Introduction to Multilink PPP - MLP

Multilink PPP (MLP), as defined in RFC 1990, is a variant of PPP used to aggregate multiple WAN links into one logical channel for the transport of traffic. It enables the load-balancing of traffic from different links and allows some level of redundancy in case of a line failure on a single link.

Multilink PPP (MP) or (MLP) provides an approach to increasing bandwidth. It allows multiple PPP links to form an MP bundle. After receiving a packet, MP segments (if the packet is large) the packet into fragments and distributes them over multiple PPP links to the remote end. After the remote end receives these fragments, it assembles them into a packet and passes the packet to the network layer.

MP functions to:

l        Increase bandwidth, or dynamically increase/reduce bandwidth in combination with dial control center (DCC)

l        Load sharing

l        Backup

l        Decrease transmission delay through fragmentation

MP can work on any physical or virtual interfaces encapsulated with PPP, such as serial, ISDN BRI/PRI, and PPPoX (PPPoE, PPPoA, or PPPoFR). However, a multilink bundle is preferred to include only one type of interfaces.

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