IPoE access modes

IPoE supports Layer 2 and Layer 3 access modes.

• Layer 2 access mode

  Hosts directly access the BRAS. The hosts connect to the BRAS directly or through Layer 2 devices. The BRAS uses MAC addresses to identify the hosts.

• Layer 3 access mode

  Hosts use routing to access the BRAS. The hosts connect to the BRAS directly or through Layer 3 devices. When a Layer 3 device resides between the hosts and the BRAS, the source MAC address of packets received by the BRAS is the MAC address of the Layer 3 device. Therefore, the BRAS uses IP addresses or VLAN IDs to identify hosts.