Definitive MPLS Network Designs

Field-proven MPLS designs covering MPLS VPNs, pseudowire, QoS, traffic engineering, IPv6, network recovery, and multicast

• Understand technology applications in various service provider and enterprise topologies via detailed design studies
• Benefit from the authors’ vast experience in MPLS network deployment and protocol design
• Visualize real-world solutions through clear, detailed illustrations
• Design studies cover various operator profiles including an interexchange carrier (IXC), a national telco deploying a multiservice backbone carrying Internet and IP VPN services as well as national telephony traffic, an international service provider with many POPs all around the globe, and a large enterprise relying on Layer-3 VPN services to control communications within and across subsidiaries
• Design studies are thoroughly explained through detailed text, sample configurations, and network diagrams

Definitive MPLS Network Designs provides examples of how to combine key technologies at the heart of IP/MPLS networks. Techniques are presented through a set of comprehensive design studies. Each design study is based on characteristics and objectives common to a given profile of network operators having deployed MPLS and discusses all the corresponding design aspects.

The book starts with a technology refresher for each of the technologies involved in the design studies. Next, a series of design studies is presented, each based on a specific hypothetical network representative of service provider and enterprise networks running MPLS. Each design study chapter delivers four elements. They open with a description of the network environment, including the set of supported services, the network topology, the POP structure, the transmission facilities, the basic IP routing design, and possible constraints. Then the chapters present design objectives, such as optimizing bandwidth usage. Following these are details of all aspects of the network design, covering VPN, QoS, TE, network recovery, and―where applicable―multicast, IPv6, and pseudowire. The chapters conclude with a summary of the lessons that can be drawn from the design study so that all types of service providers and large enterprise MPLS architects can adapt aspects of the design solution to their unique network environment and objectives.

Although network architects have many resources for seeking information on the concepts and protocols involved with MPLS, there is no single resource that illustrates how to design a network that optimizes their benefits for a specific operating environment. The variety of network environments and requirements makes it difficult to provide a one-size-fits-all design recommendation. Definitive MPLS Network Designs fills this void.

“This book comes as a boon to professionals who want to understand the power of MPLS and make full use of it.”

-Parantap Lahiri, Manager, IP Network Infrastructure Engineering, MCI

Includes a FREE 45-Day Online Edition

This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press®, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.

Jim Guichard, CCIE® No. 2069, is a system architect at Cisco Systems®, with a primary focus on MPLS/IP Layer-2 and Layer-3 VPN technologies. During the last eight years at Cisco®, and previously at IBM, Jim has been involved in the design, implementation, and planning of many large-scale WAN and LAN networks.

François Le Faucheur is a system architect at Cisco Systems working in product development and IETF standardization in the area of IP QoS and MPLS. Prior to joining Cisco, he worked for several telecom carriers in France and Australia on the development of enhanced services on ATM, Frame Relay, SMDS, and IP. 

Jean-Philippe Vasseur is Cisco Distinguished Engineer where he works on IP/MPLS  architecture specifications, focusing on IP, TE, and network recovery. He holds an engineering degree from France and an M.S. from the SIT (New Jersey, USA). Before joining Cisco, he worked for several service providers in large multiprotocol environments. He is an active member of the IETF, co-chair of the IETF PCE (Path Computation Element) Working Group and coauthor of several IETF RFCs. He is a regular speaker at various international conferences and is involved in various projects in the area of IP and MPLS. He has also filed several patents in the area of IP and MPLS and is the coauthor of “Network Recovery".