Who: The User Perspective

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There are three distinct groups in the 'who' category (see Figure 9.3): the end user, the service provider, and the equipment/hardware vendor.

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Figure 9.3: Three Types of Audience

End Users

End users could be enterprise networks, such as hospitals, healthcare organizations, insurance groups, and multi-national corporations. It is not how big and/or numerous they are that is important, but it is more the perspective that they have. A company may outsource their network operations to a service provider. It is fast, it is easy, and it is pain-free. Service providers make their money by providing centralized service and economies of scale.

Some service providers will guarantee several grades of service to their end users. The users do not care whether the technology is MPLS or tin cans, as long as it meets their requirements.

The sales approach to an end user is simple - better service, faster, and cheaper (see Figure 9.4).

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Figure 9.4: End-User Concerns

Service Providers

Simply put, a service provider's goal is the bottom line (see Figure 9.5). How will MPLS generate revenue and lower a service provider's operational costs? In addition, service providers demand: no downtime, ease of migration and operations, and no loss of revenue. They are looking for the same performance standards that they have enjoyed with other technologies, including ATM, Frame Relay, and voice. They require a 99.99999% operational status and rapid recovery from failures.

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Figure 9.5: What Service Providers Want

Equipment/Hardware Vendors

Hardware vendors are finding ways to adapt their existing switches and routers to accommodate MPLS. Most designs feature a centralized platform with changeable interface cards. With this approach, routing companies can extend their services to the ATM world, and ATM can extend its services to the IP world. A vendor's goals are to find new services, and to extend the life of their products (see Figure 9.6).

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Figure 9.6: The Vendor's Goal



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Rick Gallagher's MPLS Training Guide. Building Multi-Protocol Label Switching Networks
Rick Gallahers MPLS Training Guide: Building Multi Protocol Label Switching Networks
ISBN: 1932266003
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 138

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