What Is EVPN? BGP as the Data Center Control Plane
·1 min read·154 words
EVPN (Ethernet VPN, RFC 7432) is the modern control plane for L2 services over MPLS or VXLAN. It replaces legacy VPLS and supports active-active multi-homing, MAC/IP advertisement, and IP prefixes. It is a standard for data centers in 2026. This quick guide explains the essentials.
Components
- BGP MP-BGP: distribution of EVPN routes through the l2vpn evpn address family
- RT (Route Target): tenant isolation
- RD (Route Distinguisher): route uniqueness
- Type 1 (Ethernet Segment Auto-Discovery)
- Type 2: MAC/IP advertisement
- Type 3: Inclusive Multicast (BUM replication)
- Type 4: Ethernet Segment Auto-Discovery (multi-homing)
- Type 5: IP prefix routes
Benefits
- Active-active multi-homing through ESI LAG
- Scalability: millions of MAC addresses
- ARP suppression (reduced broadcast traffic)
- IRB integration (routed access)
- Multi-vendor support (Cisco, Juniper, Arista, SONiC)
Typical Deployments
- Spine-leaf architecture with BGP EVPN and a VXLAN data plane
- Carrier Metro Ethernet networks
- Multi-site DCI
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