MPLS and QoS - Multi-Protocol Label Switching if you mean business

Macquarie Telecom has the expertise to provide you with a high performance and reliable MPLS VPN and Quality of Service (QoS) enabled data network. QoS can optimise your network to ensure business critical communications are consistently delivered when and where they’re needed. Our MPLS VPN network QoS solutions are designed to minimise the impact of IP network congestion and other issues.

Key questions about MPLS and QoS

• Concerned about the impact VoIP may have on your data network?
• Need to optimise your network performance to ensure business-critical applications get priority?
• Having trouble identifying the root cause of network application performance issues?
• Looking to replace your Frame Relay network but worried about building a suitable IP VPN?

If you are confused about what MPLS and Quality of Service (QoS) can do for your data network and your business you are not alone; the terms are both bandied around with vigour. For a business grade IP network, MPLS technology and QoS are the key elements in achieving converged data communications infrastructure that can be more financially efficient and functional than traditional data networks.

Macquarie Telecom has extensive practical experience in designing, implementing and operating MPLS VPN and QoS enabled data networks. Our core IP network infrastructure is fully MPLS and QoS enabled and our management tool suite includes options to actively manage these networks.

"Many data network providers, particularly those with substantial legacy network infrastructure, cannot offer true end-to-end Quality of Service. They discount the impact on business customers by saying they have so much ‘bandwidth’ in their core network that QoS is not required. This assumes that end-to-end QoS is simply a bandwidth management function, which is not the case."

Businesses can use Quality of Service to optimise their entire data or MPLS VPN network to ensure the consistent and cost effective delivery of critical communications. QoS also allows for efficient management in the event of unanticipated congestion or other network issues impacting on the applications. If you turn off QoS in sections of a network you may lose the ability to track end-to-end application session performance. Consequently fault finding intermittent performance issues becomes difficult if not virtually impossible.

Key Advantages of MPLS and QoS for Your IP VPN Network

Consider MPLS and end-to-end QoS if your business needs your IP VPN network to discriminate between applications or you need to add convergence applications such as unified messaging or presence management. If you want to experience the full competitive advantages of these IP network applications then you need MPLS and end-to-end QoS along with the implementation methodology and integrated tools that deliver on the performance promise.

Terminology: MPLS & QoS

MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) is a means by which traditional circuit switched performance, such as that provided by traditional PSTN and ISDN, can be emulated on data packet (IP) or cell (ATM) based networks. Simplistically, the originating MPLS enabled device will add an MPLS label (MPLS header) to a data packet. This allows any MPLS enabled device on the network to effectively handle the data packet in accordance with its pre-defined characteristics. Although often mentioned in the same sentence as IP, MPLS is not part of the IP protocol but does enhance the capabilities of any IP VPN.

QoS (Quality of Service) is a generic term that, in the IP VPN environment, refers to the ability to set control mechanisms that allows data packets to be handled in a manner that guarantees certain levels of performance. It must be highlighted that QoS is not in itself a protocol or standard like TCP/IP or MPLS. Generally in a modern IP VPN environment, the preferred technical mechanism for establishing QoS is the Differentiated Services (DiffServ) standard. DiffServ allows for class-based traffic management. The reference to the phrase Class of Service (CoS), that is typically associated with DiffServ, often leads to confusion with the generic QoS term. Suffice to say establishing CoS parameters is the means by which QoS can be achieved on an IP VPN.

MPLS and QoS Enabled VPN Network Expertise

Macquarie Telecom can improve the performance of your IP VPN by designing, implementing and managing a QoS and MPLS enabled network for you. Our expert implementation methodology and integrated management tools ensure we will meet your business network performance needs now and in the future.

More information on MPLS quality of service

Contact Macquarie Telecom. Australia’s most highly accredited telecommunications operator and winner of the ‘Best Customer Care’ category at the World Communication Awards.