DMVPN Deployment

Large British broadcaster moves from a mixed-media architecture to MPLS with the help of mGRE technology.

ITV plc, Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster, needed to replace its 140 Mbit/s switched, video-only network. ITV needed a network with flexibility at the cornerstone—a design that could react to and evolve with the changing needs of ITV’s broadcast lifecycle. In particular, the design needed to accommodate ITV’s plan to migrate, over time, many of its video-centric operations into a data-centric configuration by exploiting the emerging standards for file-based video encapsulation, such as MXF (Media eXchange Format).

With the maturation of MXF and similar standards, coupled with IP class of service extensions, it was reasonable to assume that convergence for connectivity needs would be delivered over an IP-based topology. This new topology, which ITV calls its Video Contribution Network, entailed building a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to deliver studio-to-studio video connections and transmission feeds from multiple regional studios to central transmission sites in London and Leeds in the UK.

So, how did ITV do it?