Abstract: In methods for setting up communications between digital-subscriber-line terminal modems (13) and internet-service-providers (30) via digital-subscriber-line-access-multiplexers (2,20) and forwarders (3) of asynchronous-transfer-mode-networks (1) further comprising dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-relay-agents (4,40), first messages are sent from the terminal modems (13) to the agents (4,40) via the access multiplexers (2,20), which first messages comprise incoming logical identifiers defining couplings (14) between the terminal modems (13) and the access multiplexers (2,20), second messages are sent from the agents (4,40) to dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-servers (5) for receiving internet-protocol-addresses to be supplied to the terminal modems (13) via the agents (4,40).

Abstract: An extractor extracts from the payload of the Layer 2 packet a destination Layer 3 address of the Layer 3 packet. A forwarding engine, for in response to the extraction, with the destination Layer 3 address retrieves from a forwarding database an associated interface. The forwarding database includes at least one association between one of the plurality of interfaces and at least one Layer 3 address. Upon reception of the destination Layer 3 address having a full match with one of the Layer 3 addresses, the forwarding database provides the interface which is associated to the Layer 3 address. The network unit forwards the Layer 2 packet to the provided associated interface.