RSVP-TE Message Pacing

RSVP-TE message pacing provides a means to limit the overwhelming number of RSVP-TE signaling messages that can occur in large MPLS networks during node failures. RSVP-TE message pacing allows the messages to be sent in timed intervals.

To protect nodes from receiving too many messages, the following message pacing parameters can be configured:

msg-pacing — message pacing can be enabled or disabled
max-burst — maximum burst defines the number of RSVP-TE messages that can be sent in the specified period of time
period — period defines the interval of time used in conjunction with the max-burst parameter to send message pacing RSVP-TE messages

Message pacing needs to be enabled on all the nodes in a network to ensure the efficient operation of tier-1 nodes. Message pacing affects the number of RSVP-TE messages that a particular node can generate, not the number of messages it can receive. Therefore, each node must be paced at a rate that allows the most loaded MPLS nodes to keep up with the number of messages they receive.

Note: Typically, a tier-1 node is an aggregator of tier-2 node transmissions, which is an aggregator of tier-3 node transmissions. Tier-1 nodes are often installed at an MTSO, while tier-3 nodes are often installed at cell sites.