Here are two technologies that show a lot of promise, with not a little hype thrown in.  SDN promises, among other things, agility and automation.  Seamless MPLS, once you get past the deep technical stuff (important, to know this is implementable and deployable) promises, among other things, rapid service delivery, service chaining and service flexibility.  Can these marry to form a real, useful solution?  I believe so, and the goal of this presentation <link> is to convince you of this as well.

Looking at the MPLS & Ethernet World Congress agenda, I’m still amazed how after 15^th years our industry can still innovate in this area. Well, the (L)abel (S)witching basis of MPLS remain the same but the (M)ulti(P)rotocol piece is, after 15 years, it is much more important now, than ever before. It’s not just IPv4 or IPv6 over MPLS. In fact is not even IP or packets, but also circuits over MPLS. It is also fascinating how over the 15 years MPLS has been here to solve different problems: ATM transport, IP VPNs, Carrier Ethernet, Multicast, Data Center and Cloud connectivity, mobile networks... and now MPLS is getting ready for SDN.

When the automotive industry found out, in the middle of the 60s, that most of their customers weren't particularly happy to drive the exact same vehicle as everyone else, this started a revolutionary change. Luxury cars had this problem solved with their traditional approach of almost hand-made models, but of course not everyone could afford that. The conventional manufacturers adopted a new concept: mass customisation.

I’m glad to write about the IIR Carrier Ethernet awards reception I attended yesterday in Barcelona along with Penny Still representing Juniper Networks. It was a pleasant evening with many of our industry peers. 

On 6 February2012 in Paris, and prior to the MPLS & Ethernet World Congress 2012, Juniper Networks will be hosting once more the MPLS User Forum. It’s already a tradition for many of our customers and if you haven’t attended previously, in these lines I would like to encourage you to join us if you have the opportunity, even if you’re not attending the MPLS World Congress.

The New Network Technical Forum 2011 in Barcelona is almost upon us (25/26^th October).

As the lead marketer at an event that targets the technical leaders from our key EMEA customers and partners, I feel like the guy that was invited to a fancy dress party only to turn up and find everyone soberly dressed whilst I am left looking for the safety pins to hold my toga together.....