Emulation of various layer 2 link types ("pseudo-wires") over IP presents an interesting and potentially valuable choice for service providers looking to consolidate disparate networks or provide new services over a common infrastructure. The Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), defined by the IETF, provides a necessary basis for tunneling capabilities used in "pseudo-wire" emulation over IP. First used for emulation of PPP data links over IP. L2TP is being adopted for a number of new data link services, including Frame Relay, ATM, Ethernet, and others.

This discussion will provide a technical overview of L2TPv3, as well as a peek into how it is currently being utilized for pseudo-wire services. A brief overview of the PWE3 (pseudo-wire edge to edge) activity in the IETF will also be presented.

About the Presenters

W. Mark Townsley has been an engineer working with L2TP at Cisco since 1997, and is Chair of the IETF L2TPEXT Working Group and co-author of RFC 2661. Prior to his tenure at Cisco, Mark was employed by IBM, where he began working on L2TP and was part of the development team that shipped the first commercial implementation of the then new IETF standard. Prior to Cisco, Mark worked for a variety of small software development companies and research organizations, including the Center for Satellite and Hybrid Communications Networks and The Institute for Systems Research in College Park, MD; AIMS Research in Silver Spring, VA; and Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. Mark holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University, and a Master's degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Gilles Deworm joined Ebone in late 1999, and subsequently implemented the current OC192/OC48 transit backbone. He is presently IP Network Architecture Manager at Ebone and is in charge of IP core technology validation and vendor selection. Since 1995, he has been designing, implementing, and supporting a variety of networking services/technologies, such as the first tag switching/MPLS network for a regional Belgian ISP (WIN) and an IP-over-ATM MAN with cable modem access in the framework of the European Objectif 1 program. Gilles holds a Master degree in Electronic/Telecommunication from the University of Brussels (ULB) and an Master's in Industrial Management from the University of Leuven (KUL).