A method and system for breaking loops in an Ethernet network that supports connectionless and connection-oriented Ethernet. A loop-breaking protocol may be used to detect a loop among a plurality of network elements and to identify a port to block in order to break the loop. The network elements may stop the flow of connectionless Ethernet traffic, while continuing to allow connection-oriented Ethernet traffic to pass. The loop-breaking protocol may be further configured to analyze and understand connection-oriented Ethernet within the network so that connection-oriented Ethernet paths are accounted for during loop detection and prevention.