Subject: numbered TE links in GMPLS

From: Dmitry Ryumkin <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 12:21:53 -0500

In GMPLS, TE links may be numbered (assigned local and remote IP addresses).

My question is how such IP addresses should be handled in cases when a TE
link is not capable of terminating IP traffic. Can I use such an IP address
as a destination when sending IP packets? Some drafts seem to imply that the
answer to this question is positive. For example, bundle's IP addresses may
be used in ERO; also, as one of the mechanism for selecting a component link
from a bundle, the "Link Bundling in MPLS TE" draft proposes sending
Path/REQUEST message to the remote IP address of the component link (section
3.3.2). If this is really the case then what interface model should be used?
Usually, assigning an IP address to a link means creating an interface on
top of the interface corresponding to the link. The IfTable will have an
entry for this IP interface and the IfStackTable will link this interface
with the one corresponding to the link. In the TE link case, however, it
would imply that all TE links (including bundles and FA) have to be put in
the IfTable, which currently seems not to be the case.
Could somebody please clarify this.

Thanks,
Dmitry