The present application discloses, among other things, an improved demarcation device. In some embodiments, the demarcation device includes: a physical layer module for receiving frames transmitted to the device; and a device configuration protocol layer configured to: (a) receive the frame after the frame is received from the physical layer, (b) determine whether the frame is a valid device configuration protocol data unit (DCPDU), and (c) execute a command if the frame is a valid DCPDU.