Slide 1

Carrier Ethernet –The CIO PerspectivePart III: Ethernet and IP VPNs, When to Use Which?

RAD Data CommunicationsJune 2011

Slide 2

Ethernet and IP VPNs: When to Use Which?

Layer 2 (L2) Ethernet and Layer 3 (L3) IP/MPLS VPNs offer different benefits for different needs:

Slide 3

L2, L3 Key Decision Factors:Cost, Scalability, Control

• Low price per Mbps: Ethernet VPNs are ideal for high throughput typically required at large branches or data centers

• IP/MPLS VPNs:

– Fit highly distributed installations, a very large number of sites

– Low to medium bandwidth rates

– Ideal for remote access

• Control:

– Enterprises comfortable with self managing their IP address space and routing tables prefer Layer 2 Ethernet VPNs

– Businesses without in-house knowledge of IP switching fundamentals, prefer turnkey VPNs

Slide 4

L2 & L3 Service Combination

• Ethernet VPN for data center, distribution centers and headquarters:

– Meet bandwidth, delay and control requirements for high volume content

delivery, storage and disaster recovery

• L3 VPN for branch connectivity:

– Ideal for any-to-any VoIP connectivity and point of sale data processing

Example (Retail industry):

Slide 5

In Conclusion

• L2 and L3 services are complementary for different customer needs

• Key decision factors are cost, scalability and level of control desired by the enterprise

• A growing trend of integrating Ethernet and IP/MPLS VPN features for the same customer

Check out other installments in the series:

• Part I: Why Choose Carrier Ethernet WAN Services?

• Part II: Service Levels and SLAs

Slide 6

Thank You For Your Attention

www.rad.com

Visit www.ethernetaccess.com for more information