MPLS branch site set up on a T3 line

[Mike Bowers]

                   Hello, I have a question on setting up MPLS on a single T3 line.

A client has contacted us to set up a 2951 at a branch location. There are 5 locations connected with MPLS.

They will split off 4meg of the T3 for mpls. The rest of the 45meg would go to the internet.

They have two 1841's currently set up with a T1 line in each. One 1841 connects to the MPLS and the other to the internet.

When the T3 is turned up by the provider, everything, internet and MPLS, will go through it. 

I asked for the current configurations, but I have not received them yet and this setup is due in a couple days.

Given I've never configured MPLS before and I have a rudimentary understanding of how it works, any tips or configurations? I'd hate to be stuck on site and not equipped to complete the job.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Harold Ritter]

Hi,

You should not worry about the MPLS part of the equation as this will be completely transparent to you. The MPLS network is handled by the service provider. From your standpoint it will just be an IP connection to the service provider router just like the one you will have to the Internet provider. Depending on the service provider, you might need to run BGP with them or use static routes. This is generally negotiated with them based on your requirements.

Regards

[Mike Bowers]

Hello Harold, thanks for the reply!

I was wondering about that, but I'm also curious about how the Service Provider will differentiate the traffic that is destined for the MPLS network and what traffic is destined for the internet.

Will there be no configuration of this on my end?

When I set up various VPN's, I need to differentiate interesting traffic from all other traffic and set a destination to send the interesting traffic. How does it work with MPLS when User 1 wants to go to Google and User2 wants to access a server at another branch site?

I guess this concept is confusing for me still.

[Harold Ritter · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The way you configure the t3 circuit (channelized t3  inverse multipleing, ppp multilink, etc) on your side will largely  depend on the way your service provider delivers the service. I would recommend you get the details from your service provider and then post  the information if you need help with that part of the configuration.

Regards