An Application of VoIP and MPLS

Advisor: Dr. Kevin Ryan

By:Jitesh Kunder

For:Jitesh Inc.

Overview

• Introduction• Setup at Jitesh Inc.• Introduction to MPLS• Project Description• Project Status• Experience at Jitesh Inc.

Introduction

• Leading player in the field of expertise

• Two Major departments in IT are: 1)Networking – Provision and maintenance of computer and network support2)Telecommunication – Provision and maintenance of telephone service and communication

Current Setup: IT Department

• Roles & Responsibilities :

1) Networking Team:– Provision and maintenance of computers– Providing network support to the users– Maintenance and upgrade of the various Servers– Taking data backup and providing this data whenever

required– Ensuring data security by making data available to

authorized users– Installing various application soft wares like antivirus,

office soft wares and providing timely updates

Continue

Current Setup: IT Department

2) Telecommunication Team:– Setting up the infrastructure and providing

telephone service to all the employees– Creating a communication link between distant

locations like conference bridges to keep these offices connected at all times

– Maintenance and upgrades when required

Current Network Structure

• There are separate dedicated lines for Voice and Data communication between each locations

Location 1 Location 2

MPLS Connection for Data

Phone connection via the PSTN

Current Network Structure

• Advantages:- Both departments can handle their own issues and hence management is simpler- Any upgrades required, need not be done on both the networks

Current Network Structure

• Disadvantages: - The expense to maintain two separate lines for voice and data is much higher

- There are separate vendors for both these lines and co-ordination becomes difficult

Proposed Network Structure

• Goal of the Company: Provide single line for Voice communications and for data between different locations using MPLS connection.

MPLS CoreVoice & Data

Location 2 Location 4

Location 1 Location 3

Introduction

Label Switch Routers

– Ingress LSR• Ingress LSRs allow an IP packet to enter the MPLS network by

adding to them a MPLS label. These routers receive a packet that is not labeled yet, insert a label (stack) in front of the packet, and send it on a data link.

– Egress LSR• Similarly Egress LSRs remove the MPLS labels from the packet

thus, indicating the end of MPLS network. Ingress and egress LSRs are edge LSRs.

– Intermediate LSR• Intermediate LSRs receive an incoming packet that is already

labeled by ingress or another intermediate LSR. It is here that label stacking actually takes place. MPLS labels are either stacked or removed as per the requirement and then transported to the desired destination.

Description

• Multi-protocol label switching (MPLS)– MPLS is a technique and not a service– Embedded on an existing layer like the

IP layer– Uses the technique of packet forwarding

based on labels– Routers just have to check the labels

and not the destination IP address– Packets are forwarded by switching the

labels and not touching the IP addresses

Advantages

• Advantages of MPLS– The use of one unified network

infrastructure– Better IP over ATM integration– Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)-free core– The peer-to-peer model for MPLS VPN– Optimal traffic flow– Traffic engineering

MPLS Header

Link Layer Header

MPLS SHIMNetwork LayerHeader

Other Layers Headers And data

Label Exp. Bits BS TTL

32 bits

20 Bits3 Bits

1 Bit8 Bits

MPLS Header

– The Header is broken into 20-3-1-8 bits– First 20 bits form the label value and

their value can be 0 to or 1,048,575 – Bits 20 to 22 are the three experimental

(EXP) bits. Quality of service (QoS) can be set using these bits.

– Bit 23 is the Bottom of Stack (BoS) bit– Bits 24 to 31 are used for Time To Live

(TTL)

Basic Operation

Label Stacking

• MPLS-capable routers do not break the IP packets

• More than one packet required to understand the actual destination of the packet

• BS bit is set to 1 indicating it to be the last label

Class and Path

–Forward Equivalence Class• Class assigned every time a packet enters the MPLS

network• All packets belonging to the same FEC have the same

label• Decided by the Ingress LSR

–Label Switched Path• Series of routers through which the packets have a

medium to reach the destination• Packets belonging to the same FEC have the same

label

Project Description

• Jitesh Inc. has a wide range of products, the call center for product support is located in UK and all the customers are based in the US

• Call route:Call on toll free number call routed to the PBX office in US PBX in US connects the PBX at UK

• Dedicated T-1 lines are provided by the AT&T.

Current Network Set-up

• Company pays for Toll free calls as well as dedicated T-1 lines.

HOBOKENCustomers

Bognor Regis

MPLS Connection for Data

Dedicated T1 line for Voice

PSTN

Current Network Set-up

• Advantages:- Cost effective The company would otherwise have to pay for an international Toll Free number which would be very expensive

Current Network Set-up

• Disadvantage:– Quality of service (QOS)

Down-time for the connection– Bandwidth

Required more bandwidth– Cost Savings

Expensive compared to the proposed MPLS solution

Proposed Network Structure

• Single dedicated MPLS connection for Voice and Data

HOBOKENCustomers

Toll

Free

#

Bognor Regis

MPLS Connection for Voice and Data

PSTN

Proposed Network Structure

• Advantages over conventional set-up:– Better QoS– Faster communication– Single dedicated line for Voice communication

and Data communication– Annual reduction in costs by approx. 60%

• Disadvantage over conventional set-up:- High initial investment cost of network set-up

Proposed Network Structure

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

September October November December J anuary February March April May J une J uly August

Monthly charges for T1 line One-time Installation Fee

Break-even Point

Project Status

• Currently deployed in phases• Over budget• Quality of Service - average• Approval from management

Responsibilities at Jitesh Inc.

• Call Analysis (Feasibility Study)• Cost Analysis• Interaction with prime vendors• Presentation to the management

Experience at Jitesh Inc.

• Enhanced technical skills– Telecommunication– Network Infrastructure

• Software tools• Communication with vendors and

upper management