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Layer 2 Services

Learn about Layer 2 services and the configurations to enable these services on the ACX7000 family of routers. The ACX7000 family of routers includes ACX7020, ACX7024, ACX7024X, ACX7100, ACX7332, ACX7348, and ACX7509 routers.

This section describes Layer 2 services such as VPLS and Layer 2 circuit configurations on the ACX7000 family of routers.

VPLS

A virtual private LAN service (VPLS) routing instance is configured on the provider edge (PE) routers, not on the customer edge (CE) or on the core provider (P) routers. On the ACX7000 family of routers, use virtual-switch as the routing instance type to configure virtual private LAN service (VPLS).

Prerequisites

  • MPLS backbone (MPLS underlay) is fully operational, including:

    • IGP (OSPF or IS-IS) is configured and stable to handle routing between core P and PE routers.

    • LDP or RSVP is enabled to create LSPs between PE routers.

    • Multiprotocol BGP (MP‑BGP) is configured between PE routers.

      MP-BGP is required for BGP-based VPLS signaling configuration.

  • Loopback interfaces and router IDs are configured.

  • VLANs and CE‑facing interfaces are defined.

Here is a sample LDP-based and BGP-based Layer 2 VPLS configurations on an ACX7000 family of routers:

LDP-based Layer 2 VPLS Configuration:

VPLS routing instance configuration on a PE device:

CE-facing interface configuration on a PE device:

Sample LDP-based VPLS Output:

BGP-based Layer 2 VPLS Configuration:

VPLS routing instance configuration on a PE device:

CE-facing interface configuration on a PE device:

Sample BGP-based VPLS Output:

For an example of VPLS-based Layer 2 VPN configuration to provide end-to-end Layer 2 connectivity over an Enterprise WAN network, see End-to-end Layer 2 Connectivity using VPLS-based Layer 2 VPN.

Layer 2 Circuit

Layer 2 circuits enable service providers to transport Layer 2 traffic across MPLS networks, allowing efficient delivery of Ethernet services over IP/MPLS infrastructure. Routers function as provider edge (PE) switches in Layer 2 circuit deployments, transporting Layer 2 traffic between customer sites through label-switched paths.

Layer 2 circuits can be configured as either port-based or VLAN-based. For VLAN-based circuits, you configure access interfaces with VLAN encapsulation and establish MPLS label-switched paths between PE devices. The configuration requires setting up:

  • Interface encapsulation (such as vlan-ccc for VLAN-based circuits)
  • MPLS label-switched paths (LSPs) to remote PE switches
  • LDP on core and loopback interfaces

Prerequisites

  • MPLS backbone (MPLS underlay) is fully operational, including:

    • IGP (OSPF or IS-IS) is configured and stable to handle routing between core P and PE routers.

    • LDP or RSVP is enabled to create LSPs between PE routers.

  • Loopback interfaces and router IDs are configured.

  • VLANs and CE‑facing interfaces are defined.

Here is a sample configuration for creating a Layer 2 circuit (Layer 2 pseudowire) on an ACX7000 family of routers, specifically a VLAN-based Ethernet circuit (VLAN CCC).

Sample Output: