The MAC ping OAM tool makes it possible to detect whether a particular MAC address has been learned in a VPLS.
The cpe-ping command extends this capability to detecting end-station IP addresses inside a VPLS. A CPE ping for a specific destination IP address within a VPLS will be translated to a MAC ping toward a broadcast MAC address. Upon receiving such a MAC ping, each peer PE within the VPLS context will trigger an ARP request for the specific IP address. The PE receiving a response to this ARP request will report back to the requesting 7210 SAS. It is encouraged to use the source IP address of 0.0.0.0 to prevent the provider’s IP address of being learned by the CE.