Label Edge Router

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What Does Label Edge Router Mean?

A label edge router is used in the edges of a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network. As the name implies, label edge routers sit at the periphery or the edge of an MPLS network, acting as a gateway between the local network and the wider area network or the Internet itself. They handle the entrance and exit of information to the network.

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Techopedia Explains Label Edge Router

Whenever there is outgoing information or data, the label edge router assigns labels to the packets of data based on what information the packet carries.

It then attaches the label and sends the packet to the network. On the other hand, whenever the router is receiving data, it removes the attached labels on the packet and routes them to the proper place based on the information contained on the label.

This type of router, together with an MPLS, is mainly used in large-scale networks, especially in tech-oriented ones because they contribute to improving the forwarding speed of information through the routers.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.