Ethernet VLL spoke termination at an IP interface
AssigneeAlcatel Lucent
InventorsMark French, Martin Lea, Joseph M. Regan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Ethernet VLL spoke termination at an IP interface is disclosed. A packet including an address associated with a remote host is received at an interface. A routing next hop information required to route the packet to the remote host at a far end of a pseudo-wire via which connectivity to the remote host is provided and an intermediate next hop information required to send the packet to the far end via the pseudo-wire are determined in a single forwarding stage, based at least in part on the interface and the address.
Claims20
A method of providing connectivity to a remote host, comprising:
- receiving at an interface among a plurality of interfaces a packet including an address associated with a remote host;
- determining in a single forwarding stage within one physical system and without requiring communication via an external network connection, based at least in part on the interface and the address, an IP routing next hop information required to route the packet to the remote host at a far end of a pseudo-wire via which connectivity to the remote host is provided and an intermediate next hop information required to send the packet to the far end via the pseudo-wire;
- wherein determining based on the interface and the address includes forming an inner Ethernet header of the packet using the IP routing next hop information and forming a label stack and an outer Ethernet header of the packet using the intermediate next hop routing information.
A provider edge device, comprising:
- an interface among a plurality of interfaces configured to receive a packet including an address associated with a remote host;
- and
- a processor coupled to the interface and configured to determine in a single forwarding stage within one physical system and without requiring communication via an external network connection, based at least in part on the interface and the address, an IP routing next hop information required to route the packet to the remote host at a far end of a pseudo-wire via which connectivity to the remote host is provided and an intermediate next hop information required to send the packet to the far end via the pseudo-wire;
- wherein determining based on the interface and the address includes forming an inner Ethernet header of the packet using the IP routing next hop information and forming a label stack and an outer Ethernet header of the packet using the intermediate next hop routing information.
A computer program product for providing connectivity to a remote host, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
- receiving at an interface among a plurality of interfaces a packet including an address associated with a remote host;
- determining in a single forwarding stage within one physical system and without requiring communication via an external network connection, based at least in part the interface and the address, an IP routing next hop information required to route the packet to the remote host at a far end of a pseudo-wire via which connectivity to the remote host is provided and an intermediate next hop information required to send the packet to the far end via the pseudo-wire;
- wherein determining based on the interface and the address includes forming an inner Ethernet header of the packet using the IP routing next hop information and forming a label stack and an outer Ethernet header of the packet using the intermediate next hop routine information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.