- Related Topics
- MX Series Ethernet Services Routers Solutions Page
- Ethernet Terms and Acronyms
- Networking and Internetworking with Bridges and Routers
- Network Addressing at Layer 2 and Layer 3
- Networking at Layer 2: Benefits of Ethernet Frames
- Networking at Layer 2: Challenges of Ethernet MAC Addresses
- Networking at Layer 2: Forwarding VLAN Tagged Frames
- Networking at Layer 2: Forwarding Dual-Tagged Frames
- A Metro Ethernet Network with MX Series Routers
- Layer 2 Networking Standards
Networking at Layer 2: Logical Interface Types
Two main types of interfaces are used in Layer 2 configurations:
- Layer 2 logical interface—This type of interface uses the VLAN-ID as a virtual circuit identifier and the scope of the VLAN-ID is local to the interface port. This type of interface is often used in service-provider-centric applications.
- Access or trunk interface—This type of interface
uses a VLAN-ID with global significance. The access or trunk interface
is implicitly associated with bridge domains based on VLAN membership.
Access or trunk interfaces are typically used in enterprise-centric
applications.
Note: The difference between access interfaces and trunk interfaces is that access interfaces can be part of one VLAN only and the interface is normally attached to an end-user device (packets are implicitly associated with the configured VLAN). In contrast, trunk interfaces multiplex traffic from multiple VLANs and usually interconnect switches.
