Foreword

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to take a video crew into the streets of New York City to prepare a fun opening video segment for a meeting that I was hosting. I began to interview a number of unsuspecting New Yorkers as they walked by on a variety of topics that popped into my head. As luck would have it, MPLS was one of the topics that I focused on in my quest to get some interesting video content. The question I was asking repeatedly was, "What does MPLS stand for?" The myriad responses I got were quite diverse from "My People Love Song" from an Irish tourist to "Major Pain in My Legs" from a typical New Yorker. All in all, no one could tell me anything about MPLS. The audience met my expectations and clearly provided some comic relief on the meeting agenda.

Subsequent to filming my video montage in New York City, I have assumed responsibility for the service provider segment globally for Cisco Systems. I think if I took the same approach of taking a camera crew out to ask this audience what MPLS stands for, not only would they be able to provide me with the correct answer but also would tell me why MPLS is so important to them. If you are reading this foreword, I'm assuming that Multiprotocol Label Switching is or might be important to you, or you simply have too much time on your hands.

The importance of MPLS can be traced to the fact that the demand from consumers for new and innovative services requires today's service providers to look at more efficient ways to deliver voice, video, and data. These demands create several challenges for an industry that can no longer simply build larger or separate pipes/networks to meet their business needs. The need for a competitive advantage has required service providers to start thinking about building next-generation systems that converge networks and services, as well as applications. The convergence is being driven by the need for them to reduce cost. For many, the next level of network convergence requires the migration of legacy infrastructures and services based on Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frame Relay, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technologies onto a more flexible, efficient IP/MPLS packet infrastructure. Cisco has worked with a number of service providers globally on the convergence of these networks and the preliminary data demonstrates savings in the billions of dollars over a three to five year period. In addition to reducing their operational expenses, service providers globally are looking to grow their revenue streams by offering new and innovative services. All these new services are being offered over IP infrastructures. Today, IP/MPLS is the key driver for building next-generation networks that maximize cost and offer the foundation to build new services.

Cisco provides a comprehensive strategy for building next-generation networks with IOS MPLS. The Cisco MPLS capabilities combine the intelligence and scalability of routing with the reliability and manageability of traditional carrier networks. As a result, service providers can deliver highly scalable, differentiated, end-to-end IP and VPN services with simplified configuration, management, and provisioning. Touted as the "DNA of tomorrow's telecom" by independent telecommunications market research firm Heavy Reading, Cisco IOS offers cutting edge technology that enables service providers to deliver innovative services for new revenue growth while reducing network costs.

Case in point, Equant, a member of the France Telecom group, required a converged network platform built on a private backbone that could be easily managed, scalable, economical, and flexible to meet diverse requirements of its large global customers. The Cisco MPLS VPN solution matched Equant's vision of a multiservice, international communications platform. Equant's IP VPN service is now available in more than 140 countries worldwide, serving 1300 multinational customers with over 27,000 connections.

Cisco is committed to leadership in next-generation networking by continuing to deliver innovative MPLS features and functionality to enable its customers to build powerful intelligent networks. I highly recommend MPLS Configuration on Cisco IOS Software as required reading for those in search of practical guidance of the technology and nuances of configuring MPLS for next-generation networks for voice, video, data, and application service offerings across a wide variety of deployment scenarios. Regardless, I can guarantee you will be prepared for an interview in my next video.

Carlos Dominguez

SVP, Worldwide Service Provider Operations

Cisco Systems, Inc.