Method and apparatus for internetworking ethernet and mpls networks

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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         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. 
   
     
     
         2 . The network of  claim 1 , wherein the Ethernet access network is configured to encapsulate the customer frame with the B-DA, the B-SA and the information identifying the customer service instance using MAC-in-MAC encapsulation. 
     
     
         3 . The network of  claim 1 , wherein the information identifying the customer service instance comprises an I-SID. 
     
     
         4 . The network of  claim 1 , wherein the information identifying the customer service instance comprises a Virtual Local Area Network identifier (VLAN-ID). 
     
     
         5 . The network of  claim 1 , wherein the VLAN-ID is part of a B-Tag. 
     
     
         6 . The network of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the Ethernet access network is configured to:
 receive the customer frame on the network port at an edge node of a first access network; 
 encapsulate the customer frame with the B-DA, B-SA and information identifying the customer service instance comprises encapsulating the customer frame at the edge node for forwarding over the first access network; and 
   the MPLS network is configured to further encapsulate the customer frame with an LSP label and a pseudo-wire label at an edge node of the MPLS network for forwarding over the MPLS network to a second access network.   
     
     
         7 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the information identifying the customer service instance comprises an I-SID. 
     
     
         8 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the edge node of the first access network is configured to identify the I-SID based on a Virtual Local Area Network identifier (VLAN-ID) of the customer frame. 
     
     
         9 . The network of  claim 8 , wherein the VLAN-ID is part of a B-Tag. 
     
     
         10 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the second access network is configured to forward the customer frame toward its destination. 
     
     
         11 . The network of  claim 10 , wherein the second access network is configured to:
 decapsulate the further encapsulated customer frame by removing the LSP label, the pseudo-wire label, the B-DA, the B-SA, and the information identifying the customer service instance; and   forward the customer frame toward its destination over the second access network based at least on the C-DA.   
     
     
         12 . The network of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the frame comprises a customer Virtual Local Area Network identifier (C-VLAN); and   the second access network is configured to forward the customer frame toward its destination based at least on the C-DA by forwarding the customer frame based on its C-DA and its C-VLAN.   
     
     
         13 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the first access network comprises a Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) network. 
     
     
         14 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the first access network is a Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) network. 
     
     
         15 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the first access network is a Provider Link State Bridging (PLSB) network. 
     
     
         16 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the second access network comprises a Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) network. 
     
     
         17 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the second access network is a Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) network. 
     
     
         18 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the second access network is a Provider Link State Bridging (PLSB) network. 
     
     
         19 . The network of  claim 6 , wherein the second access network is an MPLS network.