Assessing the Alternatives
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
MPLS has been historically the most popular choice due to lack of awareness of different approaches. It provides point-to-point connections, but not multiple parallel end-to-end links. Since the service level agreements offered by MPLS providers often limit the liability in case of link downtime, organizations that require 100 percent uptime need additional independent links for redundancy to mitigate the business risks of downtime. MPLS may not be available at every location and doesn’t offer scalability. Plus the cost of MPLS links is typically much higher than regular Internet Service Provider (ISP) connections.