METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERNETWORKING ETHERNET AND MPLS NETWORKS
First Claim
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1. A network for transporting customer Ethernet frames, the network comprising:
- an Ethernet access network configured to;
receive a customer frame on a network port, the customer frame including a customer destination MAC address (C-DA) and a customer source MAC address (C-SA);
identify a customer service instance based on at least one of the network port and a VLAN associated with the frame; and
encapsulate the customer frame with a backbone destination MAC address (B-DA), a backbone source MAC address (B-SA), and information identifying the customer service instance associated with the frame, the B-DA being selected based on the customer service instance; and
a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network coupled to the Ethernet access network, the MPLS network implementing a pseudo-wire service and being configured to;
further encapsulate the customer frame with a Label Switched Path (LSP) label and a pseudo-wire label, the pseudo-wire label being selected based on the information identifying the customer service instance and the LSP label being selected based on the B-DA; and
forward the encapsulated frame toward a network node associated with the B-DA based on the LSP label.
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Abstract
MPLS networks offering PW or VPLS services may be interconnected with Ethernet networks implemented according to 802.1ah or 802.1Qay. The MPLS network may be a core and offer services to the Ethernet access networks, or vise-versa. Additionally, a mixture of different types of access networks may be interconnected by an MPLS core or an Ethernet core. Both network interworking and service interworking are provided. OAM fault detection may be implemented via maintenance entities extending across the network or end to end depending on the combination of networks and services offered by the networks.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A network for transporting customer Ethernet frames, the network comprising:
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an Ethernet access network configured to; receive a customer frame on a network port, the customer frame including a customer destination MAC address (C-DA) and a customer source MAC address (C-SA); identify a customer service instance based on at least one of the network port and a VLAN associated with the frame; and encapsulate the customer frame with a backbone destination MAC address (B-DA), a backbone source MAC address (B-SA), and information identifying the customer service instance associated with the frame, the B-DA being selected based on the customer service instance; and a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network coupled to the Ethernet access network, the MPLS network implementing a pseudo-wire service and being configured to; further encapsulate the customer frame with a Label Switched Path (LSP) label and a pseudo-wire label, the pseudo-wire label being selected based on the information identifying the customer service instance and the LSP label being selected based on the B-DA; and forward the encapsulated frame toward a network node associated with the B-DA based on the LSP label. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification