MPLS to CYA…Converge Your Assets

Jim Guillet
AVP, Broadband Networking Division, Alcatel
October 1, 2001

Flashback to early 2000.  You’re a service provider operating an ATM network and enjoying stable and growing revenues from services such as cell relay (CR), Frame Relay (FR) and private lines. Based on popular wisdom at that time you decide to start migrating these services in earnest towards a new IP network.  In other words, move the ATM to the network edge and grow the IP core based on your understanding that maintaining QoS would not be a problem by next year (i.e. by now).  Reasonable assumption and you may yet be right – just not yet.  Emerging standards for MPLS and DiffServ are still, well, emerging (though impressive progress is being made with the cooperation of leading service providers and vendors) and next-generation router technology is not yet broadly available.

So, now, like many service providers, you are operating two separate and distinct packet networks each with its own technologies, organizations, and mandates:  connection-oriented (i.e. ATM/FR using switches) and connectionless (i.e. IP using routers).  So much for operational and capital savings!

This column will look at solutions to address this network dilemma through a migration strategy that focuses on the current and future roles of MPLS in your network.  As per Figure 1, areas addressed will include:

• G.MPLS used in the control plane to signal lambdas
• Mediation used for ATM transport across a pure, packet-based MPLS data plane

• IP transport across ATM, MPLS and IP data planes

Figure 1

Next page >>

Page 1 of 5