Several key problems in choosing VPN

1. Should I use MPLS (Multiprotocol label switching) VPN?

For many business network needs, the answer is absolutely certain. The transition to MPLS is well underway.

Take a look at this data. MPLS VPN has been gobbling up the market for frame Relay for years, according to data from market research firm Vertical Systems Group. In the next 18 months, the number of new MPLS VPN connections in the United States will exceed the frame relay. By 2011, there will be 100多万个 MPLS VPN connections in the United States.

This means that businesses are buying MPLS connections as the demand for enterprise connectivity grows and needs to connect to new sites. In many cases, this is promoted by the service provider to the enterprise. However, Vertical Systems Group analyst Rosemary Cochran says that as operators themselves transition to MPLS technology, more enterprises will transition from frame relay to MPLS. The number of frame relays used will actually drop.

Global MPLS services earned 13 billion dollars in 2007, up 20% from 2006, according to Infonetics, a market research firm.

There are many reasons for this. MPLS VPN services typically provide many mesh networks, and any site can connect to other sites. To achieve this by using Frame Relay technology, you need to create expensive virtual lines between each site and every other site. MPLS enables users to avoid complexity and more costs.

MPLS also supports a variety of service quality at various prices, offering enterprise users the option of buying inexpensive VPN services for unimportant communications.

Sprint has just announced that it will install a 40GB fibre trunk per second to host an increasing amount of IP traffic. These traffic are generated by MPLS services and Internet traffic.

2.MPLS VPN can save me money?

Maybe not. If you transition from frame relay to MPLS on an equal basis, the cost of the line may actually drop, Cochran says. However, the overall price of services has not declined. When the enterprise makes this conversion, the whole price may not fall. However, the ability to connect to more sites and the flexibility to manage your network will improve. We did not see the transition from Frame relay to MPLS leading to a significant price drop because you are using T1 line access, and then you start adding security and management and voice capabilities to the line.

The cost of TI line access in the United States is about 435 dollars a month, according to research firm Nemertes. However, other access methods can significantly reduce this price. New Edge Networks, for example, provides DSL services to the operator's MPLS backbone, supporting five quality of service and business-level service agreements, costing 240 dollars a month. The T1 line service has the maintenance time guarantee and the more reliable symmetrical bandwidth. However, the price gap may be worth considering other technologies.

Infonetics, a leading analyst at Michael Howard, says companies like these services because they offer considerable bandwidth at a lower price, and the cost of WANs does not increase compared to the original frame relay, ATM, and dedicated line service providers in the enterprise.

This situation will prompt users to increase the bandwidth they buy for MPLS VPN connections, exceeding the speed of the T1 line, generally reaching the highest level of frame relay connections.

Higher-speed demand will grow, Cochran said. The available features and prices will depend on which service provider. Is this a leading service provider that is reducing its own frame relay user base, or is it a competitive provider offering low price access?

Do-it-Yourself customers can save bandwidth costs per month, build their own MPLS VPN and buy the best bandwidth costs everywhere. In this case, because you are not limited to buying a provider's product, you can purchase the product at the best price at each of your sites and then use your own hardware and software to achieve this connection.