Introduction of Segment Routing (SR)

The fundamental distinction between traditional MPLS and SR lies in their simplicity. While traditional MPLS offers benefits such as traffic engineering, Quality of Service (QoS), and support for L2 and L3 VPNs, SR architecture surpasses it. It works on the principle of source routing, where the state lies in the packet and a node routes a packet through an ordered list of instructions called segments embedded in the packet itself. It removes the need for complex signaling protocols and path states in the network.

What is SR?

Segment Routing (SR), or Source Packet Routing in Networking (SPRING), is a routing technology that fundamentally transforms the routing framework, allowing the source node to determine the entire path of a packet, including all intermediate hops, from its origin to the final destination. This predetermined path is expressed as an ordered list of segments, stacked on the packet header. A segment, often identified by its...