Enhanced loop-breaking protocol to support connectionless and connection-oriented ethernet

A network element in an Ethernet network, comprising:

• a processor;
• non-transitory computer readable memory media accessible to the processor, wherein the memory media store processor-executable instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• execute a loop-breaking protocol to select a first port of the network element to block in order to break a network loop among a plurality of network elements that form a network;
• block the connectionless Ethernet traffic at the first port of the network element to break the network loop;
• while blocking the connectionless Ethernet traffic, permit a connection-oriented Ethernet traffic to pass through the first port of the network element;
• analyze a connection-oriented Ethernet link within a plurality of network elements to determine if a second network loop exists among the plurality of network elements;
• block the connectionless Ethernet traffic at a second port to break the network loop;
• and
• while blocking the connectionless Ethernet traffic, permit a connection-oriented Ethernet traffic to pass through the second port,
• wherein the loop-breaking protocol is a spanning tree protocol or an Ethernet Ring Protection Switching protocol.

A network system, comprising:

• a first customer sub-network;
• a second customer sub-network;
• a service provider network comprising a plurality of network elements, wherein the service provider network is configured to communicatively couple the first customer sub-network and the second customer sub-network through one or more connectionless Ethernet and connection-oriented Ethernet links across the plurality of network elements;
• and
• a network element, among the plurality of network elements, is configured to:
• execute a loop-breaking protocol to select a port of the network element to block in order to break a network loop among the plurality of network elements of the service provider network;
• block the connectionless Ethernet traffic at the port of the network element to break the network loop;
• while blocking the connectionless Ethernet traffic, permit a connection-oriented Ethernet traffic to pass through the port of the network element;
• analyze a connection-oriented Ethernet link within a plurality of network elements to determine if a second network loop exists among the plurality of network elements;
• block the connectionless Ethernet traffic at a second port to break the network loop;
• and
• while blocking the connectionless Ethernet traffic, permit a connection-oriented Ethernet traffic to pass through the second port,
• wherein the loop-breaking protocol is a spanning tree protocol or an Ethernet Ring Protection Switching protocol.