Is MPLS the Right Choice For Your Voice & Data Network?
MPLS is an excellent choice for businesses with multiple locations using a large amount of bandwidth for voice and data traffic.
However, there are several things to consider before the installation and deployment of MPLS vs. other options:
1. Security - MPLS has numerous security benefits. Data is held in IP packets, providing secure isolation of these packets from other traffic over the same physical link. Some carriers even offer to make the MPLS data/traffic more secure by holding it on a private IP Backbone. All sites on your network are also managed with a single point premium firewall between the Internet to the MPLS cloud.
2. Scalability - Compared to other network systems, MPLS offers more scalability. If you are considering a "do-it-yourself" deployment of MPLS in your business, the edge routers, firewalls and multiple access methods around the MPLS cloud can be useful information to obtain from your MPLS carrier. This is of particular importance when taking into account the management of the network equipment, as well as your disaster recovery options should any of the network equipment fail.
3. QoS - While it's a known fact that you will get more true bandwidth for your money from a DSL or cable connection, a reliable MPLS carrier offers excellent QoS (quality of service) in terms of network engineering help, in planning and implementation of the network. QoS isn't the same from carrier to carrier. It depends on the applications run on your WAN, how sensitive your bandwidth is to latency, how bandwidth intensive the application is and the number of users at each location.
4. Cost - Every business considering a migration to or deployment of a new network system is thinking, "How much is this going to cost me?" While MPLS is, in general, cheaper than Frame Relay (which is quickly becoming a dinosaur in the networking world), as well as ATM, DSL and cable usually offer more bang for the buck. On a cautionary note though, DSL and cable are more complicated to manage as well as generally harder to troubleshoot.
This article isn't an all-encompassing discussion of the advantages of MPLS over other network solutions, but merely a "scratching of the surface" look at what to think about when deciding if MPLS is the right choice for your business' voice and data network.
So if you ask me whether MPLS is the best choice for your business' voice and data network, my answer is yes. HOWEVER, do a thorough research to make sure it truly is.
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Written by:
Laura Rucker
Editor, USaveTelecom.com - © 2008
