EVOLUTION OF MULTIPROTOCOL LABEL SWITCHING

Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) is rapidly emerging as an Interne t Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard intended to enhance the speed , scalability, and service provisioning capabilities in the Internet. MPLS uses the technique of packet forwarding based on labels, to enabl e the implementation of a simpler high-performance packet-forwarding e ngine. This also decouples packet forwarding from routing, facilitatin g the provision of varied routing services independent of the packet-f orwarding paradigm. The authors briefly track the evolution of this te chnology in relation to other existing technologies. Then an overview of the MPLS architecture and design is provided. In addition, some of the work that was a precursor to MPLS is discussed, as well as related issues and debates.