Design of the packet forwarding architecture of the ATM based MPLS edge node

In multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) domains, the speed-up by eliminating the IP header lookup and the support of QoS are basic roles of label switch routers (LSRs). Core LSRs inside MPLS network forward packets at the network-specific link layer. However, edge LSRs on the MPLS network boundary would forward packets at the link layer and at the network layer. The support of both high-speed forwarding and the guarantee of QoS at the edge LSRs are very important. This paper proposes the packet forwarding architecture of the ATM-label edge router (ATM-LER), which is an MPLS edge LSR on the public ATM network boundary, to support the high-speed forwarding. The forwarding control procedures and the related works of the ATM-LER are also discussed.