EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode

Updated: September 11, 2026

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Explains EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming modes, their core attributes, and the systems supporting them.

An EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming is a network model that

supports single-active redundancy load balancing at the port-level or interface-level
provides faster convergence during a link failure, and
enables protocol simplification by having only one physical port active at a given time.

The EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode uses the same conceptual framework as the EVPN E-LAN port-active multihoming mode. For more details, refer to the EVPN E-LAN port-active multihoming mode section.

Table 1. Feature History Table
Feature Name	Release Information	Feature Description
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 26.3.1	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: K100])(select variants only) This feature is supported on: 88-LC1-48Y8H-EM 88-LC1-16H16F-EM
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 26.1.1	Introduced in this release on: Centralized Systems (8400 [ASIC: K100])(select variants only) This feature is now supported on Cisco 8404-SYS-D routers.
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 25.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only) This feature is supported on: 8011-32Y8L2H2FH 8011-12G12X4Y-A 8011-12G12X4Y-D
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 25.1.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100]) (select variants only) This feature is now supported on the Cisco 8011-4G24Y4H-I routers.
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 24.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200 [ASIC: P100], 8700 [ASIC: P100])(select variants only); Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100])(select variants only) *The EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode is now extended to: 8712-MOD-M 8201-32FH 8201-24H8FH 8202-32FH-M 8608 88-LC0-34H14FH 88-LC0-36FH 88-LC0-36FH-M
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 24.3.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200, 8700); Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100]) (select variants only) The EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode is now extended to: 8212-48FH-M 8711-32FH-M 88-LC1-52Y8H-EM 88-LC1-12TH24FH-E
EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode	Release 24.2.11	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100]) (select variants only) The port-active multihoming mode enables single-active redundancy load balancing at the port-level or the interface-level. In this mode, one of the PEs remains active at the port-level. This feature enables protocol simplification as only one of the physical ports is active at a given time. This feature is supported only on routers with the 88-LC1-36EH line cards.

Configure EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode

Configure an EVPN E-Line service in port-active multihoming mode to provide redundancy while ensuring only one active link per port for a given Ethernet segment.

In port-active multihoming mode, only one port in an Ethernet segment actively forwards traffic, while others remain in standby mode. This mode is typically used in access networks where per-port active-standby control is required for operational or design reasons.

Procedure

Create a cross-connect group on all the PE devices.

Example:


Router# configure 
Router(config)# l2vpn 
Router(config-l2vpn)# xconnect group xg1

Configure point-to-point (p2p) cross-connect and assign an interface to the cross-connect on all the PE devices.
1. Point-to-point (p2p) cross-connect and assign an interface to the cross-connect on PE1.
  Example:
```
Router(config-l2vpn-xc)# p2p e1_5-6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# interface Bundle-Ether10.2
```
2. Point-to-point (p2p) cross-connect and assign an interface to the cross-connect on PE2.
  Example:
```
Router(config-l2vpn-xc)# p2p e1_5-6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# interface Bundle-Ether10.2
```
3. Point-to-point (p2p) cross-connect and assign an interface to the cross-connect on PE3.
  Example:
```
Router(config-l2vpn-xc)# p2p e1_5-6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# interface Bundle-Ether20.1
```
4. Point-to-point (p2p) cross-connect and assign an interface to the cross-connect on PE4.
  Example:
```
Router(config-l2vpn-xc)# p2p e1_5-6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# interface Bundle-Ether20.1
```

Enable EVPN E-Line endpoint on the p2p cross-connect and configure the ESI on all PE devices.

Enable EVPN E-Line endpoint on the p2p cross-connect and configure the ESI on PE1.

Example:

Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# neighbor evpn evi 1 target 5 source 6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)#  root
Router(config)# evpn
Router(config-evpn)# interface Bundle-Ether10
Router(config-evpn-ac)#  ethernet-segment
Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.0a.00

Enable EVPN E-Line endpoint on the p2p cross-connect and configure the ESI on PE2.

Example:

Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# neighbor evpn evi 1 target 5 source 6
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)#  root
Router(config)# evpn
Router(config-evpn)# interface Bundle-Ether10
Router(config-evpn-ac)#  ethernet-segment
Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.0a.00

Enable EVPN E-Line endpoint on the p2p cross-connect and configure the ESI on PE3.

Example:

Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# neighbor evpn evi 1 target 6 source 5
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)#  root
Router(config)# evpn
Router(config-evpn)# interface Bundle-Ether20
Router(config-evpn-ac)# ethernet-segment
Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.14.00

Enable EVPN E-Line endpoint on the p2p cross-connect and configure the ESI on PE4.

Example:

Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)# neighbor evpn evi 1 target 6 source 5
Router(config-l2vpn-xc-p2p)#  root
Router(config)# evpn
Router(config-evpn)# interface Bundle-Ether20
Router(config-evpn-ac)# ethernet-segment
Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.14.00

Enable port-active load balancing mode on all the PE devices.

Example:

Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# load-balancing-mode port-active
Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# commit

Running configuration of EVPN E-Line port-active multihoming mode.

Example:

/* On PE1 */
!
l2vpn xconnect group xg1
 p2p e1_5-6
  interface Bundle-Ether10.2
  neighbor evpn evi 1 target 5 source 6
!
evpn
interface Bundle-Ether10
  ethernet-segment
   identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.0a.00
   load-balancing-mode port-active
!


/* On PE2 */
!
l2vpn xconnect group xg1
 p2p e1_5-6
  interface Bundle-Ether10.2
  neighbor evpn evi 1 target 5 source 6
!
evpn
interface Bundle-Ether10
  ethernet-segment
   identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.0a.00
   load-balancing-mode port-active
!

/* On PE3 */
!
l2vpn xconnect group xg1
 p2p e1_5-6
  interface Bundle-Ether20.1
  neighbor evpn evi 1 target 6 source 5
!
evpn
interface Bundle-Ether20
  ethernet-segment
   identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.14.00
   load-balancing-mode port-active
!

/* On PE4 */
!
l2vpn xconnect group xg1
 p2p e1_5-6
  interface Bundle-Ether20.1
  neighbor evpn evi 1 target 6 source 5
!
evpn
interface Bundle-Ether20
  ethernet-segment
   identifier type 0 00.01.00.ac.ce.55.00.14.00
   load-balancing-mode port-active
!

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