VPLS is the latest in a long line of VPN services. Technically, VPLS is a transport protocol. (We’ll leave the rest of the tech talk to the engineers.) The first true Virtual Private Network services go back to U.S. military applications in the 1960’s.
Virtual Private LAN Service was first offered by Verizon in 2007 and eventually adopted by AT&T and Qwest. Now, other carriers are adopting VPLS options for their clientele.
So what benefits does VPLS provide? Why should businesses take note?
VPLS Highlights
· greater internal control over your business VPN
· greater bandwidth choices than MPLS
· design separate connections for specific applications
· connect new offices faster and cheaper
First, it helps to understand a few concepts about VPN. A VPN connects multiple offices on a private network. These connections can come in multiple forms from DSL to T1 to fiber. An effective VPN network provides security, consistent connections and control of information flow from office to office.
VPLS makes these factors work large better. With VPLS added to the VPN mix, all the remote offices behave together as if they’re working on the same local area network or LAN. What does this mean to your IT staff and your budget? Lower costs and greater control over your network. Your business can take on mission control and depend less and carriers.
The service provider delivers circuits to each site but unlike MPLS, VPLS allows your staff the ability to create the network connections in house. With fewer hands planning the network it has better security. There’s also less equipment needed which lowers the costs of deployment.
If your business is technically ready and has the support resources VPLS can be a great tool. Your IT department can select more bandwidth options than ever before -from 10/100/500 mb up to 1 gig. The price per MB is also lower than predecessors like MPLS.
With proper planning, VPLS can also be used to segment voice, data and Internet access on separate virtual networks -all from one location.
VPLS is a great tool but it may not be appropriate for every business application. When in doubt, RAM can bring you the engineers and other technical resources to help educate and recommend the best VPN solution for your business model.
Give RAM a call today at 847-358-0917 to learn more.
rob@ramcomminc.com