Dynamic address resolution for enhanced configurability in packet-based TDMA GPONs

Packet-oriented PONs will offer an efficient way to transfer IP traffic, providing at the same time flexible Quality of Service mechanisms to support a great variety of services. To allow provisioning of connections from customer sites to ISP sub-networks across packet-based PONs, it is necessary to correlate the Ethernet MAC address used in the customer terminals to the ISP interfaces and the MAC addresses used in the shared PON system. Automatic address resolution mechanisms are needed to allow for automatic dynamic reconfiguration without manual intervention. The address resolution mechanism impacts on the design of the MAC local address since it should allow for identification of the client interfaces on both ends of the PON. This paper investigates the relevant issues and proposes a solution extending the widely used address resolution protocol.