A Layered MPLS Network Architecture

MPLS (Multi-protocol Label Switching) technology emerged and became popular recently with the advantage of fast forwarding. And also it has brought a great opportunity to both Internet Providers and users by giving a much faster data exchanging environment into almost every aspect of the Internet, such as unicasting, multicasting, VPN (Virtual Private Network) service and even Traffic Engineering with the help of RSVP (Resource reSerVation Protocol) in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. Much work has been done by researchers all over the world to give suggestions about how to better integrate MPLS technology into IP networks. Unfortunately, much less needed progress has been made on MPLS technology itself in these years, which led to bottlenecks in delivering high speed and QoS (Quality of Service) guaranteed services in future NGN (Next Generation Network) environment. In this article, we proposed a layered architecture for MPLS network itself. Based on the fact that MPLS technology is independent from upper layer network protocols, this proposed mechanism could be easily integrated into both IPv4 networks and future IPv6 networks, and help to upgrade the whole performance of the Internet environment.