Virtela Communications White Paper Sample

For enterprises that have made the decision to consolidate networks, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a leading technology choice for Wide Area Network (WAN) connections. Even so, an MPLS enabled network is not the panacea for all enterprise WAN requirements. Why this is the case is not the MPLS technology itself, but the limitations associated with a single provider MPLS network deployment.

In this paper, Stratecast Partners will review the limitations associated with a single provider MPLS network and its impact on the enterprise. We will then examine the Global Service Fabric introduced by Virtela Communications (www.virtela.com) and describe how the unique attributes of Virtela’s multi-provider network approach overcomes these limitations and provides a “best-of-breed” global MPLS network solution.

With a focus on attaining a best-of-breed network infrastructure, enterprise purchasers would select the network provider best positioned to meet the requirements for each application. In addition, with geographic reach being a major consideration for multinational corporations, multiple providers with denser networks in specific regions (e.g., U.S., Asia, or South America) would also be selected. Consequently, customer-provider relationships with multiple network providers, each with their own contracts, invoices, and customer support infrastructure, were established. While this was a justifiable approach when network technologies were tightly stratified by application, the validity of this approach is diminishing. The ability to prioritize network traffic based on Class of Service (CoS) designations position a MPLS network as an attractive alternative for consolidating many applications with differing performance requirements onto a single network. Even so, a single provider MPLS network has its limitations that weaken the potential value of network consolidation.