This talk briefly introduces 3 types of Layer 2 VPNs, and discusses their applications. An important notion is that of operational convergence (in addition to network convergence); this impacts (and may even dictate) the choice of protocol used to signal a VPN.

The main thrust of the talk is that having a single protocol to signal various types of VPNs yields significant tangible and intangible benefits. BGP's intrinsic advantages as a VPN signaling protocol are listed, but even more importantly, it is shown how BGP offers a common framework for VPN services.

Kireeti Kompella is a Distinguished Engineer at Juniper Networks. His current interests are all aspects of Multi-Protocol Label Switching, including Traffic Engineering, Generalized MPLS, and MPLS applications such as VPNs. Dr. Kompella is active at the IETF where he is a co-chair of the CCAMP Working Group and the author of several Internet Drafts in the areas of IS-IS, MPLS, OSPF, PPVPN and TE. Previously, he worked in the area of filesystems at Network Appliance and SGI.

Dr. Kompella received his B.S. in EE and M.S. in C.S. at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur; and his PhD in C.S. at the University of Southern California.