Patent ID: 8121126

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with a layer two (L2) network switch, configuration information via an interface of the L2 network switch without executing an Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) signaling protocol within a control plane of the L2 network switch, wherein the configuration information specifies a set of subscriber labels to be individually allocated by the L2 network switch to access lines, and a set of MPLS labels associated with layer three (L3) network devices; receiving an L2 frame from a subscriber device coupled via an access line to the L2 network switch; with the L2 network switch, allocating a subscriber label of the set of subscriber labels to the access line in response to receiving the L2 frame, wherein the allocated subscriber label uniquely identifies the subscriber device associated with the access line with respect to the L2 network switch; with the L2 network switch, selecting an MPLS label of the set of MPLS labels to apply to the L2 frame, wherein the selected MPLS label is associated with an L3 network device to which to forward the L2 frame; with the L2 network switch, applying the allocated subscriber label and the selected MPLS label to the received L2 frame in a data plane of the L2 network switch to form an MPLS packet, wherein the subscriber label is applied as an inner label and the MPLS label is applied as an outer label of the MPLS packet; and switching the MPLS packet from the L2 network switch to an MPLS network.