MPLS RFCs (Big Books) (v. 1) [Paperback]

Pete Loshin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2000 | Series: Big Books

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is an important mechanism for switching various networking protocols, including the Internet Protocol, across Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks. MPLS has evolved from various proprietary protocols, and today has become a true worldwide standard that continues to grow and change with the development of ATM and related Internetworking technologies.
Volume one of the Big Book of MPLS RFCs collects the bulk of published IETF documents relating to MPLS and its predecessor protocols, providing the engineers who build high-speed, high-performance networks and backbones with the most current information available. Subsequent volumes will be devoted to future MPLS RFCs, many of which are already in progress. This book begins with an incisive introduction to Multiprotocol Label Switching, including a look at its likely future directions, as suggested by the most recent efforts of the IETF MPLS working group. The RFCs are followed by an extensive index that lets readers pursue specific topics and terms across multiple documents.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is the single most important new technology for Internet routing to emerge in the past few years. When deployed over IP backbones, MPLS makes possible both efficient routing and virtual private networks while improving performance and traffic management.

MPLS is still a work in progress, but this volume contains the latest RFCs that describe MPLS and how it is used; also contained here are the foundational documents that will give you the background necessary to understand both how MPLS works, and why it is needed.

In addition to understanding MPLS itself, you will understand how it has changed over the years (since the earliest label switching proposals were first implemented and documented within the IETF by Cisco and Toshiba); how IP and ATM interact; and why MPLS helps ease the interaction. Also included are RFCs describing the Differentiated Services (DIFFSERV) and Integrated Services (INTSERV) models, and how MPLS works within those models.

Topics covered in this volume include:

• Requirements for Traffic Engineering over MPLS (RFC 2702)
  
• BGP/MPLS VPNS (RFC 2547)
  
• NBMA Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP)
  
• Classical IP and ARP over ATM (RFC 2225)
  
• Multiprotocol Encapsulation over ATM Adaptation Layer 5 (RFC 2684)
  
• A Core MPLS IP VPN Architecture (RFC 2917)

And much more. If you buy only one reference on MPLS, this is the one to choose. Written by members of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), this compilation is a complete and authoritative reference on MPLS.

About the Author

Pete Loshin writes and consults about Internet protocols and open source network technologies. Formerly on staff at BYTE Magazine, Information Security Magazine and other publications, his work appears regularly in leading trade publications and websites including CPU, Computerworld, PC Magazine, EarthWeb, Internet.com, and CNN. Pete Loshin, Independent Consultant

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1st edition (December 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124558534
• ISBN-13: 978-0124558533
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,602,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money. Do not buy this book!, January 22, 2001

By 

C. Henry (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MPLS RFCs (Big Books) (v. 1) (Paperback)

Even though RFCs are freely available online, I don't think the idea of collecting a bunch of them on a particular topic for a book is such a bad idea. It's nice to have hard copies of such documents, and you would hope there'd be something in the way of commentary - perhaps a nice introduction to the topic, maybe some commentary on each of the RFCs. Unfortunately, this book doesn't have any of that. Worst yet, most of the MPLS standards are still drafts; they haven't even been made RFCs yet. You might think they would still be published here, but they're not. Instead there are a lot of RFCs on earlier label switching technologies. Of all the RFCs in this volume, only two are concerned with MPLS specifically. While this may useful to someone interested in the history of label switching or label switching theory, it doesn't address the actually MPLS specification, which is the reason why you would consult an RFC in the first place.

MPLS has generated a lot of hype, and undoubtedly will generate a good deal more now that the standards are nearly finalized. This book, however, offers almost nothing to anyone interested in the MPLS standards. Instead it seems to have been published only to cash in on the hype. I bought this title along with a bunch of other books on MPLS, while I was doing some research on the topic. My company reimburses me for all my purchases, so holding onto this book wouldn't cost me a dime. Even so, I was so appalled at how lacking it was, I still returned this book.