ISC2 CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)Communication and Network SecurityHard
A financial institution is implementing a new trading platform that requires extremely low latency and deterministic forwarding of network traffic between its trading servers and market data feeds. The network design must minimize jitter and packet loss, even under heavy load, and guarantee certain levels of service for critical data flows. Which network technology is specifically designed to provide these capabilities through traffic engineering and explicit path routing?
- AEthernet over IP (EoIP)
- BVirtual Private Network (VPN)
- CMultiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
- DGeneric Routing Encapsulation (GRE)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
MPLS is a high-performance, packet-forwarding technology that uses labels to make forwarding decisions. It allows for explicit path routing and traffic engineering, which is crucial for guaranteeing Quality of Service (QoS), minimizing latency, and ensuring deterministic forwarding required by high-frequency trading platforms.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. EoIP is a tunneling protocol that encapsulates Ethernet frames in IP packets, primarily for extending Layer 2 networks over Layer 3, not for advanced traffic engineering or QoS guarantees.
- B. VPNs (e.g., IPsec) focus on secure tunneling and encryption, often adding latency, and are not primarily designed for deterministic forwarding or advanced traffic engineering for QoS.
- D. GRE is a tunneling protocol used to encapsulate a wide variety of network layer protocols inside IP, but it does not inherently offer QoS or explicit path routing capabilities like MPLS.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
A high-performance data-carrying mechanism that directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses.
- Enables traffic engineering and Quality of Service (QoS).
- Operates between Layer 2 and Layer 3 (often called Layer 2.5).
- Used extensively in telecommunications provider networks for VPNs and high-speed routing.
Memory trick: MPLS 'Moves Packets' with 'Labeled Speed'.