Overview

In addition to discovering unicast MPLS L3VPNs, MPLS Manager discovers multicast MPLS L3VPNs, as defined in draft-ietf-l3vpn-2547bis-mcast and draft-ietf-l3vpn-2547bis-mcast-bgp. Specifically, MPLS Manager discovers Next Generation Multicast VPNs (NG MVPNs) that are implemented on Juniper M/T Series routers running JUNOS 9.0 or higher.

NG MVPN extends the 2547 unicast VPN service offering to include support for IP multicast. Like 2547 VPN unicast, NG MVPN uses BGPv4 for signaling and MPLS LSPs for data transport.

NG MVPN is defined by a set of administrative policies. The policies determine both sender sites and receiver sites, and use the existing BGP-MPLS VPN mechanisms with extensions. For example, NG MVPN uses route distinguishers (RDs) and VRF route target (RT) extended communities, both of which are integral parts of unicast BGP-MPLS VPN.

If your managed MPLS environment contains NG MVPNs and draft-Rosen MVPNs, you should include an VMware Smart Assurance Multicast Manager in your deployment so that you can view the draft-Rosen MVPNs. MPLS Manager will discover the Juniper-based NG MVPNs and the multicast groups of the NG MVPNs, and Multicast Manager will discover the draft-Rosen MVPNs and the multicast groups of the draft-Rosen MVPNs. In addition, Multicast Manager will discover the multicast groups of the NG MVPNs.