Basic conceptual question on VPLS

[news2010a]

Folks, to my understanding VPLS is L2 VPN artchitecture. I thought that the idea here is that by using VPLS customers can gain connectivity to other sites using a layer 2 switch as the CPE(Customer Premise Equipment).

If that is the case, why this slide explaining VPLS shows the CPE devices as routers as well? Does it make sense? If have a router as a CPE shouldn't I be looking into L3 VPN technologies?

[shivlu jain]

May be Customer wants to use the same broadcast network with in the L2 domain.

regards

shivlu jain

www.mplsvpn.info

[ozzyosbu1]

VPLS is not limted to swicthes as CPEs, you can have Routers as well.

All the routers will be part of the same broadcast domain, as if they were in a LAN.

The SP cloud seems like a Layer 2 switch to the customer.