IP-based virtual private network (VPN) services offer organizations cost-effective, fully meshed business connectivity between locally, regionally and globally distributed offices, and can represent a more cost-efficient and secure option than frame relay (FR), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), private line or the public Internet. However, the routing algorithms and protocols of underlying IP and multiprotocol label switching (IP/MPLS) technology, coupled with ubiquitous access options (such as Carrier Ethernet, DSL and fiber), add a significant level of complexity.

For the IP VPN or Ethernet VPN service to be effective and operationally efficient and to support the varied applications used in modern business, communication service providers must be able to impose class-of-service policy, uphold quality of service (QoS), prioritize traffic, and simplify VPN network performance and service management. They also must be able to vary their service offerings (as the demand grows for data, voice, and video convergence) as well as have the ability to ensure security and reliability. To achieve these goals, providers need a thorough understanding of their IP infrastructure, VPN services, associated end users, and committed levels of service.

InfoVista’s VistaInsight® for Networks  enables service providers to manage and report on their network performance as well as their customers’ VPNs, empowering the service providers to identify and address problems across the backbone, aggregation and access networks before end users are affected. These same capabilities can be used to monitor network load against capacity and ensure sufficient bandwidth and the delivery of high quality, high availability services. An intuitive VPN performance management portal can be extended from the service provider to its enterprise customers to verify compliance with service-level agreements (SLAs), ensure appropriate class-of-service policies, confirm business application usage, and maintain the most efficient use of resources.