Service-oriented MPLS network management in a virtual networking environment

Using XML-based Web services for network management purposes gains more and more attention as the underlying principles seem to be highly appropriate for developing efficient and interoperable management systems. Hereby, a major advantage is the standard, XML-based way of accessing, finding, and defining management functionality in a distributed, Web-based environment. In this context, the following paper presents a novel management interface allowing to control MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) devices via Web service calls. Moreover, a novel virtual networking environment based on UML (user-mode Linux) is presented which can be used to establish comprehensive network scenarios efficiently without using dedicated hardware.