Chapter 12. Network Management and Provisioning

The multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) architecture provides a challenge in troubleshooting and debugging because of the separation of control and data planes. Features, such as MPLS operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM), help in tracing issues and problems that are critical to deploying and managing a service. This chapter describes the management and provisioning aspects for Layer 2 and Layer 3 services. As service providers (SP) evolve their networks and services to IP/MPLS, the requirement for OAM capabilities becomes critical to manage these services.