This piece provides an overview of a new
networking technology called Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). The author discusses
how modern networks used in large corporate environments and ISPs utilize the IP model and consist of layers. After discussing these layers, the author describes how MPLS improves
networking performance by combining two of the most important of these layers, the switching and routing layers. The author then describes how MPLS greatly improves performance by attaching a label to each packet of information and then creating a special path for that packet. After providing the reader with the advantages of this technique including why it is superior to some of the older techniques, the author then discusses why implementing MPLS is a good idea.