Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PPPoE
<communications, protocol> (PPPoE) The {protocol} defined in
{RFC 2516} that allows one or more computers to connect to the
{Internet} via a shared {modem}. The computers connect to the
modem via a {local area network} such as {Ethernet} and the
modem connects to an {Internet Service Provider} (ISP) via a
{serial} connection such as {PPP} over {ADSL}.
PPPoE provides each user with a connection that looks and
behaves like a point-to-point {dial-up} connection even though
they are actually sharing an Ethernet or {wireless} network.
At the same time, the ISP only needs to provide a single
Internet connection, with the same kind of accounting as for
{PPP}. Also, the {IP address} is only assigned when the PPPoE
connection is open, allowing the dynamic reuse of IP addresses
via {DHCP}.
PPPoE works by {encapsulating} PPP {frames} in Ethernet
frames.
(2006-09-20)