Skip to main content
Blog

Pros and Cons of Using an MPLS Network

By October 13, 2019No Comments6 min read
Multiprotocol Label Switching network

Multiprotocol Label Switching or MPLS network is the most popular WAN connectivity option available in the market. It is a pretty new technology when compared to other alternatives. Most of the enterprises are ready to change their old frame-relay network with new MPLS.

You might be considering updating your telecom infrastructure to MPLS. MPLS can provide you more flexibility, bandwidth, and better performance. It is also a very scalable option when compared to other alternatives. Thus, MPLS sounds perfect for organizations that need high-performance telecommunication networks. But, some organizations that are using MPLS for two decades are thinking to switch from MPLS to new solutions. Even new solutions for MPLS are not perfect. MPLS is still great for enterprises that want to maintain a hybrid WAP network.

Most organizations are confused between MPLS and other alternatives. Thus, we have created this list of Pros and cons of using an MPLS network. You should choose your new network after weighing the cons and pros of MPLS.

Pros of MPLS:

MPLS is an excellent option if you are thinking to upgrade your telecom infrastructure. It can offer you better performance, more bandwidth, and enhanced flexibility. Some of the Pros of using MPLS network are:

  • Scalable: Multiprotocol Label Switching or MPLS is very scalable when compared to other options. It has a very highly scalable mechanism. MPLS also ensures high-performance telecommunications that are required by most of the enterprise. Your IT team can easily maintain and optimize the MPLS network. You can potentially scale MPLS to hundreds of different sites.
  • Reliable: MPLS has been a reliable technology for over a decade. It has served various enterprises for more than two decades now.
  • Inter-connectivity growth: You can MPLS to connect all your networks without buying new hardware. MPLS requires a minimal amount of hardware to connect all your networks.
  • Amazing Quality: MPLS comes with a quality of service (QoS) options. You can use this with your VoIP to increase its efficiency.
  • Remote connections: The best thing about MPLS is that you can add new remote connections without buying any new hardware. Thus, you can save a lot of your money. MPLS is fully cloud-hosted. Thus, MPLS doesn’t require any point to point connectivity.
  • Improved up-time: MPLS provides various alternate network paths to a request. Thus, the up-time of your network will automatically improve.
  • Lower traffic congestions: If you are using old frame-relay networks then you must suffer from high traffic congestions. MPLS divides the requests in various network paths. Thus, it helps in avoiding high traffic congestion.
  • Better end-user experience: MPLS helps in improving the end-user experience. You can choose from different types of services like VoIP. Thus, the end-user will have a better experience.
  • Lower Cost: MPLS is a Layer 3 technology. You can use it to share your network sources. MPLS also allows you to private route your customer data. It has all the cost advantages like any other 3 public internet service. MPLS also has better security when compared to other technologies. Thus, it is perfect for deploying large-scale network services. You can deploy large-scale services at a very low cost.
  • Traffic Routing: This is one of the best features of MPLS. MPLS works by adding labels on data packets when they are leaving the customer network. In normal technology, the network will read the IP header information to read its element. But, MPLS will directly check the MPLS label to pre-determine the network path. This helps in improving the reliability of MPLS. It becomes very easy to predict the traffic of a network. The Label Switched Paths or LSPs are already pre-determined. The data packets will travel on the paths which are already pre-determined. This is very different from IP routing where the path of the packet can differ according to the network conditions.
  • Service level agreements: Multiprotocol Label Switching or MPLS services are delivered with Service-level Agreements or SLAs. These SLAs contain various points like guaranteed delivery. You won’t get this feature with other alternatives like broadband or Ethernet.
  • Enhanced Bandwidth: The MPLS divides the traffic in various networks. Thus, the bandwidths of your network will automatically increase. You can transverse through the whole network in very little time.

Cons of MPLS:

There are also some drawbacks of using MPLS like:

  • MPLS is optimized for point-to-point connectivity only. They are not perfect for cloud users. You can’t directly access your SaaS or cloud application with MPLS. There are very few cloud services in the market that provide this service. But, you have to pay a hefty price to get this service.
  • If your offices are situated in different countries or states, then MPLS will take a long time to deploy. It can even take more than 6 months to connect all your offices.
  • MPLS also requires WAN optimization for streamlining its delivery. This will add extra costs on top of the old cost.
  • MPLS is also expensive when compared to options like Ethernet. But, it still costs less than technology like T1 lines.
  • The worst thing about MPLS is that you won’t have complete control over your network. Your service provider will configure all the networks. You will only help your provider in dynamic routing.

Conclusion

If you are looking to update your old network or implement a new network, then MPLS is a good option for you. It has many pros which will always outweigh its cons. However, before implementing this network you should check your business requirements and needs. You should spend some time in understating the resources that are already available in your network. You should also look for a trusted and reliable service provider in your location. If you are living in Florida, then Bleuwire is the best option for you. They will help you in implementing the MPLS network.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.