Alcatel-Lucent 1643 AMS Applications And Planning Manual page 221

Ethernet Overview
Port provisioning
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Customer-role and network-role ports
The user can assign a so-called "port role" to WAN ports as well as to LAN ports. In
this way it is possible to forward VLAN tags , especially in double-tagging mode, also
via LAN ports. Additionally it is possible to run the STP and GVRP protocols on
physical LAN ports, too.
Each LAN port or WAN port can have one of the following port roles:
Customer role
Network role
The following figure serves to visualize the concept of customer-role and network-role
ports.
Customer LAN port
Network LAN port
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365-312-801R7.2
Issue 3, May 2007
Customer-role ports are usually located at the edge of the switched TransLAN
network boundary, providing the Ethernet interface to the end-customer.
Ethernet frames may be but need not necessarily to be tagged.
In the majority of cases, LAN ports are customer-role ports. However, two
LAN ports connected via an Ethernet LAN link would be an example of
network-role LAN ports. Another example would be a trunking LAN port
connected via an Ethernet LAN link to an ISP router (where VLAN tags are
needed for further processing).
Network-role ports usually interconnect the nodes that make up the TransLAN
network. Ethernet frames need to be tagged.
In the majority of cases, WAN ports are network-role ports. However, a WAN
port which is connected to an Ethernet private line unit (EPL unit), thus
extending the switched TransLAN
a customer-role WAN port.
Customer WAN port
Network WAN port
Ethernet LAN link
SDH link (virtually concatenated VCs)
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network boundary, would be an example of
Switched TransLAN
network boundary
EPL unit
"neutral" LAN port
"neutral" WAN port
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