Patent ID: 7782841

Claim:
A method for transmitting and receiving data communication across a layer 2 bridged network comprising a plurality of edge nodes, the method comprising: creating a pseudowire circuit across the layer 2 bridged network, the pseudowire circuit comprising a point-to-point connection; receiving data packets at one of said plurality of edge nodes, said edge node configured for receiving and transmitting multiprotocol data packets; converting said data packets into pseudowire frames; encapsulating at said edge node, said pseudowire frames inside MAC frames, a payload of the MAC frame comprising said pseudowire frame; transmitting from said edge node, said encapsulated frames across the pseudowire circuit in the layer 2 bridged network; and receiving at said edge node, another pseudowire frame encapsulated in a MAC frame, extracting said another pseudowire frame, and selecting an outgoing interface at said edge node based on a pseudowire tag in said another pseudowire frame; wherein said pseudowire circuit is created and said encapsulated frames are transmitted across the layer 2 bridged network using only a layer 2 control plane, without the use of a layer 3 network.