Ethernet VPN

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Short description: Technology for carrying Ethernet traffic over wide area networks


Ethernet VPN (EVPN) is a technology for carrying layer 2 Ethernet traffic as a virtual private network using wide area network protocols. EVPN technologies include Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Ethernet over Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN).[1][2]

EVPN uses encapsulation methods to enhance the efficiency and scalability of Ethernet traffic over MPLS or IP-based networks. The Ethernet frames are encapsulated within MPLS or VXLAN headers for transport.

MPLS encapsulation

In MPLS-based EVPN, Ethernet frames are encapsulated with:

  1. MPLS label stack: Each EVPN instance is associated with a unique label that helps in identifying the destination bridge domain.
  2. Control word (optional): Provides additional information for synchronization and alignment in certain scenarios.

The encapsulated packet flow includes:

  • Original Ethernet frame
  • MPLS labels
  • Outer IP header (in case of IP/MPLS networks)

EVPNs are covered by a number of Internet RFCs, including:

See also

References