netwyman

What is MPLS? Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is data forwarding technology that increases the speed and controls the flow of network traffic. With MPLS, data is directed through a path via labels instead of requiring complex lookups in a routing table at every stop. MPLS Network Scalable and protocol independent, this technique works with Internet Protocol (IP) and Asynchronous Transport Mode (ATM). MPLS allows most data packets to be forwarded at Layer 2 -- the switching level -- of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, rather than having to be passed up to Layer 3 -- the routing level. For this reason, it is often informally described as operating at Layer 2.5 In an MPLS network, the first router to receive a packet determines the packet's entire route upfront, the identity of which is quickly conveyed to subsequent routers using a label in the packet header. While router hardware has improved exponentially since MPLS was first developed -- somewhat diminishi...