Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

Ethernet VPN

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).

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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).12

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:

  • RFC 7209 – "Requirements for Ethernet VPN (EVPN),"3 Informational.
  • RFC 7432 – "BGP MPLS-Based Ethernet VPN,"4 Proposed Standard.
  • RFC 8317 – "Ethernet-Tree (E-Tree) Support in Ethernet VPN (EVPN) and Provider Backbone Bridging EVPN (PBB-EVPN),"5 Proposed Standard.
  • RFC 8365 – "A Network Virtualization Overlay Solution Using Ethernet VPN (EVPN),"6 Proposed Standard.
  • RFC 9161 – "Operational Aspects of Proxy ARP/ND in Ethernet Virtual Private Networks,"7 Proposed Standard.
See also

See also

References

References

  1. "EVPN Overview - TechLibrary - Juniper Networks". www.juniper.net. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  2. "Understanding EVPN with VXLAN Data Plane Encapsulation - TechLibrary - Juniper Networks". www.juniper.net. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  3. A. Sajassi; R. Aggarwal; J. Uttaro; N. Bitar; W. Henderickx (May 2014). Requirements for Ethernet VPN (EVPN). Internet Engineering Task Force. doi:10.17487/RFC7209. ISSN 2070-1721. RFC 7209. Informational.
  4. R. Aggarwal; N. Bitar; A. Isaac; J. Uttaro; J. Drake; W. Henderickx (February 2015). A. Sajassi (ed.). BGP MPLS-Based Ethernet VPN. Internet Engineering Task Force. doi:10.17487/RFC7432. ISSN 2070-1721. RFC 7432. Proposed Standard. Updated by RFC 9572, 9573, 8584, 9161 and 9746.
  5. S. Salam; J. Drake; J. Uttaro; S. Boutros; J. Rabadan (January 2018). A. Sajassi (ed.). Ethernet-Tree (E-Tree) Support in Ethernet VPN (EVPN) and Provider Backbone Bridging EVPN (PBB-EVPN). Internet Engineering Task Force. doi:10.17487/RFC8317. ISSN 2070-1721. RFC 8317. Proposed Standard. Updates RFC 7385.
  6. N. Bitar; R. Shekhar; J. Uttaro; W. Henderickx (March 2018). A. Sajassi; J. Drake (eds.). A Network Virtualization Overlay Solution Using Ethernet VPN (EVPN). Internet Engineering Task Force. doi:10.17487/RFC8365. ISSN 2070-1721. RFC 8365. Proposed Standard. Updated by RFC 9746.
  7. S. Sathappan; K. Nagaraj; G. Hankins (January 2022). J. Rabadan (ed.). Operational Aspects of Proxy ARP/ND in Ethernet Virtual Private Networks. Internet Engineering Task Force. doi:10.17487/RFC9161. RFC 9161. Proposed Standard. Updates RFC 7432.