User's Manual

278
Users Manual of CS-6306R
Chapter 27. MEAPS Settings
MEAPS Introduction 27.1
27.1.1 MEAPS Overview
EAPS is a protocol specially applied on the link layer of the Ethernet ring. When the Ethernet ring is complete,
you should prevent the broadcast storm from occurring on the data loopback. But when a link of an Ethernet
ring is broken, you should enable the backup link rapidly to resume the communication of different nodes in
the ring. The role of switch is specified by you through configuration.
EAPS only supports the single-ring structure, while MEAPS, an expansion on the basis of EAPS, can support
not only the single ring but also the level-2 multi-ring structure. The later structure consists of the aggregation
layer in the middle, constructed by aggregation equipment through the Ethernet ring for fast switching, and
the access layer at the outside, connected by the access equipment. Different levels of rings are connected
through the tangency or intersection mode. See the specific topology in the following figure:
Figure 1: MEAPS topology
The ring protection protocol and STP are both used for topology control on the link layer. STP is suitable for all
kinds of complicated networks, which transmits the change of network topology hop by hop. The ring
protection protocol is used for ring topology and adopts the pervasion mechanism to transmit the change of
network topology. Therefore, the convergence of the ring protection protocol in the ring network is better than
STP. In a sound network, the ring protection protocol can resume network communication within less than
50ms.