Global VPNs to get a helping hand

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING
07/27/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Standard for allowing VPNs to cross multiple carrier networks
* Links related to Optical Networking
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Global VPNs to get a helping hand

By Tim Greene

An industry standard to facilitate corporate VPNs that cross
multiple carrier networks could be ready for a vote by year-end.

The MFA Forum, meeting in Ottawa, last week moved closer to an
agreement about how carriers whose networks support MPLS can
give business customers service-quality guarantees from network
to network. "Different carriers are doing their own QoS models
to support corporate [MPLS] VPNs, but they don't necessarily
match up with each other," says Andy Malis, chairman and
president of the forum and an employee of Tellabs.

The standard, formally called an implementation agreement, will
likely be voted on by MFA membership later this year, he says.
The MFA Forum is an industry group resulting from the merger of
the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and the ATM Forum last year.

The agreement will also address keeping business traffic private
as it crosses network boundaries. "The end customers need to
feel secure that no other customer of the service provider is
able to snoop in and see any of the packets they are
transmitting through what really is a common network," says Rick
Wilder, MFA's vice president of technology and an employee of
Alcatel.

Within one carrier network it is simple to demonstrate that kind
of privacy, but it is not so easy when multiple networks and
multiple privacy schemes are involved, he says. "Customers want
to have that same level of assurance when their packets are
going between service providers," he says.

This can be accomplished by defining what information service
providers share, making sure it is secure as it passes between
MPLS networks and making sure the parties sharing the
information are who they say they are, Malis says.

For example, carriers must share some routing information to
link their networks, and the standard will set limits on that so
each carrier can maintain privacy, he says.

"There are policies that quantify exactly how much routing
information you're allowed to have go across the interface,"
Wilder says. "Very often the details for the routing protocols
within one network are felt to be proprietary information that
you don't want to leak out into a competitor's network. You
don't want snooping on network-control packets."

The draft of the standard calls for authenticating all control
sessions that have to do with configuring services to prevent
hackers from posing as trusted carrier partners trying to set up
a VPN, for example, Malis says.

Currently, there isn't much interconnection among MPLS carriers,
but a standard will make it simpler and more attractive for them
to cooperate, Wilder says. "Carriers do compete with each other
and so they don't completely trust each other," Wilder says.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. 2005 Salary Survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4002>

2. Cisco to acquire Sheer Networks for $97 million
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4003>

3. Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4004>

4. Schools battle personal data hacks
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4005>

5. Help Desk: NAT firewall
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4006>

Today's most forwarded story:

Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4007>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Tim Greene

Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering virtual
private networking gear, remote access, core switching and local
phone companies. You can reach him at <mailto:tgreene@nww.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia
Empower Your Mobile Enterprise

Nokia believes that business mobility will fundamentally change
the way work gets done-and for the better. To allow the entire
organization to get the most from this paradigm shift in
productivity, Nokia Enterprise Solutions focuses on delivering
increased efficiency through enhanced mobility. Learn more by
downloading this white paper today!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=108873
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
SIX TIPS FOR GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE

Before you go in for your next annual review or promotion
interview, you would be wise to consider these tips for ensuring
you've got the right stuff to move ahead. Network executives
offer advice to help you gun for that next promotion and fatten
up your paycheck. Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/you/2005/072505-salary-side2.html>
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