Difference between VPN and MPLS

10 pts.
Multiprotocol Label Switching
Virtual Private Network
difference between vpn and mpls

Answer Wiki


The main difference is that IP VPN is a point to point VPN. If you have 5 sites, they all have tunnels (two actually since they are unidirectional) to each other. So five sites = (5(5-1))2 or 40 unidirectional tunnels.

MPLS VPN is a multipoint technology by design. There are no tunnels, when site 1 needs to talk to site 2, it looks up the site in the routing table, adds a tag that is for that site, and send the packet to the next router

Discuss This Question: 5  Replies

Send me notifications when members answer or reply to this question.
  • Kevin Beaver
    Both are relatively secure as well...in case that matters.
    24,615 pointsBadges:
  • Uvic
    VPN here, you probably mean IP VPN. MPLS also includes L2 VPN and L3 VPN. MPLS L2 VPN includes VPWS and VPLS which correspoinding to point to point VPN and point to multpoint VPN. There are too much stuff required to cover to make it clear. Put in simple way, VPN is a way to secure the data traffic through an encrypted tunnel. MPLS is a protocol which is kind of technology just like IP. So sometimes, you often see MPLS comes up with IP such as IP/MPLS. Hope it will not confuse you much.
    20 pointsBadges:
  • BrettDaren
    90 pointsBadges:
  • Tessa Parmenter
    That's a great question. SearchEnterpriseWAN.com has a tutorial answering that very question here: MPLS VPN fundamentals. I hope it helps!
    1,160 pointsBadges:
  • Tech12345
    A VPN network creates a secure connection over a public network such as a public telecommunication infrastructure, that is, the internet being one of the most important requirements of our daily lives. The encryption for such a connection is provided by using algorithms for having security and the establishment of a reliable connection which is not possible in the case of a proxy server.
    10 pointsBadges:

Forgot Password


Your password has been sent to:

To follow this tag...




Share this item with your network: