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MPLS Management
15.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous chapters we have seen how MPLS is used as a key component for converging multiple services onto the same physical infrastructure. As service providers obtain more of their revenue from MPLS-enabled applications and as the traffic carried requires stricter SLAs, the ability to manage both the MPLS infrastructure and the services running on top of it efficiently becomes more important.
In this chapter we will take a look at some of the unique aspects of managing MPLS networks and services. Some of the topics covered are fault detection and the emerging mechanisms for detecting data plane failures, provisioning challenges and tools for gaining visibility into the network.
15.2 MANAGEMENT – WHY AND WHAT
From the provider's point of view, management is a broad definition of all the aspects that allow him to offer, deploy and bill for a service. This includes provisioning the service, detecting and isolating failures, avoiding downtime and accounting for billing purposes. The availability of tools for accomplishing these tasks and the capabilities of such tools affect the costs incurred for deploying the service and the revenue that can be derived from it. Good tools can ease the provisioning process, reduce the troubleshooting time when a fault occurs and provide granular accounting.
Management is a broad topic that could easily be the subject of an entire book. In this chapter, we focus on the router functionality that provides ...
