Month: February 2024

VPLS Joins iMasons Climate Accord

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VPLS Joins iMasons Climate Accord

VPLS joins data center industry leaders in uniting to achieve carbon neutrality.

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VPLS has joined the iMasons Climate Accord (ICA). ICA is a historic coalition designed to govern a methodology to measure and reduce carbon in the infrastructure through products, power, and materials. The global colocation and managed services provider is joined by industry leaders who all agree the key to achieving carbon neutrality is by uniting.

Currently, there is no universal labeling system or mechanism to measure embodied carbon over the life of the materials used to build data center facilities or the products that fill them. Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) was established by Dean Nelson, a long-time Infrastructure executive, and industry contributor, to provide infrastructure executives and technical professionals an independent forum to connect, grow and give back. Nelson believes that industry adoption of an open standard to report carbon in data center materials and products, carbon intensity in power consumption, and a maturity model to report participant progress is essential to keeping the industry accountable for their sustainability standards.

“The demand for accessible, secure, and reliable data storage is only going to continue to grow. The data center industry is growing at a fast pace to keep up with this demand and as a growing industry we have the opportunity to set things off on the right foot.”

Jay Smith, VP of Data Center Operations at VPLS
The data center industry has remarkably exceeded expectations in taking measures to reduce its carbon footprint. Initially, data center infrastructures were predicted to make up to 20% of the global energy usage. In 2020, data center power usage made up merely 1%, far superseding the expectations. This was achieved by making changes and upgrades to infrastructures, purchasing reusable power, and building energy-efficient infrastructure. VPLS has reduced the PUE of two of their Northern California data centers upon acquiring them and aims to continue to keep with upgrades that improve sustainability.

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As a worldwide leader in internet infrastructure and computing, VPLS partners with businesses to solve their most complex technology challenges. Have a question about the article? Contact our team at [email protected].
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What Is MPLS in Networking?

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What Is MPLS in Networking?

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Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a type of packet forwarding technology. Using MPLS, an enterprise can virtually connect two of its locations — regardless of where they’re located. This makes MPLS a great option for distributed teams. Find out more about how MPLS works and its benefits.

How MPLS Works

MPLS is a technology that uses labels instead of UP addresses to make data forwarding decisions. Think of a packet as a piece of mail. As a packet travels from its origin to its destination, it will stop at routers along the way.

Each router needs to decide what to do with that packet, typically by inspecting the packet’s IP address. This can lead to slow speeds and poor performance. But with MPLS, the routers are just reading a short label and forwarding it accordingly. It’s like they’re looking at the address on the envelope rather than opening and reading the mail.

The MPLS header is divided into four parts:

  • A 20-bit label field
  • A three-bit Class of Service field
  • A one-bit “bottom of stack” indicator
  • An 8-bit time to live (TTL)

An MPLS network is a Layer 2.5 solution. Network communications are typically described using a seven-layer hierarchy:

  • Layer 1: Physical
  • Layer 2: Data Link
  • Layer 3: Network
  • Layer 4: Transport
  • Layer 5: Session
  • Layer 6: Presentation
  • Layer 7: Application

Because MPLS has the same speed as a Layer 2 solution but uses the scalability of a Layer 3 solution, it’s often referred to as “Layer 2.5.”

Where is MPLS Used?

MPLS is used to achieve inter-site connectivity across multiple physical locations. Some organizations have a data center at their headquarters or main office and need to give employees at satellite offices access to that data center. MPLS offers a reliable connection, and when needed, it can prioritize certain traffic like voice and video applications.

When implementing an MPLS, some enterprises choose to use a secure software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). SD-WAN architecture sets up a secure network that can use MPLS (or other transport services) to give end-users safe access to applications.

With SD-WAN traffic steering, critical applications always get the fastest path to ensure high performance.

Benefits to MPLS

Implementing MPLS requires an initial investment, but it has many advantages over traditional IP routing. The benefits of MPLS include:

  • Scalability: MPLS can be scaled up or down as an enterprise grows and its needs change.
  • Efficiency: MPLS guarantees a high-quality, low-latency connection without worrying about jitter or packet loss.
  • Bandwidth: MPLS optimizes bandwidth usage, ensuring a positive user experience.
  • Cost-effective: MPLS eliminates the need to set up multiple data centers, saving on infrastructure costs.

Learn More About Using MPLS At Your Enterprise

If you’re looking for a reliable way to keep your business connected, VPLS is here to help. In addition to MPLS, we also offer:

  • Dark fiber
  • Wavelength division multiplexing

With scalable solutions and expert, 24/7 support, VPLS is the premier choice for networking solutions. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Sources:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/527/multiprotocol-label-switching-mpls
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/multi-protocol-label-switching-mpls/
https://archive.nanog.org/sites/default/files/tuesday_tutorial_steenbergen_mpls_46.pdf

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As a worldwide leader in internet infrastructure and computing, VPLS partners with businesses to solve their most complex technology challenges. Have a question about the article? Contact our team at [email protected].
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4 Benefits of a Managed Network Service

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4 Benefits of a Managed Network Service

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Whether you are a business manager or a seasoned IT professional, a managed network service can make your job easier and allow you to focus on achieving your business goals. Some of the biggest benefits of a managed network include the expertise, industry knowledge, and dedication of an entire IT department that is focused on the delivery of your core business functions.

A managed network service vendor like VPLS can help you handle the routine tasks that are more time-consuming like:

  • End user support
  • Asset management and cyber security
  • Disaster recovery planning
  • Cloud computing
  • Data center solutions

Working with a network service provider can ultimately increase your company competitiveness and efficiency by providing you multiple advantages:

1. Proactivity and Scalability

When you work with a managed network service firm, it frees up your organization’s resources to focus on your mission-critical goals. Your network solutions provider will achieve this by proactively combining increased flexibility and speed with high-performance network availability to effortlessly drive the progress of your growing enterprise.

Vendors that provide managed network services have the infrastructure required to support faster tech upgrades and implementations. Preventative maintenance checks and enhancements as well as ongoing proactive measures are also handled in this setup.

2. Control Operating Costs of Entire IT Network

The main reason why companies turn to managed network service is that it drastically reduces costs associated with infrastructure, software, hardware, service, maintenance, and operations. All these costs also become more predictable and better controlled since they become a form of fixed expense. In addition, upgrade costs go down too as they are handled by the managed network vendor.

This entire arrangement will minimize the cost of your ongoing maintenance labor as well. Costs associated with technology upgrades, employee turnover, and initial and ongoing training will either be completely eliminated or reduced to a minimum.

3. Superior Network Security

Managed network services give you enhanced security for your entire data and voice network. Most vendors include products that protect the business from breaches, viruses, malware, spam, and even inappropriate content. As a result, all your sensitive data, critical applications, and transactions will be kept safe and secure. For example, VPLS works to prevent intrusions and bottlenecks and eradicate single points of failure via fully-managed network security.

4. Better Quality of Network Service

Other benefits your company can experience by choosing the right managed network service include: better network management, enhanced call routing, and better voice quality thanks to the built-in quality of service. You’ll get access to high-quality, high-speed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) backbone across a wide range of internet connections.

Choose VPLS Managed Network Services for Maximized Performance

Our managed solutions provide multiple ways to save cost and time, preventing network hiccups and reducing support time. If you’re looking for a managed network service provider that can help you perform your day-to-day tasks with more efficiency so as to increase overall productivity, reach out to us by sending us a message online.

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VPLS Conducts a Campus-Wide Wireless Upgrade for Lawndale Elementary School District

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VPLS Conducts a Campus-Wide Wireless Upgrade for Lawndale Elementary School District

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Located in Gardena, California, the Lawndale Elementary School District (LESD) supports nine school campuses, including both elementary and middle schools. As a modern school district, LESD leveraged technology to support their staff, teachers, and students. When LESD discovered that their existing wireless network made it difficult for students, teachers, and staff members to use core applications and receive customer-focused technical support, the District turned to VPLS for a full replacement of their indoor and outdoor access points.

The goal of the network replacement was to improve network performance, increase network coverage, and provide excellent wireless service for all nine school campuses and the district office—while not exceeding the District’s budget.

In with the New

The VPLS design for Lawndale Elementary School District included Ruckus R720 access points for most classrooms, with Ruckus R730 access points for indoor areas with higher expected wireless device density. For outdoor coverage, VPLS used Ruckus T710s because of the equipment’s ability to cover a dense area with a reliable connection. After completing the installation, VPLS also conducted wireless site surveys to ensure optimal wireless performance for the campuses.

A Faster, more Reliable Network

By implementing a next-generation wireless network from VPLS, the District delivered customer-focused technical support and services to all schools and district departments. The network upgrade also provided optimal wireless coverage for critical student and teacher applications, necessary for increasing academic achievement.

“Throughout our wireless upgrade project, VPLS provided excellent onsite support from the initial receipt, tagging, and configuration of equipment, to the deployment and testing of all new devices,” said Todd Barker, Director of Information Technology for Lawndale Elementary School District. “Because of the careful design and deployment process, we expect the system to provide our students and staff with excellent wireless service into the foreseeable future.”

VPLS also worked with the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) to secure the majority of the funding for the project via the federal E-rate initiative so that the project would fit within the District’s budget.

Learn more about VPLS’s  network optimization services.

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The Important Difference Between Backup and Disaster Recovery

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The Important Difference Between Backup and Disaster Recovery

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What is a DDoS Attack?

krypt DDoS attack IT services

A DDoS attack can be much worse than a simple DoS (Denial of Service) attack, because unlike a DoS attack, its DDoS cousin is generally launched from multiple computers and multiple Internet connections, and these attacks are very often global in scope, being distributed by botnets. If your website were to be victimized by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, it could be completely engulfed by junk data, and shut down by the sheer inability to handle all that incoming traffic. Of course, there would be no way to halt the attack either, because it would be impossible to block any single address thought to be the culprit. So what can be done to prevent the possibility of a DDoS attack on your company servers?

Kinds of DDoS attacks

There are several types of DDoS attacks which criminal-minded individuals can unleash on unsuspecting websites, and all of them will result in major downtime if the site is not protected somehow. The first type of DDoS attack is a straightforward traffic attack, in which tons of data packets are sent directly to the target website, some of which are malicious in nature, and are intended to penetrate network security for the purpose of exploiting the site.

Bandwidth attacks are those which unleash tremendous volume of junk data against a site, resulting in a huge loss of bandwidth and network resources for the website. Another very popular type of DDoS attack is the application attack, which targets the applications layer of a website and leaves it without critical applications to carry out normal functions. There are other types of DDoS attacks as well, but all of them involve overwhelming system resources in some way with unwanted and illegitimate data, such that the network is unable to handle the huge increase in traffic, or is left without valuable resources which are needed to carry out important system functions.

Why Krypt is the Best Anti-DDoS Solution

Because most DDoS attacks involve directing massive amounts of junk packets or other data at an intended victim site, any really effective solution would need to be able to handle that overwhelmingly excessive data, so that system resources don’t become bogged down and rendered useless. For this reason, there is nothing which works better for your Bare Metal and Cloud Server equipment than Krypt’s anti-DDoS solution – right from the moment that the origin traffic is detected, it is re-directed to scrubbing centers all around the globe.

This allows up to 1800 Gbps of traffic to be handled, and all the bad traffic is filtered out of those transmissions, so that only clean, relevant data is forwarded back to Krypt servers, where your company’s network has been situated. Clients of Krypt can select the level of traffic-scrubbing coverage which suits their budget and their circumstances, and rely on the fact that there will never be any flood of data which reaches their servers, to cause traffic problems resulting in downtime.

It's Simple...Choose Krypt!

Krypt was originally founded back in 1998, in Newport Beach, CA, and was at that time focused on providing web and shell services for clients. Because the company had a staff of extremely experienced and knowledgeable professionals, Krypt quickly became an industry leader and expanded its service offerings to become a full-service hosting provider. With two headquarters locations in Orange, CA and Bangkok, Thailand, Krypt has now become a global company capable of providing the very best web hosting services on the cloud. Contact Krypt today to learn about the many other services offered by the company in addition to top-notch protection against DDoS attacks.

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As a worldwide leader in internet infrastructure and computing, VPLS partners with businesses to solve their most complex technology challenges. Have a question about the article? Contact our team at [email protected].
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Upcoming Nimble Integration Will Unlock Opportunities

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In addition to VPLS being a reliable Veeam Gold Cloud & Service Provider and Nimble Storage Gold Partner, we are excited that Nimble Storage and Veeam are working together on new integration features in Veeam Availability Suite 9.5.  Modern service level agreements (SLAs) understand the cost and consequences of downtime and lost data resulting from the challenging assimilation of the availability of applications and data, which is why we are doing our part to alleviate such difficulty.  What makes Veeam®’s Availability for the Always-On Enterprise™ so innovative is its integrations with well-known enterprise storage offerings from EMC, HPE and NetApp, that now extends to Nimble Storage in Veeam Availability Suite™ 9.5.

Backup from Storage Snapshots

  • By retrieving virtual machine (VM) data from Nimble Storage snapshots on primary storage and replicated copies on secondary storage, the additional impact from backup activities can actually be lowered on your production storage.

Veeam Explorer™ for Storage Snapshots

  • Now you can quickly and efficiently recover individual items or entire VMs from Nimble snapshots and replicated copies.

On-Demand Sandbox™ for Storage Snapshots

  • In just a few clicks, you will be able to create isolated copies of your production environment to ensure fast and easy development as well as test and troubleshoot storage snapshots on primary and secondary storage systems.

For more detailed information, please see the links provided below:

Read Veeam’s Blog Post

Read Veeam’s Press Release

Register for VeeamLive

At VPLS, our knowledgeable Sales Representatives are always more than happy to address any questions or concerns that you may have, so contact us today! Learn more about VPLS Nimble Storage Replication-as-a-Service and Veeam Managed Cloud Backup services

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