Foreword

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The state of Multiple Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is healthy and revenue-ready—such are the indications from the largest MPLS test lab to date. MPLS is healthy, but as of this writing, the economy is not. The slowing of the economy, however, only serves to allow MPLS to develop in different markets.

Although approximately 70 worldwide carriers have adopted MPLS technology, with many major carriers (including British Telecom and Qwest) already offering MPLS services, the carrier market is soft. Enterprise networks, however, are moving rapidly to implement MPLS for private networking and VPNs.

Large to mid-size Enterprise and private networks are examining the benefits and exploring the options of MPLS. The biggest benefit of migrating to MPLS is the savings that it promises through convergence and additional services. MPLS offers the ability to construct a scalable network that can handle data, voice, and video conferencing.

The cry from CTOs around the world has been for converged networks: one infrastructure, one bill.

Training is a significant challenge facing MPLS. Everyone that has deployed MPLS says the same thing: “Do not underestimate the need for training.” As we examined this area, we found that there is a place between IP networks and vendor manuals in which there exists a need for sound theory. This book attempts to bridge that gap.

In the community of computer science, there are many subcultures that are separated by their own language sets; the same is true with the rise of MPLS. Much of the misunderstanding that takes place in networking is a problem with language. We hope that this book will help to remove some of the barriers to understanding that surround MPLS, and also give the reader a sound foundation for further MPLS studies. This book can be read or studied as either a self-paced course or a classroom resource.

We worked with pre-eminent MPLS vendors in order to give the reader a broadly based, multi-vendor view of MPLS. Riverstone Networks was extremely generous in supplying several of the practical applications and operational commands that feature in this book. In addition, Allot, Cisco, Juniper, OPNET, and Redback provided valuable input and source documents to support a multi-vendor study guide

How to Use This Book

This book is arranged to build both a foundational knowledge of MPLS and an understanding of related specialty subjects. Chapters 1-3 (MPLS Fundamentals and Data Flow, Label Distribution, and Signaling, respectively) are foundational chapters. These are supplemented with chapters devoted to specialty subjects, including Rapid Recovery, Traffic Engineering, GMPLS, VPN, QoS, and MPLS Marketing. After completing Chapters 1-3, the specialty chapters can be completed in any order.

Most of the chapters are arranged to encompass theory, practical applications, and learning exercises. A vocabulary block precedes each chapter for quick referencing. Periodic checkpoints and reviews are provided to reinforce the learning experience.

For a quick overview, one can choose to study only the theory-based portion of a chapter. For more details, one can review the vendor examples and practical examples given in that chapter. For maximum detail, one can complete the practical exercises and answer review questions for each chapter.

The book is designed to serve a variety of interests, from those that want a quick overview to those that need details down to the bit level.

This book is also supported with three appendices: Appendix A Answers to Exams and Exercises; Appendix B Capture Samples for Labs; and Appendix C Related RFCs and drafts.

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