The words of the multi-site network

The twelve core terms

Backbone — core network

The central part of the network that links all sites to one another and to the cloud.

MPLS — Multiprotocol Label Switching

Operator private-network technology, known for its performance guarantees and its high cost.

MPLS over collection — MPLS overlay

An operator's private network built on standard fibre accesses (FTTH, FTTE) injected into its core through a collection gateway. Off the public Internet and cheaper than legacy MPLS, but the core stays closed: every change goes through a ticket. sdMPLS starts from the same collection and adds the VRB, which the customer controls.

SD-WAN — Software-Defined WAN

Software layer that picks, for each flow, the best link among those available at a site. Does not act on the core network.

Overlay — superimposed network

Logical network built on top of a physical network it does not control.

VXLAN / EVPN — open network virtualisation standards

Open standards for creating sealed virtual networks on a shared infrastructure; this is what lets the SDO core host one VRB per customer.

SDO — Software Defined Operator

Operator whose core network is fully virtualised and software-controlled.Example: Flex.eu, an SDO operator, designs and operates the sdMPLS core network.

sdMPLS® — the technology

Technology giving each customer a dedicated, controllable core network, on standard links, for WAN, voice and cloud.

VRB — Virtual Router Backbone

The virtual router dedicated to the customer, through which it controls its backbone.

FTTH / FTTO — Fibre To The Home / Fibre To The Office

Shared fibre (residential and business) / dedicated business fibre.

QoS — quality of service

Mechanisms for prioritising flows (for example voice before backups).

Traffic engineering — in French, ingénierie de trafic

Deciding which paths flows take through the core network.

AMO — assistance à maîtrise d'ouvrage

The French term for owner-side project assistance: a telecom consultancy or procurement advisor that helps an organisation define its needs and write its invitation to tender.

To see these terms in context: Understanding sdMPLS and The technology.

Additional terms

Terms used on the website and absent from the messaging framework (proposal, to be validated).

Spine-leaf — core architecture

Core network architecture in which every access device (leaf) is connected to every core device (spine): capacity is added without a central bottleneck.

FRR — FRRouting

Open-source implementation of the routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, etc.) used in disaggregated core networks; cited here as a marker of the opening-up of operator cores.

RouterOS — MikroTik routing system

Network operating system from the European equipment maker MikroTik, on which each VRB runs: an interface network engineers know, a readable and exportable configuration, built-in diagnostic tools.

Proxmox — hypervisor

European virtualisation platform on which the SDO core runs, as a geo-cluster across two data centres; Flex.eu has rewritten its network layer, accelerated by Nvidia network cards, to reach the VRB's performance.

Powered by sdMPLS — the label

Label displayed by distributor and integrator partners whose multi-site network offer is built on sdMPLS technology (the “sdMPLS inside” programme).

Collection gateway — operator interconnection

Direct interconnection between an infrastructure operator's network and Flex.eu's core network, through which the sites' links (FTTH, FTTO, xDSL, 4G/5G via private APN) are delivered without passing through the Internet. Eleven networks are collected this way; the gateways are duplicated for most delivery modes. Seen from a customer, all these gateways brought together in its VRB form its virtual multi-operator collection gateway: its links, whichever operator delivers them, land in its core network with addressing, routing and QoS in its hands, while the physical interconnections and the wholesale collection contracts stay with Flex.eu.