| MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) makes sense in | | | | a "Roll Your Own" network, for example, be sure to |
| multi-site businesses with a high percentage of the | | | | take into account the management of the network |
| data traffic being proprietary business application | | | | equipment, as well as your disaster recovery options |
| traffic. But it's not quite that simple. | | | | should any of the network equipment fail. The Carrier |
| My criteria for implementing MPLS vs other options, | | | | class equipment used at the Edge routers, Internet |
| are: | | | | Gateway Firewalls, and multiple paths around the cloud |
| 1. Security | | | | offered by MPLS carriers is definitely worth serious |
| 2. Reliability | | | | consideration. |
| 3. Performance | | | | Performance is a complicated topic. While it is true that, |
| 4. Cost | | | | you will probably get more raw bandwidth for your |
| Of course there are other important factors when | | | | investment with DSL or a Cable connection, one thing |
| choosing the carrier that will provide you a MPLS | | | | you get with a solid MPLS carrier is network |
| solution. | | | | engineering help, in planning and implementation of the |
| Depending on the carrier's implementation, MPLS adds | | | | network. QoS can be complicated to get right |
| several security benefits: | | | | depending on the applications run on the WAN, how |
| A. The data is encapsulated in MPLS packets which | | | | bandwidth intensive and sensitive to Latency the |
| keeps the data more secure from the rest of the | | | | applications are, and the user load at each location can |
| traffic on the Public Internet Backbone. | | | | be difficult to balance correctly. |
| B. Some Carriers keep the MPLS traffic on a private | | | | Cost is always an issue. In General, MPLS is less |
| IP Backbone which is even more secure. | | | | expensive than Frame Relay (which is no longer even |
| C. The Internet Gateway from the MPLS cloud to the | | | | offered by many carriers), and ATM. DSL and Cable |
| Public Internet, is managed through very high end | | | | will generally provide a lower cost for a given amount |
| carrier class Firewall equipment that provides a single | | | | of bandwidth, but will be more complicated to manage, |
| point to manage all of your firewall rules consistently | | | | and potentially be harder to diagnose problems. |
| applied to all of the sites on your network. | | | | So, does MPLS make sense? Yes it does. BUT .... look |
| Reliability is generally a lot better on an MPLS network | | | | a bit deeper to make sure. It's not that simple. |
| than on some of the alternatives. If you are considering | | | | |