What Is MPLS? Multiprotocol Label Switching
If you have come across multiprotocol label switching before you might have been a bit nervous about its typical price. But, before walking away from it gain a good understanding of what it actually does and how it can benefit a business.
How Does Multiprotocol Label Switching Work
First of all multiprotocol label switching is not a service. Instead, MPLS is a technique that can be incorporated with the help of Managed wan services. Its primary purpose is to connect and send data to other sites of a company using a private connection on the service providers cloud. The private connection is a network security service in which zone A, B, C, and so on can connect. We can describe it in a similar way as to how we receive tracked packages. When you look at the progress of your parcel for an estimated delivery time, you may notice that it has been to several locations that weren’t necessarily the easiest route. Now when you look at IP routing on the internet, it works in the same way. An internet router will receive an IP packet and will have no instruction on how to send it or how to treat it. This then becomes long and very unreliable. With multiprotocol label switching, managed network services will create a private connection, and when IP packets reach the cloud connection, an MPLS label is applied to it which then directs the packet to its destination.
Customer Benefits
When companies use a managed IT service provider it makes sense to utilize the network security services that are on offer. One of the main benefits of using multiprotocol label switching is that interface independence is still viable. Zone A, B, and C can all connect to the cloud using different connections whether that’s T1, Fibre, or any other connection that is supported by the provider. Once they reach the cloud, the private connection created by managed network services links all the zones together. That being said not all zones have to be connected if it's not required. Some companies simply need zones B and C to link with zone A but not each other. This managed network service can link any zones with each other all while implementing network security services.
Is cost Effective?
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, MPLS can be slightly costly. Some people may think the MPLS isn’t worth it as you are able to connect each site to the internet and use VPN technology to link them together. This option is definitely cost-effective however there is no quality of service, and it isn’t guaranteed. VPN also adds a lot of header information to the IP packets that are being sent which then noticeably impacts the quality and is especially bad for voice over IP. So it can be compared to receiving a bashed packaged in the post that sometimes might contain a slightly damaged product. Now MPLS might not be considered as cost effective as other methods, but it definitely assures efficiency and quality with the use of Network Security Services.
High Performing And Secure
When opting for multiprotocol label switching, there is no need for additional technology to be installed. It doesn’t even need to be tied in with an underlying one. Instead, MPLS was designed to be an overlay technique for improved performance and efficiency. Multiprotocol label switching promotes a much better bandwidth utilization and provides a high-quality end-user experience due to the significantly reduced congestion throughout the network.
Using Managed wan services to implement MPLS can be extremely beneficial for certain businesses. Network security services enable the private connection through the cloud to remain secure while IP packets travel to other destinations in prime condition. MPLS supports a range of other software and services including virtual leased lines, VPN (a virtual private network), traffic separation, and virtual private LAN services. MPLS is very flexible and extremely reliable.