Understand and leverage MPLS

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Looking for substantial efficiency gains in your network? Look no further than multiprotocol label switching (MPLS).

This data transfer protocol is the active ingredient in IP virtual private networking (IP VPN) and forms the foundation for advanced business tools and applications that can have a huge effect on productivity, such as those used in unified communications.

How it works

MPLS expedites packet forwarding via label switching, rather than by address lookup and forwarding. The protocol's traffic-engineering capabilities are far superior in handling and prioritizing data flows such as voice and video.

Other benefits include:

Reduced latency in transmission
Rapid network scalability
Consolidation of multiple systems for voice and data
Proven reliability and security
Lower total cost of ownership

The great application enabler

The ability to leverage the applications that ride on top of MPLS is often reason enough to make the switch to IP VPN.

Here are some of the top convergence applications that leverage MPLS technology:

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking – Enables voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone calls to any national destination through your installed private branch exchange (PBX).
Native multicasting – Reduces bandwidth requirements for demanding applications such as those used for webcasts and news distribution. The data is sent only once, even when there are many recipients.
IP video conferencing – Offers a high definition communications experience featuring superb sound and picture quality, with less bandwidth usage.
Site-to-site wide area network – Enables continuous, uninterrupted connectivity and efficient data transfer with quality of service strictly maintained.
VoIP – Enables advanced calling features and cost-effective, reliable connections to any extension on the corporate network, without long distance fees.

When does MPLS make sense?

The decision to switch to MPLS is usually driven by a combination of two or more of the following requirements:

Deployment of convergence applications
Network expansion
Server consolidation and centralization
Need to maximize the capabilities and reliability of applications
Need to contain or reduce costs

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Boost productivity with MPLS
Discover many benefits of MPLS in this white paper

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Why Bell?

Bell is a leader in the field of MPLS solutions for the enterprise. The network specialists at Bell can help you assess your business needs and build the right network solution.

To learn more about MPLS IP VPN and the applications it supports, read our white paper MPLS: paving the path to unified communications or contact your Bell representative.