MPLS
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MPLS Solutions in Telecom Network Design Services
We use MPLS within our telecom network design services to establish reliable traffic delivery across various networks. MPLS solutions use traffic engineering to optimise network performance and resource utilisation.
The use of MPLS solutions in network design enables optimised routing and virtual environment creation, enhancing overall network efficiency and flexibility. Implementing MPLS solutions can lead to improved network performance, greater efficiency, and increased flexibility for enterprise networking.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a forwarding paradigm that uses short labels instead of full IP lookups to route traffic along predefined Label Switched Paths (LSPs). The process of selecting label-switched paths is a key part of MPLS traffic engineering, allowing for efficient load balancing and network optimisation.
How Does MPLS Work?
Multiprotocol Label Switching is a packet-forwarding technology that can encapsulate packets of multiple network protocols. The data transmission to the endpoint is organised via predetermined short-bit sequences or labels, instead of network addresses, which distinguishes this technique from others.
Now, let’s explore how this protocol operates. Imagine you’re sending an IP packet from one endpoint to another. MPLS assigns labels to each data packet to facilitate efficient routing.
Before transmitting the IP packet, a predefined route is established. Along the way, intermediate routers only need to interpret the MPLS labels containing unique address information, and they forward data packets based on these labels rather than traditional network addresses. Intermediate routers (LSRs) forward packets by swapping labels, eliminating the need for repeated IP lookups. Each node in the MPLS network uses the label to determine the next hop for the data packet. MPLS helps to route data packets along predetermined paths, improving forwarding speed and efficiency. They examine the destination IP address once they reach the final endpoint.
Essentially, the Layer 3 header analysis occurs only once: upon the packet entry into the MPLS domain. This approach potentially leads to faster transmission compared to traditional packet-switching networks. MPLS supports QoS policies by marking and prioritising traffic classes, which helps minimise packet loss and jitter for real-time applications such as VoIP and video conferencing.
Benefits of Our MPLS Services
MPLS services at Promwad include using advanced label switching technology to improve the performance, security, and manageability of data traffic. MPLS is a leading technology for secure and scalable network services, offering high reliability for continuous application delivery.
As a cost effective solution, MPLS helps businesses achieve high-performance networking while optimising operational expenses. MPLS services maximise available bandwidth and overall bandwidth utilisation, ensuring efficient data transfer and network capacity.
By minimising downtime, MPLS reduces the likelihood that businesses will experience downtime and helps maintain seamless operations. These services can be managed by providers to provide users with secure and reliable connectivity, making MPLS an ideal choice for organisations seeking scalable network solutions.
While MPLS provides secure and reliable connectivity, traditional MPLS does not use encryption for data security, VPN solutions over MPLS networks may require encryption to protect sensitive data. Discover the benefits of using MPLS in the telecom industry:
Powering enterprise networks
Since its release in 2001, MPLS has been a reliable telecommunication technology to provide users with reliable and secure network connections to power enterprise networks. Its primary purpose lies in connecting remote workers or branch offices with applications and other data located in a data centre of an office or headquarters.
MPLS solutions help connect remote users and branch offices to cloud-based applications and cloud services, enabling secure and efficient access to these resources. MPLS ensures users remain connected with seamless access to critical resources, supporting high performance and minimal downtime.
Fast and reliable packet delivery
While general internet traffic usually takes more overloaded paths without compromising performance, MPLS can assign higher priority to certain types of network traffic, such as voice data or video, which require low-latency routing.
MPLS supports real-time applications like VoIP by minimising packet loss and ensuring high-quality service. This technology saves valuable router resources and manages network traffic to optimise performance for critical applications, providing reliable and fast packet delivery crucial for real-time or high-performance applications.
Supported Applications
Promwad Drives MPLS Development
MPLS functionality for Microchip switches
SDK: Microchip IStaX.
SD-WAN: Emerging Alternative to MPLS?
While MPLS remains a proven backbone technology, enterprises increasingly combine it with or evaluate alternatives such as SD-WAN, particularly for cloud-centric and remote-work scenarios. The industry has seen the rising interest in software-defined WAN or SD-WAN and its adoption acceleration over the past few years.
SD-WAN solutions optimise connectivity by intelligently managing WAN traffic, ensuring high performance and resilience for distributed enterprise environments. They provide a flexible approach to network management, allowing organisations to easily adapt to changing network conditions and support cloud-based applications.
There is a growing demand for secure and managed network solutions to support cloud-based applications and cloud services, as enterprises increasingly rely on these technologies. Additionally, SD-WAN enhances network security by integrating advanced security features that protect data and enable secure access to cloud services.
The primary advantage of SD-WAN remains its optimisation for cloud computing and its role as a foundation for the emerging Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. According to Open Systems (Switzerland), by 2027 at least 84% of organisations are expected to have adopted SD-WAN as part of their network transformation strategy. This shift is driven by the growing demand for flexible and secure infrastructure, the rise of remote and hybrid work, and the need to reduce reliance on costly MPLS links.
Moreover, the managed SD-WAN services market continues to expand rapidly — it is valued at USD 1.54 billion in 2025 and projected to reach USD 17.90 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 31.36% (this data was provided by Precedence Research from Canada in August, 2025).
Although SD-WAN vendors tend to consider their solution as an “MPLS killer”, it cannot fully replace MPLS networks. Instead, MPLS and SD-WAN are complementary technologies. The decision criteria for choosing between them primarily include costs, centralised management requirements, and the needs of mission-critical applications. Nonetheless, MPLS will continue to play a crucial role as a foundational component of enterprise WANs.
Our Case Studies in Telecom
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FAQ
Where does MPLS fall within network layers?
MPLS can create end-to-end paths that act like circuit-switched connections but deliver IP packets. The protocol allows IP packets forwarding at Layer 2 (switching or data link level) without being passed up to Layer 3 (network level). That is why MPLS is also known as a Layer 2.5 protocol.
Where is Multiprotocol Label Switching used?
While the hybrid MPLS & SD-WAN approach is gaining momentum for large Tier-1 companies, MPLS will remain a tool for mid-size businesses. Application areas include connecting large regional offices, manufacturing sites, and retail facilities with point-of-sale systems.
What are sub-parts of the MPLS label?
An MPLS label consists of four fields: a 20-bit Label value; a 3-bit Traffic Class (TC) field, formerly called experimental bits, used for Quality of Service (QoS) and Explicit Congestion Notification; a 1-bit Bottom of Stack (S) flag, which indicates whether the label is the last in the stack; and an 8-bit Time To Live (TTL) field, specifying the maximum number of hops before the packet is discarded.