
C HAPTER
9
QoS in MPLS-Based Networks
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
standard for a new switching paradigm that enables packet switching at Layer 2 while using
Layer 3 forwarding information. Thus, MPLS combines the high-performance capabilities
of Layer 2 switching and the scalability of Layer 3-based forwarding.
At the ingress to the MPLS network, Internet Protocol (IP) precedence information can be
copied as class of service (CoS) bits, or can be mapped to set the appropriate MPLS CoS
value in the MPLS Layer 2 label. Within the MPLS network, MPLS CoS information is
used to provide differentiated ...