Layer 2 circuit switching protection

Provides traffic protection for the Layer 2 circuit paths configured between PE routers. In the event the path (working path) used by a Layer 2 circuit fails, traffic can be switched to an alternate path (protection path). Switching protection is supported for locally switched Layer 2 circuits and provides 1 to 1 protection for each Layer 2 circuit interface. Each working path can be configured to have a either a protection path routed directly to the neighboring PE router or indirectly using a pseudowire configured through an intermediate PE router. The protection path provides failure protection for the traffic flowing between the PE routers. Ethernet OAM monitors the status of these paths. When OAM detects a failure, it reroutes the traffic from the failed working path to the protection path. You can configure OAM to revert the traffic automatically to the working path when it is restored. You can also manually switch traffic between the working path, the protection path, and back. Layer 2 circuit switching protection is supported on MX Series routers only. Nonstop routing (NSR) and graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) are not supported.