While there are certainly many other reasons why companies are adopting multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) technology, according to a white paper generated by the MPLS Forum, scalability, security, cost, speed, quality, and reliability are the key factors driving companies towards the protocol.
While scalability is a feature highly sought by companies, MPLS also ensures high security at both the edge and core of the network for companies expanding with local and remote sites globally. Per the white paper, common protocols such as Frame Relay and ATM work with a specified bandwidth for T3 and T1 connections. However, with MPLS, there are no specifications for bandwidth, as this label switching technology can scale from a very low range to the highest bandwidth as the network expands. From a security standpoint, MPLS conceals core network information from customer VPNs to avoid hacking of internal information. Also, the paper shows that the infrastructure is set in such a way that the MPLS core is independent from other VPNs and hides them from external network access.
The paper indicates that the implementation cost is minimal. By sending VoIP and video traffic over data and control planes, it shrinks the operating cost of network management. It also avoids the need for additional purchase for data services. Also, with widespread adoption, the cost of implementing the technology is declining. Consequently, the white paper suggests that enterprises planning to migrate will reap the benefits of low TCO and high ROI for their full mesh network topology as they expand.
With regards to speed, MPLS allows high-speed packet transfer with its ‘label-switching’ technique, says the whitepaper. As it is ‘label based’, packet relay is quick, routing them in a configured path for efficient packet transmission. With this mechanism, packets that require zero-delay transmission can make it even with traffic blockage, eliminating packet loss of sensitive traffic. According to the whitepaper, traffic carrying multimedia content (audio/video) benefits the most from MPLS, as it reduces latency factors such as RTT and jitter. In short, the paper says, performance metrics such as processing speed, response time, and packet transfer rate are comfortably met with MPLS.
Lastly, the constraints of transmission such as bandwidth allocation, resource usage, and packet relay determine the reliability of any protocol. Even at times of primary link failures, MPLS manages these bottlenecks with automatic rerouting of packets to alternative paths and utilizes bandwidth to the best possible level, with 99.999 percent reliability. In other words, MPLS ensures that backup premises are able to reconnect with remote sites during disasters.
Edited by Blaise McNamee