Patent ID: 8711865

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: an Ethernet port operable to connect to an Ethernet access network providing multiple different services, the multiple different services selected from a group of services consisting of video, telephony, and data services, each service provided via a different Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) via Ethernet protocol; a plurality of local service ports operable to connect to items of peripheral customer premises equipment (CPE), each item supporting a different, respective service among the multiple different services provided by the Ethernet access network; a bridge operable to convey data frames between the Ethernet port and the local service ports; and a controller operable to: determine that the bridge has been connected to the Ethernet access network; in response to the determination that the bridge has been connected to the Ethernet access network, transmit, via the Ethernet port, an upstream message indicating that the bridge has been connected to the Ethernet access network; receive, via the Ethernet port, at least one downstream provisioning message indicating associations between the services and respective VLAN identifiers, wherein the at least one downstream provisioning message indicates a different VLAN identifier to be respectively associated with each of the services; and in response to the at least one downstream provisioning message, configure the bridge to forward data frames received via the Ethernet port on each VLAN to a respective local service port in accordance with the associations, wherein each data frame comprises a VLAN identifier in accordance with the associations.