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P routers forward packets based on the ______.
P routers forward packets based on the LSP label. The LSP label is the label that corresponds to the label-switched path (LSP) that is established between two PE routers in an MPLS network. The LSP label is also called the outer label or the transport label, because it is used to transport packets across the MPLS core network. P routers are also called LSRs (label switch routers) or transit routers, because they switch packets based on their labels or remove the labels. P routers do not need to look at the IP header or any other information in the packet, except for the top label in the label stack. P routers perform one of three possible operations on labels: swap, pop, or PHP (penultimate hop popping). In a swap operation, the label is swapped with a new label, and the packet is forwarded along the path associated with the new label. In a pop operation, the label is removed from the packet, and the packet is forwarded based on its IP header or another label in the stack. In a PHP operation, the label is removed from the packet at the last P router before reaching the egress PE router, and the packet is forwarded without any label to the egress PE router.
The LSP label is different from other types of labels that may be used in MPLS networks, such as VPN labels or service labels. These labels are used to identify different VPNs or services that run over MPLS networks, such as Layer 2 VPNs, Layer 3 VPNs, traffic engineering, or QoS. These labels are also called inner labels or payload labels, because they are related to the payload of the packet. These labels are not used by P routers for forwarding decisions, but only by PE routers for delivering packets to their destinations.
Therefore, the answer is C.