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Virtela Announces Multi-Carrier MPLS Service

Virtela Communications Inc, a global network solutions company, announced that it has launched the industry's first MPLS service with automatic failover to multiple carrier networks, the MPLS Service Fabric (MPSF-SF). Built upon the same foundation that made the company's IP Service Fabric (IPSF) the industry benchmark for global IP VPN networking, the MPSF-SF has unmatched worldwide reach and service levels due to its unique, multi-carrier architecture.

Virtela's MPLS-SF is able to bring together the world's top MPLS networks in a "supernetwork" arrangement, an industry breakthrough that solves the lack of interoperability and limited reach of single provider MPLS networks. Until now, enterprises looking to truly exploit the benefits of MPLS were hamstringed by carriers' collective resistance to interconnect their MPLS networks, a lack of desire driven by business interests above any technological or standards hurdles.

Virtela's MPLS architecture has its heritage in Virtela's original IPSF network, which routes VPN traffic across the world's top IP networks for thousands of enterprise locations across six continents. Virtela's regional policy centers can now also route MPLS traffic throughout the world across 200-plus best-of-breed carrier networks, using proprietary routing algorithms to direct traffic over the best performing path at any given time. The MPSF-SF honors each class-of-service attribute for the originating carrier, and maps multiple classes-of-service across carriers to achieve the highest-quality, end-to-end MPLS service available today.

"Virtela has put the industry on notice once again with its latest offering, the MPLS Service Fabric," said Michael Suby, senior research analyst with Stratecast Partners (a Division of Frost & Sullivan). "Virtela's IPSF proved that the performance associated with a closed, single-carrier network can be exceeded through a managed collection of IP networks. Leveraging this same network design, Virtela raises the bar with MPLS-SF by addressing the inherent limitations of a single-carrier MPLS network, creating an MPLS alternative that is worthy of serious enterprise consideration."

Virtela has spent the last year developing MPSF-SF for commercial release, and the service is already in use by a dozen customers with locations in four continents. MPSF-SF now reaches over 190 countries and can be accessed from over 5,000 access points around the world.

Key Components of the MPLS-SF include:

Class-of-Service Mapping Database -- Maintains end-to-end CoS based upon an extensive proprietary database for mapping disparate classes of service between carriers.
Proprietary Routing Algorithms -- Routes customer traffic over the best performing path based on real-time performance statistics.
Automatic Multi-Carrier Failover -- Re-routes customer traffic when the primary network performance degrades or fails.
Comprehensive Cost & Service Level Agreement Database -- Years of experience working with carrier partners worldwide has resulted in the most exhaustive database of network costs and SLA data, translating into the most aggressive pricing and performance guarantees for customers.

"Through our global multi-carrier design, we've returned control back to enterprises long forced to mortgage their network to a single carrier," said Vab Goel, Virtela's chairman and partner at Norwest Venture Partners. "The MPLS Service Fabric allows customers the option to choose from best-of-breed providers around the world with the simplicity and cost efficiencies of a single point of management and accountability."