2.3.11 Layer 2 Virtual Private Networks (l2vpn)

NOTE: This charter is a snapshot of the 65th IETF Meeting in Dallas, TX USA. It may now be out-of-date.

Last Modified: 2005-10-27

Chair(s):

Shane Amante <Shane.Amante@Level3.com>
Vach Kompella <vach.kompella@alcatel.com>

Internet Area Director(s):

Mark Townsley <townsley@cisco.com>
Margaret Wasserman <margaret@thingmagic.com>

Internet Area Advisor:

Mark Townsley <townsley@cisco.com>

Technical Advisor(s):

Russ Housley <housley@vigilsec.com>
Alex Zinin <zinin@psg.com>

Mailing Lists:

General Discussion: l2vpn@ietf.org
To Subscribe: https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/l2vpn
Archive: http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/l2vpn/index.html

Description of Working Group:

Alex Zinin is the routing advisor.
Russ Housley is the security advisor.

This working group is responsible for defining and specifying a
limited number of solutions for supporting provider-provisioned
layer-2 virtual private networks (L2VPNs).

The WG is responsible for standardization of the following solutions:

1. Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS)--L2 service that emulates LAN
  across an IP and an MPLS-enabled IP network, allowing standard
  Ethernet devices communicate with each other as if they were
  connected to a common LAN segment.
 
2. Virtual Private Wire Service (VPWS)--L2 service that provides L2
  point-to-point connectivity (e.g. Frame Relay DLCI, ATM VPI/VCI,
  point-to-point Ethernet) across an IP and an MPLS-enabled IP
network.

3. IP-only VPNs -- An L2 service across an IP and MPLS-enabled IP
  network, allowing standard IP devices to communicate with each
  other as if they were connected to a common LAN or with some mesh
  of point-to-point circuits (not necessarily fully meshed).  The WG
  will address both of the following cases:
   
  - the customer attachment uses the same L2 protocol at all
    attachment points in the L2VPN.

  - the customer attachment uses different L2 protocols at the
    attachment points in the L2VPN. This case is intended to address
    the needs of service providers who may start out with a single L2
    protocol at attachment points, but wish to incrementally upgrade
    individual attachment points over time to newer technologies. This
    is a restricted form of "interworking" that is limited to
    providing the facilities necessary to carry IP over the L2VPN;
    general L2 interworking is not in scope.


The WG will address intra-AS scenarios only at this point (other
scenarios will be considered for inclusion in the updated charter when
the current one is completed.)
     
As a general rule, the WG will not create new protocols, but will
provide functional requirements for extensions of the existing
protocols that will be discussed in the protocol-specific WGs.
As a specific example, this WG will not define new encapsulation
mechanism, but will use those defined in the PWE3 WG.
L2VPN WG will review proposed protocol extensions for L2VPNs before
they are recommended to appropriate protocol-specific WGs.

The WG will work on the following items. Adding new work items will
require rechartering.

1. Discovery of PEs participating in L2 service, and topology of
  required connectivity

2. Signaling of l2vpn related information for the purpose of
  setup and maintenance of l2vpn circuits. As much as possible
  PWE3 signaling procedures should be used

3. Solution documents (providing the framework for a specific
  solution, should include info on how discovery, signaling,
  and encaps work together, include security, AS as a separate
  document)

4. MIBs
     
5. L2VPN-specific OAM extensions--extensions to existing OAM
  solutions for VPLS, VPWS, and IP-only L2VPNs.

Where necessary, the WG will coordinate its activities with IEEE 802.1

Goals and Milestones:

Aug 2003  Submit an I-D describing MIB for VPLS
Aug 2003  Submit an I-D describing MIB for VPWS
Aug 2003  Submit an I-D on OAM for VPLS
Aug 2003  Submit an I-D on OAM for VPWS
Oct 2003  Submit L2 requirements to IESG for publication as Informational RFC
Done  Identify VPLS and VPWS solutions for the WG
Done  Submit L2 framework to IESG for publication as Informational RFC
Dec 2003  Submit VPLS solution documents to IESG
Dec 2003  Submit VPWS solution documents to IESG
Jan 2004  Submit IP-only L2VPN solution documents to IESG
Feb 2004  Submit MIB for VPLS to IESG
Feb 2004  Submit MIB for VPWS to IESG
Mar 2004  Submit OAM for VPWS to IESG
Mar 2004  Submit OAM for VPLS to IESG
Apr 2004  Submit OAM for IP L2VPN to IESG

Internet-Drafts:

  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-l2-framework-05.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-requirements-06.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-bgp-06.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-ldp-08.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-signaling-07.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-ipls-05.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-radius-pe-discovery-02.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-oam-req-frmk-05.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-arp-mediation-04.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpws-iw-oam-00.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-mcast-reqts-01.txt
  • draft-ietf-l2vpn-vpls-mcast-00.txt

    No Request For Comments

    Meeting Minutes


    Slides

    WG Document Status, MIB Update, VPLS multicast update
    L2VPN Signaling Draft & VPLS Auto-Discovery Issue
    Reqmt's for Multicast Support in VPLS
    Congruency for VPLS Mcast & Unicast Paths
    L2VPN OAM Requirements & Framework
    Proposed Updated L2VPN Milestones