Editing Multiprotocol Label Switching (section)

{{Short description|Network routing scheme based on labels identifying paths}}
{{redirect|MPLS|the U.S. city|Minneapolis|other uses|mpls (disambiguation)}}

'''Multiprotocol Label Switching''' ('''MPLS''') is a routing technique in [[telecommunications network]]s that directs data from one [[Node (networking)|node]] to the next based on labels rather than network addresses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Multiprotocol-Label-Switching-MPLS|title = What is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)?}}</ref> Whereas network addresses identify [[Communication endpoint|endpoints]], the labels identify established paths between endpoints. MPLS can encapsulate packets of various [[network protocol]]s, hence the ''multiprotocol'' component of the name. MPLS supports a range of access technologies, including [[Digital Signal 1|T1]]/[[E-carrier|E1]], [[Asynchronous Transfer Mode|ATM]], [[Frame Relay]], and [[DSL]].