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Routing & Switching · Intermediate

Provider Router

A service provider core router that only switches labeled packets and has no customer-facing interfaces or VPN routes.

Definition

P routers run the IGP and label distribution only, keeping the core simple and scalable. They are unaware of customer VRFs and BGP VPN routes.

Example

A P router swaps label 16005 for 16007 toward the egress PE.

Exam tip

Because P routers are BGP-free, the core does not hold Internet or VPN tables.

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