The main benefits of MPLS:

1. Decoupling, routing and forwarding

2. Better integration of the IP and ATM worlds
3. Basis for building next-generation network applications and services, such as provider
provided VPNs (MPLS VPN) and traffic engineering

The three major differences between ATM and MPLS TE are:

1. MPLS TE forwards packets; ATM uses cells. It is possible to combine both MPLS TE and
MPLS/ATM integration, but currently, this is not implemented and therefore is not covered
here.
2. ATM requires a full mesh of routing adjacencies; MPLS TE does not.
3. In ATM, the core network topology is not visible to the routers on the edge of the network;
in
MPLS, IP routing protocols advertise the topology over which MPLS TE is based.
All these differences are covered throughout this book; Chapter 2, specifically, talks about
the nuts
and bolts of MPLS forwarding.

Any Transport over MPLS (AToM)

AToM is an application that facilitates carrying Layer 2 traffic, such as Frame Relay (FR),
Ethernet, and ATM, over an MPLS cloud.
These applications include:
1. Providing legacy ATM and FR circuit transport
2. Point-to-point bandwidth, delay, and jitter guarantees when combined with other
techniques such as DS-TE and MPLS QOS
3. Extending the Layer 2 broadcast domain
4. Remote point of presence (POP) connectivity, especially for ISPs to connect to remote
Network Access Points (NAPs)
5. Support for multi-dwelling connections, such as apartment buildings, university housing,
and offices within a building