The advent of its fatter version is opening up the transfer of WAN data from ATM, frame-relay or packet over SONET/SDH to a potentially more efficient and cheaper method. However, as yet Gigabit Ethernet and its even fatter younger sibling 10...
Are we on the verge of a step-change in the quality of networking, a change that will put what we've come to expect from the likes of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay and all-IP to shame?
But IP VPNs have to provide something more than VPNs based on Frame Relay or ATM. But what do they offer above and beyond infrastructure relying on our old friends Frame Relay and ATM? In other scenarios, Frame and ATM can be equally as useful, yet...
For multinationals, moving from international Frame Relay circuits to an MPLS IP VPN does not necessarily save money in the short term though longer-term financial payoffs are already being reported by early adopters.
Besides the increasingly popular IP, it works with protocols such as ATM and Frame Relay. Bobst has signed a four-year contract for an MPLS-enabled IP VPN, pulling together 22 sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Ethernet spend is growing at the expense of Frame Relay, ATM and SDH leased lines. Ethernet VPNs are starting to be adopted as replacements for FR and ATM VPNs and may displace IP VPNs in some parts of the market.