We have a country-wide network of leased lines -- approximately 40 leased lines of 2 MBPS. We want to switch over to MPLS. Please provide the details regarding feasibility of MPLS and its advantages and disadvantages, including data integrity and data security.
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is a great resource on MPLS. The advantages of this service is that it enhances data integrity. The service recognizes a class of service (CoS), which is attached after the network layer and before the IP address. It is extremely versatile. By being able to select the perfect routes and heal the network should the route go down, your network will remain in working order through some faults (if configured correctly). It also allows for prioritization and other enhancements. The only real disadvantage is that you will generally need to upgrade your equipment unless you have routers that are field upgradeable, but when you consider the uptime in this environment and the better paths that you can utilize, it is a good expense.
This was first published in March 2006