Patent ID: 8018880
Filing Date: 2011-09-13
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for interconnecting a Layer 2 Virtual Private Network (L2VPN) system, comprising: coupling a plurality of sites in a Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) network using a plurality of provider backbone trunks that includes a Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) trunk or a Provider Backbone Bridge Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) trunk, such that the L2VPN includes the plurality of sites; provisioning one or more Virtual Switch Instances (VSIs) associated with the plurality of sites, the provisioning to be performed using a control plane that is external to the plurality of sites; and using a split horizon rule to control distribution of received frames, wherein the split horizon rule is associated with a first VSI coupling the PBB network to a Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, the split horizon rule to restrict the normal VSI frame forwarding/distribution of received frames such that: