Ethernet over multiprotocol label switching (EoMPLS)

Ethernet over MPLS (EoMPLS) is an older pseudowire technology that is used, among other things, for connections in data centers, the Data Center Interconnect( DCI).

EoMPLS works with an MPLS backbone over which a logical connection is established. This connection is also used to tunnel Layer 2 Ethernet frames and is sometimes referred to as Layer 2 VPN. Layer 2 Ethernet frames are encapsulated on one side of the tunnel, then transmitted in label switching over the MPLS backbone, decapsulated on the other side, and transmitted as original Ethernet frames to the specified destination station.

The pseudowire makes EoMPLS appear as if the two sides are connected by a long physical cable.

If the EoMPLS approach with pseudowire is too costly, then EoMPLS can also be operated over an IP backbone with Generic Routing Encapsulation( GRE). An extension of EoMPLS with Virtual Private LAN Services( VPLS) supports multipoint connections.