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Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. RPR Operation

3. Comparing RPR to Other Solutions

4. Using RPR with SONET and Ethernet

5. RPR Benefits

6. RPR Market Development

7. Standardization

8. The Future of RPR

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

MPLS
Multiprotocol Label Switching

MSO
Multiple-System Operator

RPR
Resilient Packet Ring

SDH
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy

SONET
Synchronous Optical Network

TDM
Time Division Multiplexing

VPN
Virtual Private Network

Definitions

CRC
The Cyclic Redundancy Check is an error-checking technique that uses a calculated numeric value to detect errors in transmitted data.

IEEE 802.17
The IEEE working group working on an international standard for RPR.

IETF
Internet Engineering Task Force is responsible for developing Internet standards. The IETF operates under the auspices of the Internet Society (ISOC).

MAC
The Media Access Control is the Layer-2 function responsible for access to the medium (fiber, coax, etc.). Ethernet and RPR both have defined MAC layers.

SRP
Spatial Reuse Protocol, a Cisco Systems MAC–layer protocol currently published as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 2892.

TTL
Time To Live, a value decremented within a packet at each hop. TTL keeps packets from circulating indefinitely.