MPLS Tutorial PDFs: First Smart Resources for an MPLS Tutorial

This collection of five MPLS tutorials cover both basic concepts and advanced details of how Multi-Protocol Label Switching works in telecom networks. From MPLS in mobile backhaul networks, to an in-depth analysis of MPLS overall, the technology is laid out and explained in these MPLS tutorial pdfs.
Use of MPLS in Mobile Backhaul Networks – Broadband Forum
A great set of slides from the Broadband Forum, laying out the challenges and drawbacks of traditional backhaul and how MPLS addresses those issues. An excellent primer overall on MPLS within backhaul networks, this paper also outlines the Broadband Forum’s MPLS Mobile Backhaul Initiative, or MMBI, that “aims to leverage the benefits of MPLS technology in the backhaul by providing a framework for a single MPLS aggregation/backhaul network that is flexible, scalable and economical.”
Introducing Basic MPLS Concepts
This MPLS tutorial pdf from Cisco Systems starts off the discussing the drawbacks of traditional IP routing, discusses traffic engineering and MPLS architecture, and also includes sections on MPLS applications, labels, and routing. A very thorough education on Multi-Protocol Label Switching and related technologies.
MMBI White Paper on the Use of MPLS in LTE
This MPLS tutorial pdf specifically addresses the use of MPLS in LTE networks. This white paper from the Broadband Forum sums up market trends and challenges that are driving the use of MPLS in advanced wireless networks from 3G onward, and outlines the progress of the Broadband Forum’s MMBI.
“Many service provider deployments use MPLS to ensure connection availability between two endpoints with QoS guaranteed by a service-level agreement (SLA),” according to the report. “Furthermore, a majority of the mobile backhaul networks will be multiprotocol dominated at least for the next five to ten years. MPLS is a mature technology that unifies various types of backhaul traffic and offers several migration choices to service providers, enabling them to follow the course that best suits their needs and operating environment.”
The report goes on to note that “as transport networks converge to provide services to both fixed and mobile subscribers, MPLS is expected to move further into access networks, at least initially as a transport mechanism to deliver Ethernet services. Additional MPLS transport capabilities defined as part of MPLS-TP are expected to strengthen MPLS adoption in mobile backhaul access networks.”
MPLS: Using MPLS to Build an Application-Centric Network 
This MPLS tutorial pdf by Yinglam Cheung and available from Fourth Dimension Technologies, examines the basics of how to build an MPLS network, and the features can a network will offer.
“Customers want service providers to deliver value-added IP services with multiple service classes that interoperate seamlessly with their IP networks at a lower cost,” Cheung notes. “Therefore, a new way of doing business is to sell value-added IP services, not just transport.”
This look at MPLS gives a solid look at how features such as Quality of Service are translated into network design elements.
MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP): A Set of Enhancements to the Rich MPLS Toolkit
This white paper from Juniper Networks examines both generalized MPLS and MPLS-TP and explains the differences in features between these two flavors of MPLS.
“The rise of bandwidth-hungry applications such as IPTV and mobile video, coupled with the pressure to minimize the cost
per bit and maximize the value per bit, is forcing carriers to transition their transport networks from circuit-based technologies
to packet-based technologies,” says Juniper. “MPLS has been a widely successful connection-oriented packet transport technology for more than a decade. However, it requires a few enhancements to provide functionality and manageability that is equivalent to the current circuit-switched transport networks. The set of these enhancements is called MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP).”
Juniper also notes that MPLS-TP “has been the subject of heated debate” resulting in misconceptions about the use of the protocol, and attempts to clear up some of the confusion.