IProtocolLayer

module interface

Interface for all protocol layer modules that connect to a higher and to a lower protocol layer, both of which are optional.

Inheritance diagram

The following diagram shows inheritance relationships for this type. Unresolved types are missing from the diagram.

Implemented by

Name	Type	Description
BridgingLayer	compound module	Provides various layer 2 services such as packet forwarding, interface selection, virtual LAN handling, stream handling.
DirectionReverserLayer	compound module	Provides a layer that combines the decision for local delivery with the service of reversing the direction of an incoming packet to outgoing for packet forwarding.
EthernetPlca	simple module	Implements the Ethernet Phyisical Layer Collision Avoidance (PLCA) protocol defined in the IEEE 802.3cg-2019 standard. It can be used to build an Ethernet network interface that can be connected to 10BASE-T1S multidrop links.
Ieee8021dRelay	simple module	Forwards frames (~EtherFrame) based on their destination MAC addresses to appropriate ports.
Ieee8021qLayer	compound module	Implements IEEE 802.1Q protocol functionality as a layered architecture with policy and protocol components. The policy submodule handles VLAN filtering and mapping, while the protocol submodule manages tag encapsulation/ decapsulation. Supports both C-VLAN (0x8100) and S-VLAN (0x88A8) tag types through configuration. Enables network segmentation and traffic control in Ethernet networks by processing VLAN tags according to configured policies.
Ieee8021qProtocol	compound module	Implements the IEEE 802.1Q protocol encapsulation/decapsulation. It also provides socket support so applications can use the protocol directly.
Ieee8021rLayer	compound module	(no description)
Ieee8021rProtocol	compound module	Implements the IEEE 802.1r protocol encapsulation/decapsulation.
InterfaceRelayLayer	compound module	Combines the interface MAC address learning from incoming packets with the outgoing interface selection for outgoing packets into a single layer.
MacRelayUnit	simple module	Implements Ethernet switch functionality by relaying frames between different ports based on destination MAC addresses. Maintains a MAC address table that maps addresses to ports, learns addresses from incoming frames, and forwards frames appropriately. Handles unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic according to standard Ethernet switching rules, with support for VLANs.
Mpls	simple module	Implements the MPLS protocol.
MrpRelay	simple module	Relay unit with support for the Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP), defined in IEC 62439-2.
OmittedProtocolLayer	compound module	Implements the module given interface and can be used as an omitted optional module that removes itself from the module hierarchy during initialization.
StreamCoderLayer	compound module	Combines a stream decoder and a stream encoder into a layer. For incoming packets, the stream decoder determines the stream of the packet. For outgoing packets, the stream encoder determines the VLAN id, etc. of the packet.
StreamFilterLayer	compound module	Combines two packet filters into a protocol layer so that it can be used in a layered compound module. There are separate submodules for ingress and egress traffic, but in most cases only the ingress filter is used.
StreamIdentifierLayer	compound module	Wraps a stream identifier into a protocol layer so that it can be used in a layered compound module.
StreamPolicyLayer	compound module	(no description)
StreamRelayLayer	compound module	Combines a stream merger and a stream splitter module into a stream relay layer. For incoming packets, the identified streams are merged by the stream merger. For outgoing packets, the requested streams are split by the stream splitter.
VlanPolicyLayer	compound module	(no description)

Used in compound modules

Name	Type	Description
BridgingLayer	compound module	Provides various layer 2 services such as packet forwarding, interface selection, virtual LAN handling, stream handling.
EthernetPlcaInterface	compound module	Implements a network interface that is suitable for use in Ethernet 10BASE-T1S multidrop links. Such a multidrop link uses the Ethernet Phyisical Layer Collision Avoidance (PLCA) protocol. The protocol is defined in the IEEE 802.3cg-2019 standard. This network interface can be used in any network node module (e.g. ~StandardHost) that allows replacing its network interfaces. All network interfaces on the same multidrop link must use this module.
EthernetSwitch	compound module	EthernetSwitch models a Layer 2 Ethernet switch with support for various IEEE 802.1 protocols and features. It provides frame forwarding based on MAC addresses and implements multiple switching technologies.
Ieee8021qLayer	compound module	Implements IEEE 802.1Q protocol functionality as a layered architecture with policy and protocol components. The policy submodule handles VLAN filtering and mapping, while the protocol submodule manages tag encapsulation/ decapsulation. Supports both C-VLAN (0x8100) and S-VLAN (0x88A8) tag types through configuration. Enables network segmentation and traffic control in Ethernet networks by processing VLAN tags according to configured policies.
Ieee8021rLayer	compound module	(no description)
LinkLayerNodeBase	compound module	An extension of the basic node infrastructure with link layer functionality. Provides support for various network interfaces and link layer protocols, forming the foundation for network connectivity.
StreamPolicyLayer	compound module	(no description)

Known subclasses

Name	Type	Description
IIeee8021qLayer	module interface	(no description)
IIeee8021rLayer	module interface	(no description)
IMacRelayUnit	module interface	Module interface for modules providing Ethernet switch functionality. These modules handle the mapping between ports and MAC addresses, and forward frames to appropriate ports.

Properties

Name	Value	Description
omittedTypename	OmittedProtocolLayer
display	i=block/layer

Source code

//
// Interface for all protocol layer modules that
// connect to a higher and to a lower protocol layer, both of which are optional.
//
moduleinterface IProtocolLayer
{
    parameters:
        @omittedTypename(OmittedProtocolLayer);
        @display("i=block/layer");
    gates:
        input upperLayerIn;
        output upperLayerOut;
        input lowerLayerIn;
        output lowerLayerOut;
}

File: src/inet/protocolelement/contract/IProtocolLayer.ned