Title
Abstract
Preface

1 Introduction
1.1 Thesis introduction
1.2 Thesis description
1.3 thesis progress
1.4 literature review
1.5 Report outline

2 An outline of IP and MPLS technologies
2.1 Introduction
2.2 OAM and backbones in general
2.2.1 What is OAM?
2.2.2 A short introduction to backbones
2.3 Forwarding mechanisms in IP
2.3.1 An overview of the IP architecture
2.3.2 Routing and forwarding
2.4 The MPLS architecture and its forwarding mechanisms
2.4.1 The MPLS architecture
2.4.2 The control component
2.4.3 The forwarding component
2.4.4 An example of forwarding

3 A classification of OAM functionalities
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Network Management
3.2.1 Network Management Architectures
3.2.2 SNMP
3.3 OAM on IP
3.3.1 Ping and ICMP
3.3.2 Traceroute
3.3.3 IP MIBs
3.3.4 New OAM functions in IPv6
3.3.5 ITU-T's future OAM on IP
3.4 OAM on MPLS
3.4.1 Current work overview
3.4.2 LSP connectivity
3.4.3 MPLS Ping
3.4.4 RSVP node failure detection
3.4.5 Protection Switching
3.4.6 Fast rerouting
3.4.7 MPLS and traffic engineering
3.4.8 MPLS SNMP MIBs

4 A comparative analysis of OAM mechanisms
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Failure detection
4.3 Reachability features
4.4 Avoidance of congested routers
4.5 SNMP features
4.6 Ping and traceroute
4.7 Fast rerouting and Protocol switching
4.8 Traffic engineering

5 Our recommended mechanisms and new ideas
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Recommended OAM mechanisms for large backbone networks
5.3 Differentiation of connectivity traffic
5.4 Classifying the traffic

6 Conclusion

Abbreviations
Terms
References

Appendix A - Configuring Routers
Appendix B – Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
Appendix C – An MPLS Scenario
Appendix D – Classifying the traffic (restricted)