QoS Parameters Evaluation in a VPN-MPLS Diffserv Network under a Complete Free Software Emulation Environment

Abstract

The use of Virtual Private Network – Multi Protocol Label Switching (VPN-MPLS) networks has become very common inside enterprises thanks to their multiple advantages; such as, the private communication across a public network infrastructure between geographically diverse sites. This leads to a need for an efficient network in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) to guarantee reliability and security of information. However, the implementation of a VPN-MPLS network is neither easy nor cheap for small and medium companies; hence, in most cases, it is required the use of emulators that are not free either. In this paper, we analyze a VPN-MPLS network in terms of QoS metrics: delay, jitter and packet loss. This evaluation was performed in a virtual environment using only free software tools under two test scenarios, with and without Differentiated Services (DiffServ). The results showed that a VPN-MPLS DiffServ network reduces the delay by approximately 96.78% in VoIP, 39.21% in Data and 66.83% in Streaming; furthermore, the jitter was reduced by approximately 27.88% in VoIP and 41.09% in Data.