Competitors to MPLSMPLS

Competitors to MPLSMPLS can exist in both an IPv4 environment (using IPv4 routing protocols) and an IPv6 environment (using IPv6 routing protocols). The major goal of MPLS development was the increase of routing speed. This goal is no longer relevant because of the usage of newer switching methods, such as ASIC, TCAM and CAM-based switching. Now, therefore, the main application of MPLS is to implement limited traffic engineering and Layer 3/Layer 2 “service provider type” VPNs over IPv4 networks.

The main competitors to MPLS are Provider Backbone Bridges (PBB), and MPLS-TP. These also provide services such as service provider Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs. L2TPv3 has been suggested as a competitor, but has not reached any wider success.[citation needed] Some internet providers[who?] are offering different services to customers along with MPLS. These services mainly include National Private Lease Circuit (NPLC), ILL, IPLC etc.[clarification needed] As an example of NPLC, consider City A and City B. An organisation has an office in each city. The organisation requires connectivity between these two offices. The ISP will have access to a PoP in each city and therefore has a link between the PoPs. To connect the offices to the PoPs, a connection via the local loop will be commissioned for each office. In this way, an NPLC is delivered.

IEEE 1355 is an unrelated technology that does something similar at the hardware level.

August 8, 2011

Continue