MPLS Network Requirements and Design for Carriers: Wireline and Wireless Case Studies

MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) has become the choice of packet transport technology to meet multiple service requirements in the next generation network. More and more service providers, both wireline and wireless, are starting to deploy MPLS as the common packet backbone. In this paper, we examine the typical requirements for MPLS network design and how these requirements can be modeled and achieved with various MPLS configuration and design options. We present two case studies: one for a wireline and another for a mobile operator's backbone. In these case studies, we analyze the network performance of the design scenarios based on factors such as cost/capacity, protection, QoS, reliability, and operational complexity.