This might sound crazy and unholy but is it possible to have MPLS prefixes like IP prefixes. MPLS label like an IP address is just a number (20 vs 32bits). There is no reason we can't have a MPLS prefix and mask similar to IP. The reason for aggregation can be the same as IP (save router memory). The lookups will be a little slower (longest prefix matching), but that problem has already been mostly solved by fast algorithms. Has this been done/ Why don't people do it?
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Bruce, I suggest editing your question to describe what you want to accomplish. – Jeff Loughridge Mar 06 '13 at 21:04
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@Jeff: I want to aggregate MPLS labels like IP addresses. – Bruce Mar 06 '13 at 21:17
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Bruce, the Tier 1 ISPs in the world have built massive MPLS networks without doing what you are suggesting. The ASICs in routers can do label lookups very quickly. You will not realize any gains here. In addition, router memory is a miniscule component of the cost. You don't need to optimize here. This seems more like an intellectual exercise for you rather than an attempt to solve a problem that you are facing in a real-life network. – Jeff Loughridge Mar 07 '13 at 01:16