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Is it possible to use PPP (pppd) to create a network bridge between two subnets? That is, connect two segments of the same network, tunneling Ethernet frames, rather than IP packets?

As I understand, PPP is basically a fancy mechanism for sending data packets/frames over a serial line, so it seems it should be possible to use it for any kind of packets/frames.

To expand my question: I have a standard, home, local network which has a subnet like 192.168.1.0/24 with a router that runs a DHCP server. I'd like to connect another machine via PPP to this network so that it becomes a part of the subnet, for example:

  • It can request and get a DHCP address from the server.
  • It can access .local addresses in the network.

For this I'd like to create a network bridge using PPP over a serial line between this machine and another machine that is already in the network. I know how to create a bridge between interfaces in these machines, but not how to set up PPP to transfer Ethernet frames between them, if that's possible.

Petr
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1 Answers1

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connect two segments of the same network, tunneling Ethernet frames, rather than IP packets?

I do not believe so, at least not directly(without a VPN or other additional encapsulation).

As I understand, PPP is basically a fancy mechanism for sending data packets/frames over a serial line.

Yes, but largely OSI layer 3 packet types that would normally go a layer above OSI layer 2(like Ethernet) frames, not raw Ethernet frames directly. There are corresponding PPP protocol numbers IP/IPX/IPv6/..., but not Ethernet.

rsaxvc
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