When tunneling IPv6 traffic over MPLS IPv6 network (6PE), the following error is seen for bypass LSP:

By default, any MPLS interface has a maximum-labels limit of 3 on MX and PTX platforms. In a 6PE scenario, sometimes this number may be higher when link-protection or fast reroute is enabled.

In an ideal situation, here are the label requirements:

• 2 labels on primary path: Transport label, either RSVP or LDP; IPv6 tunneling label
• 3 labels on backup/bypass path: Transport label, either RSVP or LDP; IPv6 tunneling label; bypass label

For any IPv6 prefix, the BGP Protocol Next Hop (PNH) should be IPv4 compatible IPv6 address in the format of ::ffff:x.x.x.x in inet6.3, and a direct labeled path is required to reach its PNH.

In a race condition or due to other facts, IPv6 prefix PNH was resolved via default route ::/0 in inet6.0 which already required 3 labels to be pushed on bypass path.

In the example below, IPv6 prefix ::8.8.8.8/128 is received from remote PE router 6.6.6.6 with PNH of ::ffff:6.6.6.6. However, route ::ffff:6.6.6.6 is missing from inet6.3. It is resolved from inet6.0. To reach the PNH, we need 2 labels on primary path and 3 labels on bypass path. An additional label needed for the actual IPv6 destination, thus label limits has exceeded the default max of 3. As a result, no bypass path is created for destination ::8.8.8.8/128.

lab> show route receive-protocol bgp 6.6.6.6 
 
inet6.0: 14 destinations, 25 routes (14 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
  Prefix                  Nexthop              MED     Lclpref    AS path
* ::8.8.8.8/128           ::ffff:6.6.6.6               100        65001 I
 
lab> show route ::ffff:6.6.6.6 
 
inet6.0: 14 destinations, 25 routes (14 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
 
::/0               *[BGP/170] 01:21:18, localpref 100, from 5.5.5.5
                      AS path: 65002 I, validation-state: unverified
                    > to 12.0.0.2 via lt-0/0/0.12, label-switched-path r1-r5
                      to 13.0.0.2 via lt-0/0/0.13, label-switched-path Bypass->12.0.0.2
 
lab> show route forwarding-table destination ::/0 
 
Routing table: default.inet6
Internet6:
Enabled protocols: Bridging, Dual VLAN, 
Destination        Type RtRef Next hop           Type Index    NhRef Netif
default            user     0                    indr  1048622     3
                                                 ulst  1048621     2
                                                Push 2, Push 300064(top)     1351     3 lt-0/0/0.12
                                                Push 2, Push 300064, Push 299952(top)     1352     2 lt-0/0/0.13 <-- On bypass path it needs 3 labels to get PNH 

lab> show route forwarding-table destination ::8.8.8.8/128
::8.8.8.8/128      *[BGP/170] 01:40:05, localpref 100, from 6.6.6.6
                      AS path: 65001 I, validation-state: unverified
                    > to 12.0.0.2 via lt-0/0/0.12, label-switched-path r1-r5 <-- No bypass created on lt-0/0/0.13 as log indicates 

1. If this error appears sporadically during convergence, then it can be ignored. This is most likely due to a racing condition in updating protocol Next Hop.

2. Create full mesh Label Switched Path across the MPLS core network to all remote PE routers.

3. In some designs, there is no protocol Next Hop route in inet6.3 table, either through default route ::/ or sometimes LDP over RSVP tunneling. An additional label would be required. We need to increase the maximum-labels on MPLS interfaces.

• Configure maximum-labels for MPLS interface