Hi there!
PW
A PW is a mechanism that carries emulated services from one PE to another PE over a PSN. By means of PWE3, point-to-point channels are created, separated from each other. Users' Layer 2 packets are transparently transmitted on a PW.
PWs are available in two types depending on whether signaling protocols are used or not. Specifically, a PW that does use signaling protocols is called a dynamic PW, whereas a PW that does not use signaling protocols is called a static PW.
Tunnel
A tunnel provides a mechanism that transparently transmits information over a network. In a tunnel, one or more PWs can be carried. A tunnel connects a local PE and a remote PE for transparently transmitting data.
PSN tunnels are available in several types, but the OptiX OSN equipment supports only MPLS tunnels.
MPLS
Based on IP routes and control protocols, MPLS is a connection-oriented switching technology for the network layer. MPLS uses short and fixed-length labels at different link layers for packet encapsulation, and switches labels based on the encapsulated labels.
In the packet domain, MPLS helps to set up MPLS tunnels to carry PWs that transmit a variety of services on a PSN in an end-to-end manner. These services include TDM, ATM, and Ethernet services.
According to the preceding description, the PW is the customer of the MPLS tunnel. MPLS tunnels provide services for PWs.
Thanks!
