LDP shortcut for BGP next-hop resolution shortcuts allow for the deployment of a ‛route-less core’ infrastructure on the 7750 SR and 7950 XRS. Many service providers either have or intend to remove the IBGP mesh from their network core, retaining only the mesh between routers connected to areas of the network that require routing to external routes.
Shortcuts are implemented by utilizing Layer 2 tunnels (that is, MPLS LSPs) as next hops for prefixes that are associated with the far end termination of the tunnel. By tunneling through the network core, the core routers forwarding the tunnel have no need to obtain external routing information and are immune to attack from external sources.
The tunnel table contains all available tunnels indexed by remote destination IP address. LSPs derived from received LDP /32 route FECs are automatically installed in the table associated with the advertising router-ID when IGP shortcuts are enabled.
Evaluating tunnel preference is based on the following order in descending priority:
LDP /32 route FEC shortcut
Actual IGP next-hop
If a higher priority shortcut is not available or is not configured, a lower priority shortcut is evaluated. When no shortcuts are configured or available, the IGP next-hop is always used. Shortcut and next-hop determination is event driven based on dynamic changes in the tunneling mechanisms and routing states.
See the 7450 ESS, 7750 SR, 7950 XRS, and VSR Unicast Routing Protocols Guide for details on the use of LDP FEC and RSVP LSP for BGP Next-Hop Resolution.