Long-reach ethernet system and relay

A relay, comprising:

• a conventional Ethernet interface unit, a data relaying unit and a long-reach Ethernet interface unit;
• wherein
• the conventional Ethernet interface unit is connected with an outside conventional Ethernet link and is adapted to perform conventional Ethernet physical layer processing for received bi-directional Ethernet data;
• the data relaying unit is adapted to transmit Ethernet data from the conventional Ethernet interface unit to the long-reach Ethernet interface unit and transmit Ethernet data from the long-reach Ethernet interface unit to the conventional Ethernet interface unit;
• and
• the long-reach Ethernet interface unit is connected with an outside long-reach Ethernet link and is adapted to perform long-reach Ethernet physical layer processing for received bi-directional Ethernet data.

A long-reach Ethernet system, comprising:

• a first Ethernet device and a second Ethernet device which communicate with each other, and a relay claimed in claim 1;
• wherein
• one of the first Ethernet device and the second Ethernet device is a conventional Ethernet device, and the other one of the first Ethernet device and the second Ethernet device is a conventional Ethernet device or a long-reach Ethernet device;
• the first Ethernet device and the second Ethernet device communicate with each other via the relay.