Ethernet line service (MEF) (E-Line)

E-Line is a point-to-point service for inter-site connections over Carrier Ethernet( CE). With this Ethernet service specified by the Metro Ethernet Forum( MEF), static point-to-point connections( P2P) with fixed bandwidth can be established between two customer interfaces, the Customer Premises Equipment( CPE), using existing techniques such as Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy( SDH), Frame Relay or ATM.

The transmission rate of E-Line can be selected in fixed steps up to 1 Gbit/s. The frame length corresponds to 1.5 Gbit/s. The frame length of 1,518 bytes corresponds to the maximum possible frame length of Ethernet frames.

E-Line corresponds functionally to the classic leased line. However, Ethernet-based E-Line has the advantages of high bandwidth and scalability and can adjust the bandwidth to meet requirements, Bandwidth on Demand( BoD).

Point-to-point link E-Line in Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN).

As a virtual point-to-point link between two customer sites or between a customer site and an Internet Service Provider( ISP), E-Line offers two variants: Ethernet Private Line( EPL) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line( EVPL).

Unlike E-Line and E-Tree, E-LAN represents a multipoint-to-multipoint service for enterprises.