MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is a technique that forwards data through a provider network based on short labels attached to packets, rather than looking up the destination IP address at every router. The path a label takes is set up in advance, which is why it is described as sitting between layer 2 and layer 3.
Why it matters
Carriers use MPLS to build private wide area networks for businesses. Each customer's traffic is kept in its own virtual network (an MPLS VPN), and the carrier can guarantee bandwidth, delay and loss targets for classes of traffic, which suits voice and critical business applications. Labels also allow traffic engineering, steering flows around congested links.
Example
A packet enters the provider edge router, which pushes a label such as 1042 onto it. Core routers only read the label, swap it for the next one (say 2210) and forward the packet. The last router removes the label and delivers the original IP packet to the destination site.
Common misconceptions
- MPLS is not encrypted by default. Privacy comes from separation inside the carrier network, not from cryptography.
- It is not the internet. Traffic stays on the provider's network.
- It is usually priced per circuit, which is why many companies now supplement it with SD-WAN and broadband.
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