Layer-2 VPN

The Claranet MPLS core supports both Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPNs, and occasionally, for a particular customer, the flexibility of transparent layer 2 connectivity is the preferred option.

Using Martini-compliant AToM (Any Transport over MPLS), the Claranet network supports mapping between a number of different layer 2 encapsulation methods, such as Ethernet, PPP, HDLC, Frame Relay and ATM.

The service is primarily a point-to-point circuit emulation service. However, where protocols support subinterfaces (ATM/Frame Relay PVCs/Ethernet VLANs) a number of different point-to-point services can be terminated on the same
physical interface.

For example, a hub-and-spoke network could use Ethernet at the hub site with VLANs for each connection to the spoke sites, with PPP being used as the encapsulation method at that end. This enables a transparent layer-2 VPN that supports a mixture of Leased line and Ethernet local tails.

Currently DSL services are not supported on layer 2 VPNs.