L2TPv3 over IPSec (Planned Q2 2026)

Unlike earlier versions of L2TP, L2TPv3 is purpose-built for point-to-point Layer 2 transport between routers.

Key characteristics:

• Encapsulates Ethernet frames directly in IP
• Supports VLAN transparency so we can manage multiple services (think LAN for Netware, LAN for Gaming...whatever)
• Minimal overhead compared to overlay protocols

L2TPv3 is simple and well understood. MikroTik does havehas a protocol they callcalled Ethernet over IP, which is similar but not an open standard. L2TPv3 is a widely used platform. It's simple, efficient, well understood, and, more importantly, widely supported across numerous vendor hardware platforms.

One downside is that it's Point-to-point by nature, so not multipoint (mesh), but it's not a deal breaker; we could bridge the traffic at the hub. We still need to add encryption so we can use IPSec or something else to protect the payload.