Many services that run in the Internet are facilitated in MPLS networks by the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) and/or are established over pseudowires that emulate point-to-point or point-to-multipoint links and provide communication connectivity that is perceived by its users as an unshared link or circuit of an emulated Layer-1, Layer-2, or Layer-3 service type. Layer-2 Virtual Private Networks (L2VPNs) are one such service that provides an emulation of a "native" service over a packet switched network that is adequately faithful to, but may not be entirely indistinguishable from, the native service itself. The Pseudowire And LDP-enabled Services (PALS) working group is chartered to define, specify, and extend network services based on pseudowires and/or signaled using LDP. In particular, the working group will work on the following services: - All types of MPLS-based and L2TPv3-based pseudowire services including point-to-point and point-to-multipoint pseudowires, single segment and multi-segment pseudowires, single and multi-domain pseudowires, and signaled and statically provisioned pseudowires. - All types of dynamic or static provider-provisioned L2VPNs that operate over pseudowires or that are enabled over MPLS networks using LDP as a control plane mechanism. - IP-only L2VPN solutions (for IP-only services over a packet switched network). The working group may also suggest new services to be supported by LDP or pseudowires and these may be added to the working group charter subject to re-chartering. The working group is also responsible for the maintenance and development of pseudowires formerly carried out by the PWE3 working group The PALS working group will not define any mechanisms that exert control over the underlying packet switched network. When necessary it may, however, recommend or require the use of existing QoS and path control mechanisms between the edge nodes that provide the connectivity to the services. The working group may work on: - New pseudowire encapsulations or types for services emulated over IETF-specified Packet Switched Networks. - Operations, Administration, and Management (OAM) for pseudowires including interworking of OAM for pseudowires and native services, and OAM for other services worked on by PALS (including L2VPNs). But new techniques should be shared with the BFD and MPLS working groups to ensure consistency with existing OAM techniques, and with the LIME working group to provide for consistency of operation. - Protocol extensions for LDP in support of new pseudowire function and new services, but all protocol extensions must be reviewed by the MPLS working group which is responsible for the consistency and stability of LDP. - Mechanisms to enhance pseudowire functionality by including security, protection and restoration, congestion avoidance, and load balancing across parallel packet switched tunnels. - Mechanisms to permit optimization of multicast data traffic within an L2VPN. - Enhancements to increase the scalability of the control plane and data plane of L2VPN solutions and application of L2VPN solutions in the data center, the latter in coordination with the NVO3 working group - L2VPN discovery and membership mechanisms that utilize pseudowire control and management procedures. - Data models for modeling, managing, and operating the services worked on by the PALS working group using SMI or YANG. The PALS working group will not work on L2VPNs enabled using BGP, and where L2VPNs that are within the scope of the PALS working group use BGP to add functionality (for example for discovery of membership of a VPN) this work will be coordinated with the BESS working group. This also includes work on particular types of L2VPNs that support both LDP and BGP signaling, such as VPLS. Any contention between these working groups on the placement of such work will be resolved by the chairs. The PALS working group will coordinate closely with the MPLS working group for all work involving LDP and the MPLS data plane. It will also coordinate with the MPLS working group in developing shared security, and with the BFD and MPLS working groups on OAM solutions. Where extensions to pseudowires are needed to support time or frequency transfer, this work will be done by the PALS working group in consultation with the TICTOC working group. L2TP specifics of L2TPv3-based pseudowires will continue to be the responsibility of the L2TPEXT working group.