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Ground up MPLS deployment

  • From: jeffrey.welch@spectrum-health.org
  • Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 15:09:00 -0400
  • Cc: ryan.brotherton@spectrum-health.org
  • Resent-Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 16:03:09 -0400
  • To: mpls-ops@mplsrc.com

Title: Ground up MPLS deployment

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 I'm working on a complete network redesign that will replace an ATM core with a fully meshed redundant Gigabit ethernet core and edge solution. I've administered MPLS networks in the past, (OC-48 POS backbone running IS-IS, MPLS and RSVP.) but have never deployed it personally. As this is a brand new network being implemented, topology and all, it seemed like a good time to look at MPLS as a possible augmentation to the Gig-E network going into place. My questions are:

1) Are there any known issues with utilizing MPLS in a smaller MAN (Metro Area Network) type environment?

2) The current IGP of choice is OSPF. We are not running BGP across the core at all, as this is a hospital and the internal network that we're replacing is private. Would a protocol change to IS-IS be beneficial at all? OR will OSPF work just fine? (I think it will, but just want to be sure.)

3) MPLS is a good fit within an ethernet environment due to the QoS constraints inherent in ethernet technology. Will MPLS provide the level of QoS needed to support the sensitive information contained in a hospital type network? (This is my first experience in a health care organization, where lives are literally at times dependant on the information provided across the network.) 5 nines seems to be the basic requirements here.

 Any information, leads, or suggestions would be a big help.
 Thank you all for your time.

Jeffrey E. Welch
Sr. Data Communications Specialist
Network Infrastructure
Office 616-391-2856
Pager 616-931-6346
Mobile 810-730-3169