Design of MultiProtocol Label Switching Virtual Private Network

Abstract

The common ways to connect Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have been through the use of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) or Frame Relay (FR) or leased link supplied by a service provider. This is increasingly becoming less than ideal solution. The ideal solution is to use A MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS). The implementation of VPN using MPLS has several advantages like making routes faster, combining the flexibility of routers with the speed of switches, enabling Quality of Service (QoS) in IP networks, higher scalability and more flexibility. MPLS-based VPN connects the geographically different branches of private network by using Label Switched Path (LSP), forming a united network. The objective of this project is to design MultiProtocol Label Switching Virtual Private Networks (MPLS VPNs). And the study was based on an existing network of Sudanese Internet Service Provider (Sudanet ISP) that provides internet connectivity over Sudan. This network is based on the traditional Frame Relay backbone provided by the service provider (Sudatel). After optimizing the current network to MPLS-based VPNs, it is found that most of the problems were solved. So the information flow became faster, the bandwidth was increased, and the network became of higher scalability and more flexibility with lower cost and greater performance, and that was aim of the new design.