MPLS Networks vs The Internet

By: John Shepler

Businesses with multiple locations have a requirement that single location companies don’t. They need to reliably connect their various offices, factories, warehouses, medical centers or school campuses at a reasonable cost. Let’s take a look at how MPLS networks, private lines, and the Internet can be deployed to do just that:


What it really comes down to is how much network performance is required to support your business activities and what you are willing to pay. If you have stringent demands for high voice quality on outside calls, such as customer service lines, or expect high productivity from your critical cloud services, you need to seriously consider private line or MPLS network solutions. You won’t be happy with what you get from the Internet and it may wind up costing you way more than you save on monthly telecom costs.

On the other hand, if you are a small operation that primarily communicates via email and websites, perhaps with cloud data backup, you may well get by with Internet VPN services. This is especially true if you have more patience than money and need a low cost solution no matter what. You’ll greatly improve your satisfaction level if you employ a dedicated private line as your last mile connection to the Internet. Most Internet issues are caused end user connections that just aren’t designed for demanding needs.

Why not take a few minutes and investigate what’s available in network bandwidth connections for your particular business locations.

IP WAN over MPLS Advantages

When we think of IP wide area networks, the first thing that comes to mind is the Internet. While the Internet does have almost universal connectivity and modest cost to access, there are some serious issues when it comes to business applications. Bandwidth, latency, jitter and packet loss have no guarantees and few expectations. Security is a joke. But aren’t other methods to interconnect business locations costly and hard to manage?

It is possible to set up a private IP network that lets you use your familiar IP addressing schemes and avoid encryption, firewalls, tunnels, and additional hardware. You’ll gain a performance advantage compared to using VPN techniques over the Internet and save yourself the administrative headaches of trying to manage a WAN with inherently indeterminate characteristics. Who offers something like this? It’s TelePacific, one of the nation’s largest competitive carriers.

TelePacific’s 1Net is an IP VPN running on a private MPLS network, not the Internet. Since MPLS or Multi-Protocol Label Switching can transport almost any protocol, it can be set up to mimic the Internet while keeping your data private. Only the locations that you set up can exchange traffic. No one outside of your user group can capture or view your data. You’ll have any to any connectivity within the group with security sufficient to address HIPPA or similar government regulations.

In fact, TelePacific set up just such a private IP Network for a medical imaging organization with 6 locations. They use it to transport patients’ private medical records among their location. Referring physicians can access patient imaging results within hours at their own computers. The system is also used for claims processing, patient scheduling and registration. Interestingly, this system also allows dedicated Internet access through a single firewall at corporate headquarters.

The TelePacific 1Net IP VPN has both cost and performance advantages over other secure networking solutions, including private line, ATM and Frame Relay. You can specify up to six different Classes of Service (CoS) to support sensitive real-time services such as VoIP telephone and teleconferencing. On Net, latency for all CoS is specified at 50 msec. That rises to just 100 msec for extended reach locations off the TelePacific network but still within the US. Network availability is 99.999% (5 nines) both on and off network locations.

The Classes of Service are CoS 1 for VoIP real time traffic, CoS2 for video conferencing and real time data traffic, CoS3 for high priority, delay sensitive business data like Ecommerce and Citrix, CoS4 for medium priority delay-sensisitive business data such as CRM and WebEx, CoS5 for general less delay sensitive business data like ERP, and CoS6 for best effort traffic with no prioritization. That’s typically Email and FTP.

Are you cringing at the cost and effort involved in linking your business locations by private lines or frustrated by the highly variable performance and difficulty in securing the Internet? Perhaps the best solution for your business needs is a private IP VPN based on MPLS networking. Check prices and features to compare with your other choices.



Note: MPLS network diagram courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

GTT Expands Ethernet Footprint With PacketExchange

Global telecommunications carrier GTT is moving to expand its Ethernet service footprint worldwide by acquiring Ethernet service provider PacketExchange.

PacketExchange is a London based carrier with an impressive 10 Gigabit fiber optic IP backbone network that covers Europe, the United States and Asia. A good portion of this network was acquired when PacketExchange acquired MZIMA Networks in 2010. The combined resources provide private line services plus MPLS and VPLS networking and peering.

GTT’s acquisition of PacketExchange reinforces the idea that we’re entering the age of Carrier Ethernet. Up till now, the world’s networks have been dominated by telephone company technology for switched circuit operations. The popular T-carrier wireline services and SONET/SDH fiber optic services were all devised to be compatible with time division multiplexed voice and data. The new paradigm is packet switched networks, with Carrier Ethernet gaining prominence.

You see this reinforced by the emergence of Ethernet Exchanges, such as Telx, that offer E-NNI (Ethernet Network to Network Interface). What E-NNI does is create a peering opportunity for IP network operators to exchange data and, thus, expand the reach of their networks. This opportunity speeds up the ability of Ethernet to take over the world’s telecommunications traffic without the necessity of one dominant international carrier to dictate standards.

PacketExchange makes a nice complement to GTT which is already a global network integrator with many POPs (Points of Presence) in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. GTT serves 80 countries in all with a wide portfolio of Private line, Ethernet, DSL broadband, point to point Wireless and managed network services. They are often the carrier of choice for companies that need to interconnect offices across international borders. MPLS network services that are particularly useful in linking multiple locations include MPLS VPN and VPLS services.

Ethernet and MPLS networks complement each other nicely. MPLS networks use a proprietary routing technology called label switching in place of IP routing or SONET/SDH multiplexing. Label switching encapsulates virtually any protocol and transports the packets form location to location. At the network edges, packets enter and leave the network unaltered. This allows MPLS networks to support layer 2 switched services such as Ethernet Private Line and Ethernet LAN. It’s entirely possible using Ethernet access to MPLS networks to create an international bridged LAN that includes locations worldwide.

The power of Ethernet as a universal network protocol to support converged voice, video and data networks is only beginning to be seen. It’s a natural development, considering that corporate LANs long ago standardized on the switched Ethernet protocol. What makes more sense than to seamlessly expand those LANs into the metropolitan and long haul connections necessary to support regional, national and international business.

Does your company have a need to connect multiple business locations, domestically or internationally? If so, take a closer look at Ethernet business bandwidth solutions to support your organization’s technical goals at a cost often lower than with traditional telecom services.



Note: Ethernet switch photo courtesy of Justin Smith on Wikimedia Commons.

Broadband Ethernet Internet Services

Ethernet point to point line service and LAN service have become popular with businesses, especially as replacements for T1 lines and now-obsolete Frame Relay networks. But did you also know that Ethernet makes an excellent access connection to MPLS VPN networks and the Internet?

Carrier Ethernet got its start for business as a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) service called Metro Ethernet. Many companies have a need to interconnect multiple facilities located in the same general geographical area. The E-Line point to point services EPL and EVPL give you the same or better connectivity that you’ll get with T1 lines and even multiple T1 lines. E-LAN service links multiple LANs in a mesh network to interconnect your entire organization.

In many cases, what you want is a broadband connection to the Internet rather than a direct link to another private facility. These are traditionally provided using T1 lines and higher bandwidth services, such as DS3, OC3, OC12 and OC48. Now, EFM or Ethernet in the First Mile can provide that same connectivity and likely save you money in the process. Let’s see why.

The reason that T1 lines are so popular is that they are provisioned on ordinary twisted pair telco wiring. That wiring is already in place in most businesses, being used for multi-line telephone service. T1 has been around for more than 50 years and is well established and available most everywhere. The one fly in the ointment is that T1 is bandwidth limited to 1.5 Mbps. Until Ethernet over Copper became available, the workaround to this bandwidth limitation was to bond multiple T1 lines together to make one large data pipe. This proven practice works well, but gets expensive since you have to pay the full price of each T1 line no matter how many you order.

The competition to T1 now is EoC or Ethernet over Copper. As the name implies, this service also uses ordinary twisted pair copper telco wiring that is currently in place. Like bonded T1, EoC uses multiple copper pair to increase bandwidth. What’s different, though, is the cost structure. A popular Ethernet over Copper service is 3x3 Mbps EoC. That’s 3 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps download, a symmetrical bandwidth, delivered over copper wiring. The cost of 3 Mbps Ethernet is pretty much equal to the cost for a 1.5 Mbps T1 line in areas where both are available.

That’s a nice cost savings for any company, but it doesn’t stop there. Ethernet over Copper can be installed at speeds from 1 to 20 Mbps. Bonding T1 lines gets you maybe half that maximum bandwidth and gets real expensive as you add more lines. Ethernet is designed to be far more scalable. You have the provider install an Ethernet port for the highest speed you expect to need. Then order the bandwidth you require today. In the future, you can simply call your service provider and tell them to crank it up to the next level. They can give you a bandwidth increase in as little as an hour because the bandwidth capacity is already installed. No additional construction effort is needed.

What happens if you need more than 20 Mbps Internet service? At that point you need to move up to fiber optic service. The good news is that Ethernet over Fiber is more available than ever before and competitive service providers are willing to make deals on the installation cost, especially if your needs are substantial. Once you have fiber to the premises, you’ll be able to go form 50 or 100 Mbps on up to GigE Gigabit Ethernet and even 10 Gbps Ethernet broadband service if you need it.

Does your business location suffer from inadequate dedicated Internet service or are you just curious if you can save money over your present solution? If so, get prices and availability of Broadband Ethernet Internet Service over copper or fiber as appropriate. Sorry, this service is not available for home offices or other residential use.

Why Choose An MPLS VPN?

How do companies communicate among geographically diverse business sites securely? They use private networks or virtually private networks. MPLS networks are emerging as the virtually private networks of choice. Let’s see why.

The ultimate in performance and security is the totally private network. Private means for your use only. You don’t buy a private network, you build one. Many companies have done this by setting up a star network with a central router at their headquarters location. Each remote location connects to headquarters over a private point to point line, such as a T1, DS3, OC3 or Ethernet private line. It is up to the IT staff to manage this network and make sure all locations have the bandwidth and ability to reach other locations that they need.

What’s wrong with this? Not a thing if you have infinitely deep pockets. The cost of all those private line services mounts up as more locations are added. Don’t forget the staffing cost to keep everything running. You’ll need to buy lines that have enough bandwidth to meet peak loads, meaning that most of the time they’ll be running at a fraction of the maximum capacity. You’ll be paying for that maximum capacity as if you were using in continuously.

The staggering cost of proprietary private networks has encouraged many companies to look for lower cost alternatives that still get the job done. One alluring option is to piggyback on the public Internet, arguably the largest and lowest cost network solution in the world. You could just connect all your sites over the Internet, but that makes management squeamish for good reason. The unregulated Internet is something like the Old West, with stagecoach robbers lurking behind every rock. In this case it’s cyber criminals and curious hackers drooling at the thought of rifling through your corporate files.

Does this mean that using the Internet for wide ranging connectivity is an unacceptable option? No, not at all. The trick to using an unprotected public resource like the Internet is to install your own security. You do this by encrypting your packets so that they are unreadable to anyone who is not authorized. It’s SSL encryption that makes it possible to buy and sell on the Web with confidence. The general term for using encryption to protect data on a public network is tunneling.

So, is tunneling through the Internet to get from site to site the best cost solution? Yes, if cost and/or the ability to connect with the public at large is your highest priority. But what about performance? Ah, I’m afraid the Internet does leave something to be desired in that regard. Bandwidth, latency, jitter, and bit errors are completely uncontrolled. You may not care if all you are doing is serving up Web pages to people on DSL or Cable connections. But trying to optimize productivity when you are running your critical corporate data to corporate offices, factories and warehouses around the world can turn into an exercise in frustration. Oh, you want to establish high quality two-way video and telephone connections on the same network? Good luck with that.

This is where MPLS VPN networks rush in to save the day. An MPLS network is not for the general public. You have to pay more than Internet prices to use it and it only serves its clients. What you get for the extra cost is a privately run high performance network that is carefully engineered to support voice, video and data. There’s no encryption as we think of it on the Internet, but an MPLS network is considered to be a VPN. Why is that?

The answer is in the technology. MPLS stands for Multi-Protocol Label Switching. IP routers are not used to direct packets from place to place. Instead, each packet gets a special label as a wrapper. That label is used to route the packet instead of the IP header information. Labels are added as packets enter the network and removed as they leave. In a sense, the packets are protected by their labels in that they only travel paths set up in advance by the network operator and are unreadable by other clients or external snoops.

Most of the time, MPLS technology and network operators provide enough security that encryption isn’t needed. Even so, if you are particularly sensitive about the privacy of your data you can always encrypt your packets before they enter the network and decrypt them on the other end.

The reason that MPLS VPN networks are replacing proprietary point to point networks is that they offer a significant cost reduction. While you have all the bandwidth you need, any unused resources are available to support other clients of the network. The cost of the entire network is spread over the total user base, which makes the pricing attractive for you.

Are you in need of a multi-location business network or simply want to check pricing to see if you are spending too much now? If so, check MPLS VPN network availability and pricing now. For comparison, you can also get pricing on private point to point lines and IP VPN networks using the Internet.

MPLS VPN Access Solutions

You’re convinced that an MPLS networking solution is the answer to connecting your geographically diverse business locations. But just how are you going to connect to the MPLS cloud from all those locations?

What you need is individual access networks for each location that will connect to the ingress tag router serving that geographical area. Right now the most popular connection technology is the venerable T1 line. Why? Because T1 lines are almost universally available, highly reliable, private, symmetrical, and relatively high bandwidth. Relatively means 1.5 Mbps in both the upload and download directions. For many businesses that exchange data files and even some voice traffic, this may be enough line speed. That’s especially true for branch offices and retail locations that simply need to connect to headquarters. But some applications may be limited by a 1.5 Mbps ceiling.

The next thing you can do is take advantage of T1 bonding to increase access line speed. T1 lines are readily combined, or bonded, to double, triple or otherwise expand bandwidth. There’s a practical limit of around 10 or 12 Mbps for this approach, but that can be more than adequate for many needs. Even video and medical image transmission can get by with this level of bandwidth as long as demands aren’t too high.

What if you need higher bandwidth levels to access your MPLS network? DS3 is still a good intermediate level solution at 45 Mbps. It’s a mature technology and available in many areas, no not nearly as prolific as T1 when you get beyond the metropolitan and suburban cores.

How about Ethernet as an access solution? Metro and Carrier Ethernet services are highly popular for a number of reasons. First, costs are often lower and sometimes much lower than traditional last mile connections for the amount of bandwidth you are ordering. For instance, it is not uncommon to get 3 Mbps Ethernet service for the same price as a 1.5 Mbps T1 line. 10 Mbps Ethernet is probably the most popular choice for new connections. It is priced attractively and available in most metro areas.

Another feature of Ethernet access services are that they are readily scalable up to the capability of the installed port. You may well start out at 3 Mbps but then find you need to double or triple that as business activity picks up at a particular location. No problem. A simple phone call to your service provider may be all you need to get that location upgraded. That can happen rapidly and independently of connection speeds at other locations.

If you are originating and terminating Ethernet packets, it only makes sense to use Ethernet connections to access the MPLS network. The network itself can easily transport Ethernet as well as other protocols. This gives you the option to keep everything in the Ethernet protocol and perhaps even create a multi-location LAN for ease of network management.

Higher bandwidth access connections, such as DS3 or Fast Ethernet, require fiber optic connections. With your building lit for fiber, you may be able to scale your bandwidth up to OC3, OC12, or OC48 SONET levels or GigE and 10 GigE Ethernet.

What type of MPLS VPN access connections do you need to support your multiple locations? Explore the complete range of options available to you now as MPLS VPN Access Solutions.

Covad Offers A Nationwide MPLS VPN Network For Business

Businesses with many office locations nationwide are getting a new secure networking option. Covad has just completed its Intelligent Network Platform designed to expand WAN networking capabilities at lower costs than you may be used to paying.

Covad has designed its MPLS VPNs for the small to medium size businesses and larger distributed enterprises that need to solve the problem of how to interconnect multiple business locations. That may be franchises, field offices, warehouses, retail locations, factories, hotels and other buildings. There are two problems to be addressed with any multi-location networking scheme. First is how you reliably and securely link all of the sites together. Second is how you do that cost effectively.

MPLS is becoming the new standard in private line communications. Previous solutions have included Frame Relay networks and T1 point to point telecom lines. MPLS stands for Multi-Protocol Label Switching, which hints at its power. This is a system that will transport whatever protocol you require, be that switched circuit telephone calls, enormous data downloads, or broadcast video. It’s a network cloud in the sense that it has the capability to connect any location to any other location. You simply specify what that connectivity is going to be and the network operator takes care of enabling those connections.

Covad describes its MPLS network as a VPN or Virtual Private Network. Being a privately run network, it is inherently more secure than a public utility such as the Internet. You can’t get data on or off the network unless you are a Covad customer. MPLS is not the same technology as the Internet. Special label switching routers are needed at every ingress and egress point to attach and remove the labels that are used to get data packets where they are intended.

Another advantage of MPLS networks is that they offer a means to prioritize packets to establish CoS Class of Service and QoS Quality of Service for traffic management. You know that if you send voice or video down the Internet, you are taking your chances on the quality of the real time transmissions. That’s because every packet is treated like every other packet and it’s just your bad luck if some node become congested and disrupts your data flow. As a managed network, MPLS networks can ensure that each packet gets the bandwidth and minimized latency that ensures high quality voice and video transport.

Do you need to network multiple locations with ensured quality at reasonable costs? If so, you need to investigate your options with Covad and other MPLS VPN Networks for Business.

MegaPath’s Black Friday Strategy

Black Friday will soon be upon us. This is the day after Thanksgiving that marks the traditional start to the Christmas shopping season. It’s a day that retailers brace for and depend on. For as Black Friday goes, so goes the profitability of the year.

The name Black Friday is generally attributed to the accounting practice of using red ink to show losses and black ink to show profits. Many retailers struggle all year long just to pay the bills and keep the lights on. Black Friday represents, at least symbolically, the change of the company’s fortunes from red ink to black ink. That’s how important the holiday shopping season is every year. It can be the difference between profit and loss, survival of the business or bankruptcy.

Since Black Friday and its online equivalent called Cyber Monday (The Monday after Black Friday) kickoff the most stressful and highest sales volume month of the year, it behooves retail businesses to have robust processes in place ahead of time. That includes the ability to process credit card transactions rapidly and securely. Lose your connection to the credit card processing companies, even for an hour, and you risk a stampede of irate customers out your front door and directly to your competitor. It’s even worse online. If your site is down or slow or you can’t accept credit card payments, your competitors are just a click away.

With this in mind, MegaPath is asking retailers, “Are You Prepared For Black Friday?” Even with predictions that consumers will be spending slightly less this year than last, there will still be a torrent of sales activity this shopping season. In fact, it might be argued that with less spending each customer becomes more valuable. Anything you can do to give that customer a pleasant shopping experience will work to your advantage.

MegaPath is a major competitive telecommunications carrier and leader in managed IP services. They serve the retail sector with high speed network connections specifically designed to support secure payment transactions. They call their service a “Payment Processor Extranet.” As the name implies, this is a specialized form of connectivity unlike simple Internet broadband. MegaPath’s Payment Processor Extranet connects to your retail site-to-site MPLS VPN service to securely carry credit card and other payment information from your point of sale locations to credit, debit gift and private label card payment and check payment processors. You choose which processors you work with and can and or change them at any time. MegaPath provides a fully redundant proactively monitored communications network to the processors to ensure that your transactions will get through.

For gas stations, convenience stores and other retailers not connected in a MPLS network, MegaPath offers “StoreConnect,” an IPSec encrypted service that works over a wide variety of broadband connections including DSL, cable, wireless and T1 lines. Like the Payment Processor Extranet, this service gives smaller retailers access to the leading payment processors for fast, secure and reliable transactions.

One of the most important processes involved in payment transactions is PCI or Payment Card Industry security. This standard involves a firewalled secure network protected by encryption and strong access control. MegaPath’s retail solutions are designed from the ground up to be PCI compliant.

So, what’s it going to be this year? Will you depend on slow dial-up access from your POS terminals that will likely keep your customers waiting and irritated as they stand in line? Or will you make the transaction process as transparent to your customers as possible with fast and reliable broadband connectivity? If you choose to make your transactions fast, efficient, reliable and secure, there’s no time to waste. Get more information about MegaPath and other retail connectivity solutions and be ready to make the most from the Black Friday weekend and the entire holiday shopping season.