Layer 2 Ethernet transport
Transparent Ethernet circuits between our metros, from 1G to 100G, with the VLAN handoff and the MTU your equipment already expects.
A Layer 2 service from us is a transparent pipe between two ports on our network. Your frames arrive the way you sent them, tags intact, with no addressing or routing decisions in between. What runs inside is entirely yours.
Circuits are carried as EVPL over the same backbone as our IP services, so they inherit the diverse paths and the capacity planning that go with it. Where a route has physical diversity we can deliver the circuit protected, with switching under 50 ms, or leave it unprotected and let your own equipment handle failover.
If you need more than two endpoints, the same platform delivers multipoint services. That is covered on the point-to-point and multipoint page.
Technical detail
| Service types | EVPL point to point, EVPN and VPLS for multipoint |
| Port speeds | 1G, 10G, 25G, 100G |
| Encapsulation | Dot1Q, QinQ (802.1ad), EVPN/VXLAN in selected domains |
| MTU | Up to 9000 bytes, subject to the path |
| Protection | 1+1 or 1:1 with sub-50 ms switching where diversity exists |
| Optics | 10GBASE-LR, 100GBASE-LR4, SFP+, SFP28, QSFP28, QSFP-DD |
| Handoff | Single-mode LC, cross connect arranged by us |
| Monitoring | Y.1731 and 802.1ag OAM, per-circuit graphs in the control panel |
| Turn-up | Typically 3 to 5 working days once cross connects are in place |
What customers run over it
- Data centre interconnect between two of our metros, including storage replication
- Remote peering: a circuit from your rack to a port on an exchange we are present at
- Extending an internal VLAN between sites without renumbering anything
- Carrying a partner or customer handoff across borders
- Backhaul between a POP you own and one of our facilities
Common configurations
- 10G protected between Amsterdam and Frankfurt
- 100G unprotected on a metro path with your own diversity
- 1G tagged service delivered on an existing 10G port
Starting rates
Indicative monthly rates for an unprotected circuit on a metro route. The corridor, the two facilities and any protection decide the final number, so treat these as the floor rather than the quote.
Every service is handed off on a 100G port whatever you cap it at, which is why the setup charge is the same across the range and why an upgrade later is a config change rather than a new install. Prices exclude VAT and cross connects. All pricing
Two endpoints and a speed is all we need
Send us the facilities and the bandwidth. If the route exists you will have a price the same day, and a delivery date with it.