A unified distributed directory based service delivery architecture for Metro Ethernet networks

Metro Ethernet services are now being delivered over nation wide metro Ethernet networks, which are switched layer 2 networks. Delivering IP control protocols like ARP and DHCP over these networks is a challenge. There are inherent scalability problems in the way these protocols use broadcast to discover the services. This paper presents a uniform and scalable architecture based on distributed directory for service, location and path discovery for all services (including IP control protocols like ARP & DHCP and IP Routing service) over Carriers´ Metro Ethernet networks (MENs). It provides two methods of maintaining the distributed directory to ensure that a service can be discovered at the earliest and at the same time making sure that the Directory doesn´t grow too big. It also proposes how IP networks can be overlaid and how IP routing service can be delivered over a single public MEN without using IP routers and IP routing protocols. It is a novel, unified and comprehensive service delivery architecture for delivering any service over a Carrier´s MEN.