Data Security vs. Overall Performance in 6VPE

Abstract

Both 6PE and 6VPE allow ISPs to provide end-to-end IPv6 connectivity over the legacy MPLS core networks. However, the security issues in IPv6 over Provider Edge Routers (6PE) lead to the development of IPv6 VPN Provider Edge Router (6VPE) with arguing that it’s provide more secrecy to the IPv6 traffic in MPLS core. However, this method is yet to be evaluated in terms of performance and the level of secrecy. 6VPE adds the feature of creating VPN for each customer so that the private customer traffic is not disseminated among others. However, as MPLS uses labels to route traffic inside the ISP core network instead of the IP header; the overall network performance has to be confirmed. In this research a deductive methodology has been used to evaluate 6VPE configuration. Results shows an enhancement of 2.5% in the average round trip delay when using 6VPE compared to IPv4 traffic in MPLS.