| 摘要 |
The present invention relates to a network unit in a telecommunication network for forwarding a Layer 2 packet such as an Ethernet packet encapsulating a Layer 3 packet such as an Internet protocol packet in its payload. The Layer 2 packet being received at one of the interfaces of the network unit. The network unit therefore comprises: a forwarding database that comprises associations between an interface of the plurality of interfaces and at least one Layer 3 address. The forwarding database returns upon reception of a Layer 3 address which has a full match with one of said Layer 3 addresses in the forwarding database, the associated interface of the plurality of interfaces; and an extractor for extracting from a payload of the Layer 2 packet a destination Layer 3 address; and a forwarding engine for in response to this extraction, retrieving from the forwarding database and based upon this extracted destination Layer 3 address, the associated interface. Furthermore, the network unit forwards the Layer 2 packet towards the associated interface.
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