Internetworking Assignment 2: MPLS, VPLS, Metro Ethernet Comparison

This report presents a comparative study of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS), and Metro Ethernet. It begins with an introduction highlighting the role of these technologies in providing connectivity, service level agreements, and Quality of Service (QoS) in networks. The report then delves into the operational aspects of each technology, including network diagrams, MPLS's role as a backbone, VPLS's use of Ethernet for geographically distributed networks, and Metro Ethernet's function in metropolitan area networks. The analysis section provides a detailed examination of the advantages and disadvantages of each technology, discussing MPLS's enhanced data integrity, VPLS's cost-effectiveness, and Metro Ethernet's scalability. The discussion section synthesizes these findings, recommending MPLS for increased network efficiency and security, and VPLS for enhancing security. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and offering recommendations for network design and implementation.

Running head: INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
Internetworking Assignment 2
Comparative Study of MPLS, VPLS and Metro Ethernet
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................2
2. Operation of Technologies.....................................................................................................3
2.1. Operation of MPLS.........................................................................................................3
2.2. Operation of VPLS..........................................................................................................4
2.3. Operation of Metro Ethernet...........................................................................................6
3. Analysis..................................................................................................................................7
3.1. Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)........................................................................7
3.2. Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS)............................................................................8
3.3. Metropolitan Ethernet (Metro Ethernet).........................................................................8
4. Discussion..............................................................................................................................9
5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................18
Recommendations....................................................................................................................18
References................................................................................................................................19

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
1. Introduction
The report is prepared for the presentation of a comparative study on the operation of
the multiprotocol label switching, virtual private LAN services and the metropolitan Ethernet.
The MPLS, VPLS and the Metro Ethernet are used for delivering a connectivity with the
different form of service level agreements and maintaining the quality of service in the
network. The metro Ethernet is an Ethernet based standard used for connecting the different
areas of the network (ComputerWeekly.com. 2018). The MPLS offers a functionality in the
network that can be installed in the network router for the implementation of virtual
switching service for a meshed connection and improvise the security of the network. The
VPLS are used for the locating the end point using the Mac address of the destination host
and it is based on Ethernet and supports the geographically distributed Ethernet network.
Thera are different enterprise that are dependent on the service providers for interconnecting
the VoIP sites. The organization outsource the network rather than developing their own
network infrastructure nut the service that are essential for the organizational network should
be identified for development of the best network solution for combining all the branches and
enabling communication between the departments of the organization.
The report is prepared for discussing the different connectivity options that are
available for the development of a network solution and connect with the different service
level agreement for maintaining the quality of service in the network.

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
2. Operation of Technologies
2.1. Operation of MPLS
Figure 1: Network Diagram for MPLS Network
The above MPLS network acts as a backbone of the network and an MPLS enabled
router is used and the main component of the network are the core LSR and the edge LSR
and it is configured with the interior gateway protocol such as OSPF for forwarding the data
packets in different areas of the network. The cost of the implementation of the MPLS is
higher than configuring a normal metro Ethernet network but there are several other
advantage for the application of the MPLS because the scalability of the network can be
improved with the application of the MPLS configuration. It can be applied for WAN routing
and keep the routing minimum between the source and the destination network. The latency
of the network can be reduces with the application of the MPLS and increasing the sensitivity
of the VOIP services.
MPLS multi-protocol label switching is a functionality of the network that can be
offered as a network service and it can be configured on a network router for an enterprise
network. It follows a different mechanism than the normal IP network by enabling a virtual
circuit service in the mesh network for improvising the security of the network solution

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(ComputerWeekly.com. 2018). The data traffic can be assigned in the multiple levels for the
management of the quality of service and guaranteeing the performance for the network
latency, packet loss and jitter. The VOIP network is connected with the MPLS service via the
local access lines.
The MPLS are used for offering a full mesh architecture and providing the following
two benefits for the enterprise network. With the implementation of the mesh architecture the
performance of site to site can be improved and causes less congestion and loads in the local
as well as the remote networks (Bryant, Sivabalan and Soni 2016). Meshing of the network
and adding the subsequent node is an automated process for the development of the
connection less technology. The IP address are used for working with the MPLS and it can
eliminate the flooding problem which is a major concern for the Metro Ethernet.
2.2. Operation of VPLS
It is a VPN service used in the network based on Ethernet for communicating with the
different multipoint using the MPLS or IP networks. VPLS virtual private LAN service uses
the Ethernet as its backbone and used for the management of the network which is
geographically distributed. The sites located in diverse geographical location are able to share
the same Ethernet broadcast domain by interconnecting the sites using pseudo wires. The
MPLS is used as the backbone of the transportation of the data packets but the interface is
kept as a national or regional Ethernet (Mirsky et al. 2017). The location of the enterprise
network seems to be connected in the same Ethernet network but in reality the data packets
traverse uses the MPLS network of the service provider for sending and receiving the data
packets in the different branches of the enterprise. The VPLS is based on the virtual private
networking technology and enables multipoint connectivity with the network. Label
distribution protocol and border gateway protocol are used for the establishment of a full
mesh network topology. The interface used for the connection should support the 100 mbps

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bandwidth such that the Virtual Private LAN service supports the service level agreement and
maintain a minimum speed of 1 to 100 mbps in the network.
Figure 2: Network Diagram for VPLS Network
The Mac address is used by the VPLS for locating the end point of the network and it
does not uses the IP address. The TRP header is considered for the compression of the VPLS
and it is integrated with the enterprise router facing the VPLS (Boutros et al., 2016). With the
application of the header compression the bandwidth requirement for the voice packets
reduces from 20 to 60 percentage.
For the application of the VPLS the requirement of the network should be analysed
because it works well for the small network with few number of sites. Ethernet broadcast
messages are flooded in the network and it consumes a percentage of the bandwidth and it
cannot be avoided with purchasing higher bandwidth and application of QoS. If the internet
connectivity is used for the connecting with the branch office then the VPLS connection can
perform well but is there is a requirement to scale 100 of remote sites VPLS is not the right
choice for the enterprise. In that case the configuration of the network with MPLS would be a
better choice for connecting the remote sites with the central network.

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
2.3. Operation of Metro Ethernet
Figure 3: Network Diagram for metro Ethernet
Metro Ethernet is a system in view of the Ethernet standard that serves metropolitan
regions by means of metropolitan zone systems (MANs). It can be utilized as a metropolitan
access organize, associating business endorsers and individual clients to a WAN, or to give
interchanges inside the metropolitan territory. Metro Ethernet additionally bolsters high data
transfer capacities, for example, 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps. Preference of an Ethernet-based
access arrange is that it can be associated with the endeavour organize as a standard interface
(Pulcini et al., 2016). An average specialist organization issued Metro Ethernet arrange is
made out of Layer 2 or 3 switches and switches. The topology can be a ring or star, and
completely or halfway coincided. The centre, much of the time, works over a current MPLS
spine. It acts as the backbone of the network and can be combined with the MPLS and the
VPLS configuration for increasing the security of the network solution. It is affordable and
necessary for interconnecting the different sites located in different geographical location. It
helps in interconnecting the data centres with the local area network of an organization and
offers higher throughput and lower latency of the network. It can be used for different

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purpose such as creation of a disaster recovery network and ensuring successful of the data
packets in the network.
Despite the fact that Metro Ethernet benefit works like any Ethernet, utilizing it for
Voice and Video over IP requires that the endeavour buy in to ongoing correspondences
(RTC), which gives the most abnormal amount of QoS by guaranteeing the least conceivable
dormancy, jitter and bundle misfortune (Gomez-Sacristan, Sempere-Paya and Rodriguez-
Hernandez 2016). The most well-known ongoing usage uses the IEEE 802.1p standard for
parcel stamping. The undertaking ought not to interface the IP telephones straightforwardly
to the administration. In the event that they are straightforwardly associated, communicated
surges can happen. It is smarter to associate the IP telephone through a switch to the support
of abstain from flooding.
3. Analysis
3.1. Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)
Advantages
It enhances the data integrity of the network a class of service can be recognized that
is attached after the network layer and above the IP address. The configuration of the network
is done to make the network work under any condition and prioritize the data traffic (Kamoun
and Outay 2018). It have an improved utilization of the bandwidths and reduces congestion in
the network paths.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of the MPLS network is that there is a requirement to upgrade
the network equipment’s installed in different location of the network if the router is not field
upgradable (Saleem and Tahir 2017). It a complex task to configure a MPLS network and for

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using static routing the service provider is responsible to route the data using their MPLS
cloud.
3.2. Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS)
Advantages
It is available at a cheaper rates and a simple T1 Ethernet connection is used for
connecting with the internet at the high speed possible. It is fully configurable and the WAN
engineers would have the total control on the VPN tunnel for maintaining the privacy of the
network (Iqbal, Benoit and Dar 2017). It provides different upgradable features such as
implementation of the QoS scalable IPSec VPN tunnels between the multiple sites connected
in the network.
Disadvantages
The limited QoS is a drawback of the VPLS, for the development of a fully functional
QoS model all the network equipment’s should be controlled (Qiu et al. 2017). Moreover the
rate of packet loss and latency is higher and thus the performance of the network for voice
and video is undependable.
3.3. Metropolitan Ethernet (Metro Ethernet)
Advantages
It is applied for creating a secure and reliable network for communicating with the
enterprise network. It can securely transfer the confidential files and information in a
network. The metro Ethernet network is highly scalable and the client can increase the
bandwidth and pay as per the model selected thus improves the cost effectivity for a long run
network (Nugraha, Fitrianto and Bacharuddin 2016). Multiple locations can be connected and
the bandwidth requirement can be changed by consulting with the service provider.

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
Disadvantages
When it is compared with the MPLS the disadvantage of the metro Ethernet is that it
does not provides QoS support (Becker et al. 2017).
4. Discussion
From the analysis of the MPLS, VPLS and the Metro Ethernet it has been found that
the selection of the MPLS network would benefit the network current organization for
increasing the efficiency of the network by reducing the congestion and data loss in the
current network. The priority of the data packet should be set for successfully delivering the
data packet to the destination address in the network. The network bandwidth can be utilized
efficiently and for increasing the security of the network the application of the VPLs would
be an ideal choice for the organization.
The Metro Ethernet is designed for carrying the different types of configuration and
its acts as the backbone of the network. If a company have a headquarter in London and has
10 branch offices in different geographical location and they are required to be
interconnected with each other in the same LAN the Metro Ethernet is used. It creates a
tunnel in the network by interconnecting the different offices in the same VLAN and The
MPLS configuration is used for sending the data packets to the branches via internet route
and creating a peer connection. The MPLS VPN is started when the data traffic reaches the
PE network and it needs to redirect it to all the sites. The MPLS works on the layer 3 for the
configuration of the adjacency and transferring the data packet over the network. For carrying
the data packet the VPLS service must be configured in the carried Ethernet and the metro
Ethernet and should be configured with VPLS for encrypting the data packets and securely
sending it to the destination location.

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A network topology is designed in cisco packet tracer 7.1 and the network devices
connected in the network are configured using the three different technology and
demonstrated in the report.
Figure 4: Network Diagram for MPLS Network with address scheme
MPLS Configuration
PE1
Figure 7: PE1 router configuration

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INTERNETWORKING ASSIGNMENT 2
Figure 8: PE1 router configuration
Router PE2
Figure 9: Router 1 configuration