP on IOS
  3. Turn on LDP on RouterOS
  4. Read bindings and the forwarding table
  5. Penultimate hop popping
  6. Explicit null

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of LDP on IOS and RouterOS4 nodes, 3 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.R1R2R3R4Gi0/0Gi0/0Gi0/1ether1ether2ether1
4 nodes, with the interface names each link uses. On a narrow screen, scroll the diagram sideways.
Every link, as text
  • R1 Gi0/0 to R2 Gi0/0
  • R2 Gi0/1 to R3 ether1
  • R3 ether2 to R4 ether1
Nodes in LDP on IOS and RouterOS, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
R1Cisco IOSvvios-adventerprisek9-m.spa.159-3.m91 vCPU, 512 MB
R2Cisco IOSvvios-adventerprisek9-m.spa.159-3.m91 vCPU, 512 MB
R3MikroTik RouterOSmikrotik-7.14.21 vCPU, 256 MB
R4MikroTik RouterOSmikrotik-7.14.21 vCPU, 256 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder MPLS and L3VPN guided labs.

  3. Open 01 - LDP on IOS and RouterOS and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

More MPLS and L3VPN labs

All MPLS and L3VPN labs

Related labs in other courses

CloudLabBox is independent of Cisco, Juniper Networks and MikroTik. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.