Verizon Business now offers Ethernet virtual private LAN service (E-VPLS) nationwide, the company announced Monday, with plans to deliver the service on a global basis next year.
The company said its E-VPLS service is ideal for businesses and government agencies with locations throughout the United States seeking “any-to-any” flexible connections that can scale from 1mbps to 1gbps among multiple sites. In fact, Verizon Business noted that E-VPLS was requested by the U.S. General Services Administration as part of its Networx program.
VPLS is based on an Internet Engineering Task Force draft called “Lasserre-V. Kompella,” written by Marc Lasserre of Riverstone Networks Inc. and Vach Kompella of TiMetra Networks (both companies are now owned by Alcatel-Lucnet). A class of VPN that allows the connection of multiple sites in a single bridged domain over a provider-managed IP/MPLS network, VPLS makes all customer sites appear to be on the same LAN, regardless of their locations. Unlike IP VPN, where the customer hand-off can be Ethernet, frame relay, IP over TDM or whatever, the customer hand-off to the WAN with VPLS is always Ethernet.
With VPLS, customers maintain complete control over their routing, and since all customer routers in VPLS architectures are part of the same LAN, the result is a simplified IP addressing plan, especially when compared to a mesh constructed from separate point-to-point connections. There are multiple reasons enterprise customers might opt for VPLS over other services.
A business might use VPLS because its network doesn’t only use IP, as some businesses still use AppleTalk and IPX protocols; IP VPNs are IP-based and don’t support such protocols.
Some business customers might also choose VPLS over an IP VPN because of security, as E-VPLS doesn’t require the customer to share its IP addressing and routing information with the carrier as does an IP VPN.
Verizon Business adds that E-VPLS is an optimal platform for converged services because it allows for prioritization of applications via four classes of service (CoS): real time (for latency-sensitive traffic such as VoIP), priority, business and basic data.
Although Verizon Business said it is the first major service provider to deliver E-VPLS, several carriers have been offering it for a few years. That includes Masergy, which was the first VPLS service provider, as well as Allstream of Canada; Completel, an alternative provider in France; and MetroNet, a carriers’ carrier in Mexico.
However, it should be noted that Verizon Business is no newcomer to Ethernet services. In fact, it has been on the forefront of delivering Ethernet services. In addition to nationwide E-VPLS, the Verizon Business portfolio also includes Ethernet Private Line; Ethernet Virtual Private Line; E-LAN Metro Services; and Ethernet Access for Private IP and the public Internet.
Verizon Business www.verizonbusiness.com
