MPLS and Metro Ethernet Core Networks

grangeman55

Whilst I understand the differences between a core MPLS network and a core Metro Ethernet Network, I'm struggling to understand what the main gaps are to put simply...

pevangel

What's your current understanding of the differences? Also, are you asking because of something that you are studying or are you just trying to get a better understanding of the infrastructure at your work?

discount81

grangeman55 wrote: »

Whilst I understand the differences between a core MPLS network and a core Metro Ethernet Network, I'm struggling to understand what the main gaps are to put simply...

Main differences are, MPLS is routed by ISP, has QoS standard, has an SLA and MPLS scales better, you can easily have thousands of sites globally.

Metro Ethernet is usually just a cable that you connect to your switches, so complex routing and QoS would need to be done in house, in my experience the cheaper Metro Ethernet plans don't have a 4 hour SLA that you would get standard on MPLS, it's something you pay extra for.

networker050184

There is no difference really at the core. They will both likely traverse the same core MPLS network. It's just different edge services.

Kai123

discount81 wrote: »

Main differences are, MPLS is routed by ISP, has QoS standard, has an SLA and MPLS scales better, you can easily have thousands of sites globally.

Metro Ethernet is usually just a cable that you connect to your switches, so complex routing and QoS would need to be done in house, in my experience the cheaper Metro Ethernet plans don't have a 4 hour SLA that you would get standard on MPLS, it's something you pay extra for.

Could you rent the lines/connections/ports from an ISP and run Metro Ethernet that way, or alternatively have an MPLS circuit with the ISP instead? Would that be the reason some companies would have a POP in remote DC's?

networker050184

You have many options. Some are:

Dark Fiber/leased line - An actual fiber strand for yourself from point A to point B. You can run Ethernet or whatever you like over this.

Layer 3 MPLS VPN - Usually an ethernet hand off these days. Could be T1/E1 etc still though. This is basically an ethernet segment between you and the provider edge router. No layer 2 connectivity between the sites.

Layer 2 MPLS VPN - Again usually an ethernet hand off. The difference is end to end layer 2 connectivity to your other site. Basically an emulation of the dark fiber or leased line over a shared MPLS infrastructure.

Many reasons for a remote pop as well. Many times it's either to host servers or as a disaster recovery site. DCs are much more connected (transit/peering), stable power, guarded 24/7 etc. for hosting you web site.

pevangel

discount81 wrote: »

Main differences are, MPLS is routed by ISP, has QoS standard, has an SLA and MPLS scales better, you can easily have thousands of sites globally.

Metro Ethernet is usually just a cable that you connect to your switches, so complex routing and QoS would need to be done in house, in my experience the cheaper Metro Ethernet plans don't have a 4 hour SLA that you would get standard on MPLS, it's something you pay extra for.

I'm confused by a lot of things on this post. I'm no Metro Ethernet expert but I've designed and deployed it enough to have a good understanding. I don't get what you mean by MPLS has SLA. I don't see how contracts tie only to the MPLS network and not the MetroE.

You can definitely implement QOS with Metro Ethernet, and it is a lot more than just a cable. If you are referring to what it is to a customer, then service delivery through an MPLS edge device can also be just a cable. A pseudowire service through an MPLS network doesn't look any different to a customer than an E-line service through a MetroE network.

Kai123 wrote: »

Could you rent the lines/connections/ports from an ISP and run Metro Ethernet that way, or alternatively have an MPLS circuit with the ISP instead? Would that be the reason some companies would have a POP in remote DC's?

You can connect to remote sites through an MPLS network, a MetroE network, or a combination of both depending on how the provider is setup. The service delivery for your L3 MPLS VPN can be an EVPL from the MetroE edge to the MetroE core tied to the MPLS core. It could also be just an MPLS edge device. It makes no difference to you as the customer.

What exactly are you trying to understand or accomplish? Let us know what your current understanding is so that we can fill in the gaps.

Jackace

networker050184 wrote: »

There is no difference really at the core. They will both likely traverse the same core MPLS network. It's just different edge services.

This is correct answer.

discount81

I did mention you can have QoS on Metro Ethernet in my post, the difference being that you need to configure it yourself, EPL is a point to point ethernet connection obviously, MPLS is IP Routed with QoS standard.

And yes you can get a 4 hour MTTR with EPL, in my experience maybe it is the providers we use but it's always been an extra service that significantly jacks up the price.
i.e. the provider we use in Montreal provides us with a gigabit Metro Ethernet connection for $600 a month with a MTTR of 24 hours.
If we want to have an MTTR of 4 hours it becomes $1200 a month.

Whenever I've bought MPLS the 4 hour MTTR is included in the price.

pevangel

OK, I think the misunderstanding is based on our perspective. I was looking at the technology and how it is deployed on the provider side. You're looking at how they are sold to you as a subscriber. A lot of the things you mentioned are specific to the provider you've dealt with. There are things that service providers can do but won't do because of their policies and standards. A service provider can definitely do QOS on the MetroE network. SLAs also vary by provider.

networker050184

Yes providers definitely will offer QoS on MetroE offerings. It's easy to translate p bits to IP precedent/mpls exp bits.