The Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a standard protocol for
tunneling L2 traffic over an IP network. Its ability to carry almost any
L2 data format over IP or other L3 networks makes it particularly
useful. But L2TP remains little-known outside of certain niches, perhaps
because early versions of the specification were limited to carrying
PPP -- a limitation that is now removed. It is desirable to
tunnel L2 traffic over routed L3 networks because L2 networks are
generally more transparent, easier to configure and easier to manage
than L3 networks. These are desirable properties for a range of applications.
In data centers, a flat network is essential for promoting virtual
machine (VM) mobility between physical hosts. In companies with multiple
premises, the sharing of infrastructure and resources between remote
offices can be simplified by L2 tunneling. The L2TP protocol
itself is an open standard defined by the IETF. This article
concentrates on the latest Version 3 of the specification, which
describes tunneling multiple L2 protocols over various types of
packet-switched networks (PSN). The standard discusses tunneling over
IP, UDP, Frame Relay and ATM PSNs.Read the article over at Network World over here.
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