Metropolitan Ethernet Network: A move from LAN to MAN
Computer Networks: The International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking
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Ethernet has been one of the most influential technologiesfor local area networks (LANs) and is now getting readyfor deployment in metropolitan and wide area networks.Activities in the standard bodies reflect the new role ofEthernet - often referred to as "Metro or WANEthernet". ITU, IEEE and IETF are all working onsolutions that not only expand the reach of Ethernet, butalso enable new, innovative services.Starting with a brief look at the driving forces for MetroEthernet this paper will identify four canonical servicesfor Ethernet MAN/WAN and discuss related deploymentissues of the different service options. Topics such assecurity, routing protocol effects and multicastdistribution, QoS, and Layer-2 inter-working will bediscussed in the context of point-to-point and multipointEthernet services. The paper concludes with a look atredundancy and loop avoidance for large Layer-2provider networks - including a discussion of the currentapproaches in VPLS as well as new proposals, whichlead to a generic solution for redundancy in large Layer-2provider networks.