Applicability of multi-protocol label switching technology to electric power utility backbone networks

In electric power utility networks, ATM technology is necessary in the field when transmission quality is important, while IP technology is required when the cost of equipment is important. This paper describes factors to be considered in the configuration of such networks in which MPLS (multi-protocol label switching), acknowledged as the technology enabling ATM networks and IP networks to coexist, is applied. In this study, the authors examine ways to achieve in MPLS networks a transmission quality similar to that of ATM networks connected to MPLS networks. They show a switch fabric that reduces ATM cell delay in MPLS networks in which ATM cells and IP packets are mixed, and also IP traffic transmitted from multiple points such as substations to MPLS networks, routed effectively in MPLS networks. In addition, they propose a migration method from existing backbone networks configured in ATM or IP networks to MPLS networks.