EVPN E-LINE (Ethernet Private Line) delivers point-to-point Layer 2 connectivity between exactly two customer sites over an MPLS/SR backbone — the EVPN evolution of traditional EoMPLS and VPWS. By using the BGP control plane for MAC learning and signaling, EVPN E-LINE eliminates the flooding and scalability issues of legacy pseudowire approaches while adding native multi-homing support.
This guide is part of the IP Infusion EVPN services series over ISIS-SR:
- EVPN-ELINE (this article) — Point-to-point E-Line service
- EVPN-ELAN — Multipoint E-LAN service
- EVPN-ETREE — Rooted multipoint E-Tree service
- EVPN-L3VPN — Layer 3 VPN over ISIS-SR
EVPN E-LINE: Single-Homed Topology
EVPN Route Types for E-LINE
EVPN E-LINE uses two BGP route types for control-plane signaling:
- Route Type 1 (Ethernet Auto-Discovery) — Advertises ESI (Ethernet Segment Identifier) reachability. Used for fast convergence and mass withdrawal on multi-homed segments.
- Route Type 2 (MAC+IP Advertisement) — Carries MAC addresses learned from CE devices. Eliminates flooding by distributing MAC/IP bindings via BGP.
Single-Homed E-LINE Configuration
! OcNOS -- PE1: EVPN E-LINE (single-homed, EVI 100)
!
! Step 1: ISIS-SR underlay (same as standard ISIS-SR)
router isis CORE
net 49.0001.0000.0000.0001.00
is-type level-2-only
segment-routing mpls
fast-reroute per-prefix level-2 ti-lfa
address-family ipv4 unicast
segment-routing mpls
exit-address-family
!
interface lo
ip address 10.0.0.1/32
ip router isis CORE
isis segment-routing prefix-sid index 1
!
! Step 2: BGP EVPN session to PE2 (or via Route Reflector)
router bgp 65001
bgp router-id 10.0.0.1
neighbor 10.0.0.2 remote-as 65001
neighbor 10.0.0.2 update-source lo
!
address-family l2vpn evpn
neighbor 10.0.0.2 activate
neighbor 10.0.0.2 send-community extended
exit-address-family
!
! Step 3: EVPN E-LINE instance (VPWS)
l2vpn evpn
!
instance 100 vlan-based
rd 65001:100
route-target import 65001:100
route-target export 65001:100
!
evi 100
encapsulation mpls ! SR-MPLS encapsulation
!
! Step 4: Attach CE-facing interface to EVI
interface eth-0-1
l2vpn evpn evi 100
encapsulation dot1q 100 ! Customer VLAN 100Multi-Homed E-LINE Configuration
Multi-homing attaches a CE to two PE routers simultaneously for active/standby or active/active redundancy. The Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI) identifies the multi-homed segment and enables fast failover using EVPN route type 1 mass withdrawal.
! OcNOS -- PE1: Multi-homed E-LINE with Ethernet Segment
!
! Step 1: Define Ethernet Segment (shared by PE1 and PE2)
evpn
ethernet-segment 1
identifier type-3 10.0.0.1 ! System-MAC based ESI
df-election preemption-time 3
!
!
! Step 2: Attach ESI to CE-facing interface (same on PE1 and PE2)
interface eth-0-1
evpn ethernet-segment 1
encapsulation dot1q 100
l2vpn evpn evi 100
!
! Step 3: EVPN E-LINE with multi-homing (PE2 mirrors this config)
l2vpn evpn
instance 100 vlan-based
rd 65001:100
route-target import 65001:100
route-target export 65001:100
!
! Verify Designated Forwarder (DF) election:
show evpn ethernet-segment detail
show bgp l2vpn evpn route type ead ! Type 1: Auto-Discovery routes
show bgp l2vpn evpn route type mac-ip ! Type 2: MAC+IP routesVerification Commands
! OcNOS -- EVPN E-LINE verification
!
! Check EVPN instance state:
show l2vpn evpn evi detail
!
! Verify BGP EVPN routes are exchanged:
show bgp l2vpn evpn summary
show bgp l2vpn evpn route type ead
show bgp l2vpn evpn route type mac-ip
!
! Verify CE MAC is learned via BGP (not flooding):
show evpn mac vni all
!
! Confirm ISIS-SR underlay is providing TI-LFA backup:
show isis fast-reroute summary
!
! End-to-end path trace:
ping mpls ldp 10.0.0.2 source 10.0.0.1- EVPN-ELAN: Multipoint L2 Service
- EVPN-ETREE: Rooted Multipoint Service
- EVPN-L3VPN over ISIS-SR
- ISIS-SR with TI-LFA
- OcNOS-SP Product Page
- Contact IP Infusion
IP Infusion Engineering Team