Encoding of Attributes for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Label Switched Path (LSP) Establishment Using Resource ReserVation Protocol-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE)

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Label Switched Paths (LSPs) maybe established using the Resource Reservation Protocol TrafficEngineering (RSVP-TE) extensions. This protocol includes an object(the SESSION_ATTRIBUTE object) that carries a Flags field used toindicate options and attributes of the LSP. That Flags field has eightbits allowing for eight options to be set. Recent proposals in manydocuments that extend RSVP-TE have suggested uses for each of thepreviously unused bits. This document defines a new object for RSVP-TE messages that allows the signaling of further attribute bits andalso the carriage of arbitrary attribute parameters to make RSVP-TEeasily extensible to support new requirements. Additionally, thisdocument defines a way to record the attributes applied to the LSP ona hop-by-hop basis. The object mechanisms defined in this documentare equally applicable to Generalized MPLS (GMPLS) Packet SwitchCapable (PSC) LSPs and to GMPLS non-PSC LSPs. [STANDARDS-TRACK]