Subject: difference between VPLS and PWE3 encapsulation

From: Tao Gu <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 14:31:43 +0800

Hi folks,

According to section 7&8 in draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-ldp-08.txt, the VPLS encapsulation is "similar" to PWE3 but has some differences in VLAN tag processing, can anyone explain in detail what these differences are? It would be great if some examples are provided in both cases to help the understanding.

Thanks a lot.

Best Regards,
Tao Gu

7. Data Forwarding on an Ethernet PW 
   
  This section describes the data plane behavior on an Ethernet  
  PW used in a VPLS.  While the encapsulation is similar to that 
  described in [PWE3-ETHERNET], the functions of stripping the 
  service-delimiting tag and using a "normalized" Ethernet frame are 
  described. 
	....

8. Data Forwarding on an Ethernet VLAN PW 
   
  This section describes the data plane behavior on an Ethernet VLAN 
  PW in a VPLS.  While the encapsulation is similar to that described 
  in [PWE3-ETHERNET], the functions of imposing tags and using a 
  "normalized" Ethernet frame are described.  The learning behavior 
  is the same as for Ethernet PWs.