Cisco Systems announced IP/MPLS interprovider capabilities that allow service providers to work with each other and combine the capabilities of their individual networks, as a way to offer new services to their business customers. Cisco said service providers that take full advantage of the new IP/MPLS interprovider solutions would be able to deliver increased resiliency, multicast-based services such as streaming video, and extended virtual-private-network (VPN) technologies to their enterprise business customers.
The new Cisco IP/MPLS enhanced interprovider capabilities include:
- Inter-Autonomous System (Inter-AS) Multicast VPN — this allows service providers to provide enterprise customers scalable Layer 3 multicast services on an IP network that shares resources, on one or more physical networks.
- Inter-AS Traffic Engineering, which allows service providers to traffic engineer between networks and regions, previously not available. It involves the configuration of a single tunnel at the headend as opposed to switching tunnels across each area that must be crossed, enabling service providers to deliver more robust, resilient and scalable networks.
- Interprovider MPLS VPN over IP, which allows traditional MPLS-based Layer 3 VPN services to be delivered on a native IP network, simplifying connectivity across a single or multiple transit IP networks. This functionality allows service providers more flexibility in building IP network architectures across domain boundaries, allowing additional revenue opportunities by building scalable Layer 3 VPN services, such as Web hosting, application hosting, interactive learning, electronic commerce and telephony service.
- MPLS VPN Inter-AS/Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) Load Balancing, which allows service providers to load balance across two or more links between boundary routers. Previously, service providers could fully utilize one link between peering routers. The increase in links enables additional flexibility, better redundancy and network scalability for the delivery of improved SLAs.
The Cisco Interprovider capabilities are shipping now in Cisco IOS Software releases 12.0(29)S and 12.0(30)S.
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