Enterprise customers around the world are replacing legacy private line, Frame Relay, and ATM wide area networks (WAN) with Ethernet VPLS and MPLS IP VPN services. Companies’ choice of wide-area network type is shaped by a number of factors, including the applications they need to accommodate, the number of locations to be connected, the level of control the customers want to maintain over their networks, their capacity requirements, and the cost of the solution. However, data from TeleGeography’s Global Enterprise Networks Research Service suggest that the most important factor shaping an organization’s international network choice may simply be availability.
Ethernet VPN services are generally more cost effective than MPLS IP VPN services for capacity requirements above 50 Mbps, and are most appropriate for linking high-capacity headquarter sites and data centers. MPLS IP VPN
services tend to be better suited for linking large numbers of sites with more modest capacity requirements. However, dependence on Ethernet local access and the relatively slow rollout of Ethernet across MPLS PoPs means that Ethernet VPN solutions are not yet available in as many cities.
Ethernet deployments lag far behind MPLS VPN deployments, both by service provider and by geographic market. Over half of the 63 international service providers researched by TeleGeography offer MPLS VPN service in 10 or more countries, compared with less than one-third of Ethernet VPLS service providers.
The availability of IP VPN and Ethernet VPN services also differs by region. TeleGeography identified 39 IP VPN providers in Europe, 34 in Asia, 31 in the U.S. & Canada, and 19 in Africa and Latin American. Ethernet VPN services are less widely available in all of these regions, but the difference is particularly great in emerging markets. While 32 service providers offer layer 2 Ethernet VPN services in Europe, only 9 offer VPLS service in Latin America
and only 6 in Africa. While 22 service providers offer VPLS service in London, only 5 offer VPLS service in Mumbai.
This report should not limit your interest in Ethernet VPN services, but rather shape expectations on its availability. To determine Ethernet VPN network availability for your company, contact us.
The above content provided from TeleGeography, the world’s leading independent reference source for global network infrastructure data.
