VPLS

VPLS allows you to connect geographically dispersed customer sites as if they were connected to the same LAN. In many ways, it works like a Layer 2 VPN. VPLS and Layer 2 VPNs use the same network topology and function similarly. A packet originating within a service provider customer's network is sent first to a customer edge (CE) device. It is then sent to a provider edge (PE) router within the service provider's network. The packet traverses the service provider's network over a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) label-switched path (LSP). It arrives at the egress PE router, which then forwards the traffic to the CE device at the destination customer site.

The key difference in VPLS is that packets can traverse the service provider's network in a point-to-multipoint fashion, meaning that a packet originating from a CE device can be broadcast to PE routers in the VPLS. In contrast, a Layer 2 VPN forwards packets in a point-to-point fashion only. The destination of a packet received from a CE device by a PE router must be known for the Layer 2 VPN to function properly.

VPLS is designed to carry Ethernet traffic across an MPLS-enabled service provider network. In certain ways, VPLS mimics the behavior of an Ethernet network. When a PE router configured with a VPLS routing instance receives a packet from a CE device, it first determines whether it knows the destination of the VPLS packet. If it does, it forwards it to the appropriate PE router. If it doesn't know the destination, it broadcasts the packet to all the other PE routers that are members of the same VPLS routing instance. The PE routers forward the packet to their CE devices. The CE device that is the intended recipient of the packet forwards it to its final destination. The other CE devices discard it.