🧪 Lab 03 · 6PE & 6VPE (IPv6 over MPLS Backbones RFC 4659)¶
✅ Validated on Arista cEOS 4.32.0F.
Time: ~45 minutes · Tools: 6PE, 6VPE, MP-BGP Label Exchange
Quick Start — Step-by-Step Execution Guide (Location: labs/ipv6-lab/)
Step 1 · Deploy the Lab Fabric (if not already running)
cd labs/ipv6-lab
sudo containerlab deploy -t topology.clab.yml --max-workers 1
Step 2 · Launch the Fully Guided Interactive Walkthrough
./run.sh --guided
Alternative Execution Options (Automated Push or Manual CLI)
- Fast Automated Script Push:
./run.sh 01 # apply + verify step 01 automatically ./run.sh --all # run all steps in order - Manual Line-by-Line CLI Execution:
Interactive CLI shell on any container node:
docker exec -it clab-ipv6-lab-leaf1-v6 Cli
🧠 Technology Deep Dive: 6PE & 6VPE Mechanics¶
Upgrading a core service provider MPLS network to native IPv6 is expensive and complex.
- 6PE (IPv6 Provider Edge): Allows Provider Edge (PE) routers to transport IPv6 global prefixes over an IPv4-only MPLS core by binding an MPLS label to the IPv6 prefix via MP-BGP (
AFI 2 / SAFI 1). - 6VPE: Extends 6PE to provide multi-tenant IPv6 L3VPN isolation (
AFI 2 / SAFI 128).
router bgp 65000
address-family ipv6
neighbor 10.255.0.2 activate
neighbor 10.255.0.2 send-community standard extended
✅ DONE when show bgp ipv6 unicast displays 6PE 2-label stacks (Transport Label + IPv6 Service Label).