ENVS 1200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Asynchronous Transfer Mode, Wide Area Network, Multiprotocol Label Switching
13 May 2018
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ENVS 1200 Tutorial 10 Notes – MPLS and Alternative protocols
Introduction
Alternative protocols
• Although primarily on TCP/IP and Ethernet, there are a number of important alternative
technologies in use, particularly by carriers providing wide area network services
• Also for specialty purposes, such as Internet backbones and storage area networking
• New developments in this area occur frequently and rapidly.
• At this writing, the prevalent alternatives include Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS),
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Sonet/SDH, and Frame Relay.
• Each of these protocols can be implemented at different layers of the OSI or TCP/IP
models, and each can serve as a carrier mechanism for IP datagrams and Ethernet
frames.
• In typical use, wide area network service providers connect a TCP/IP or Ethernet
gateay to their serice at the custoer’s edge poit.
• The alternate technology carries the packets to another edge point where they are
converted back to their original form.
• What follows is a brief description of each.
• More information on these and other protocols can be found in various network text
books and on the Web.
MPLS
• The goal of MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) is to improve the forwarding speed of
IP datagrams by creating virtual circuit capability over traditional packet switched
networks, such as Ethernet.
• MPLS operates at the data link layer. MPLS is a relatively recent, but fast growing,
technology.
• MPLS inserts a small, 32-bit fixed-length header between the layer 2 and layer 3 headers
in a packet.
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