Amazon.com Review
Because of its ability to significantly reduce the load placed on routers as they direct data packets to their destinations, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) has great potential as the Internet--as well as the private wide area networks (WANs) for which it was originally designed--continues to expand. MPLS and Label Switching Networks takes an implementation-neutral approach to explaining MPLS and its applications, enabling readers to better evaluate and interact with MPLS-enabled products. Author Uyless Black--known and generally respected for his work on IP networks and the transmission of voice over them--assumes that you have a working knowledge of IP and WAN concepts, but no particular familiarity with MPLS.

The approach in this book, while not completely academic, tends toward straightforward documentation of parts and behaviors. In a typical section, Black explains Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) by documenting the bit structure of LDP messages, and then listing and commenting on their possible functional contents. Line drawings help clarify the text, but this is, by and large, a book for people who like to learn by reading. Footnotes that reference RFCs and other documents add to the scholarly tone. You might also consider reading Jim Guichard's MPLS and VPN Architectures for a more Cisco-oriented approach and MPLS: Technology and Applications by Bruce Davie and Yakov Rekhter for another platform-neutral take on the subject. --David Wall

Topics covered: The operation and application of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). After arguing for the technology's applicability to a variety of networking problems, the book shows how MPLS fits into the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. It then gets into details, including message contents, label distribution via Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), and MPLS as applied to ATM and Frame Relay networks.