EVPN Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

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EVPN Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

EVPN E-LAN single-homing

Updated: June 10, 2026

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Explains EVPN E-LAN Single-Homing, detailing how E-LAN transports traffic and providing step-by-step configuration procedures to implement multi-point Layer 2 VPN connectivity in single-homing scenarios.

A EVPN E-LAN single-homing is a network connectivity model that

simplifies network infrastructure by connecting a Layer 2 gateway device to a single access network
reduces costs by eliminating the need for additional infrastructure, and
supports seamless communication between customer sites over an MPLS network.

Table 1. Feature History Table
Feature Name	Release Information	Feature Description
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 26.2.1	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: K100])(select variants only); This feature is supported on Cisco 88-LC1-48Y8H-EM line cards.
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 25.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only) This feature is now supported on: 8011-32Y8L2H2FH 8011-12G12X4Y-A 8011-12G12X4Y-D
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	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-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 24.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8700) (select variants only) The EVPN E-LAN single-homing functionality is now extended to the Cisco 8712-MOD-M routers.
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 24.3.1	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-LAN single-homing functionality is now extended to these fixed systems and line cards. 8212-48FH-M 8711-32FH-M 88-LC1-52Y8H-EM 88-LC1-12TH24FH-E
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 24.2.11	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100]) (select variants only) The EVPN E-LAN single-homing functionality is now extended to the Cisco 88-LC1-36EH routers.
EVPN E-LAN L2 Gateway Single-Homing	Release 7.11.1	We now offer a cost-effective and simplified solution for seamless communication between various customer sites connected to the same service provider network using Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) single-homing mode. EVPN LAN (E-LAN) is a service to bridge Ethernet data traffic among different sites across the MPLS network connecting a Layer 2 gateway device to a single access network. In the single-homing mode, a device is connected to one router in the MPLS core through physical ports or bundle ports, and in the event of a failure on those links, the traffic over the links is not protected by links to another router on the core. This feature is supported only on Q200-based line cards. The feature introduces the evpn commands.

EVPN E-LAN single-homing for scalable Layer 2 connectivity

The EVPN E-LAN single-homing delivers seamless multipoint-to-multipoint Layer 2 connectivity, enabling efficient communication between multiple endpoints such as customer sites or data centers. Designed for scenarios requiring transparent Ethernet connectivity over a service provider's MPLS or IP backbone, this solution ensures reliable and scalable data exchange, making it an ideal choice for businesses aiming to interconnect multiple locations with ease.

Scenarios for deploying EVPN E-LAN single-homing

These scenarios outline the ideal use cases for deploying EVPN E-LAN single-homing:

Small branch offices—cost-effective solution for small remote sites or branch offices with minimal traffic or redundancy requirements.
Initial deployments—suitable for organizations starting their EVPN journey, with the flexibility to scale to multihoming later.

Benefits of EVPN E-LAN single-homing

The EVPN E-LAN single-homing offers these benefits:

Simplified design—reduces network complexity by using a single CE-to-PE connection, eliminating the need for redundancy protocols like MC-LAG.
Cost-effectiveness—minimizes physical links and hardware requirements, making it ideal for small sites or budget-conscious scenarios.
Efficient resource utilization—consumes less bandwidth and hardware compared to multihoming, making it suitable for low-traffic or non-critical environments.
Ease of management—simplifies troubleshooting and operations with single PE-CE connections, removing the need for configuring load balancing or redundancy mechanisms.
Multipoint connectivity— enables full multipoint-to-multipoint connectivity across all sites, making it perfect for collaborative workspaces or shared data centers.
Interoperability—ensures compatibility across multi-vendor environments through open standards, providing a flexible foundation for scaling to multihoming in the future.
Centralized control—utilizes BGP signaling for efficient MAC address distribution and control, while distributed forwarding ensures effective data handling.
Scalability—supports large-scale deployments for small or remote sites.

How EVPN E-LAN single-homing transports traffic

Summary

The EVPN E-LAN single-homing process facilitates the transport of Layer 2 traffic between customer sites by utilizing EVPN control plane protocols. This process ensures efficient traffic forwarding and seamless MAC address distribution across the network.

The key components involved in the process are:

CE1: Sends Layer 2 traffic to PE1.
PE1: Receives and processes Layer 2 frames from CE1, determines the destination, and distributes MAC address information.
PE2: Forwards the Layer 2 frames to the appropriate attachment circuit connected to CE2.
CE2: Receives the Layer 2 traffic from PE2.

Workflow

The process involves these stages:

Traffic transmission from CE1 to PE1
- CE1 sends Layer 2 traffic to PE1 over a single bundle or physical link.
- The traffic is encapsulated in Layer 2 frames.
Frame processing at PE1
- PE1 receives the Layer 2 frames on its ingress interface.
- PE1 checks the destination MAC address of the frame and determines the appropriate attachment circuit for forwarding.
MAC address distribution through EVPN control plane
- PE1 uses EVPN control plane protocols to distribute the MAC address information learned from CE1 to PE2.
Traffic forwarding by PE2
- PE2, having obtained the destination MAC address from the EVPN control plane, forwards the Layer 2 frames to the appropriate attachment circuit connected to CE2.

The process ensures seamless and efficient transport of Layer 2 traffic between customer sites, leveraging EVPN protocols for MAC address distribution and traffic.

Configure EVPN E-LAN single-homing

Enable EVPN E-LAN single-homing on PE1 to advertise MAC addresses and distribute MAC address information from CE1 to PE2.

This task involves configuring Ethernet VPN Identifier (EVI) under the bridge domain and ensuring PE1 advertises MAC addresses. The configuration disables EVPN multihoming on the bundle interface and sets up BGP for L2VPN and EVPN.

Follow these steps to configure EVPN E-LAN single-homing:

Before you begin

Ensure PE1 is connected to CE1 and PE2.
Verify that the required software version supports EVPN E-LAN single-homing.

Procedure

	1.	Disable EVPN multihoming. By default, the bundle interface is in EVPN multihoming mode. To disable EVPN multihoming, configure bundle-Ether AC with ESI value (identifier type) set to zero. Example: `Router(config)# evpn Router(config-evpn)# interface Bundle-Ether1 Router(config-evpn-ac)# ethernet-segment Router(config-evpn-ac-es)# identifier type 0 00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00` Alternatively, disable EVPN multihoming globally by: `Router(config)# evpn Router(config-evpn)# ethernet-segment type 1 auto-generation-disable`
	2.	Set up BGP for L2VPN and EVPN. `Router# configure Router#(config)# router bgp 200 Router#(config-bgp)# bgp router-id 10.10.10.1 Router#(config-bgp)# address-family l2vpn evpn Router#(config-bgp)# neighbor 10.10.10.10 Router#(config-bgp-nbr)# remote-as 200 Router#(config-bgp-nbr)# update-source Loopback 0 Router#(config-bgp-nbr)# address-family l2vpn evpn`
	3.	Configure the bridge domain. `Router(config)# l2vpn Router (config-l2vpn)# bridge group BG1 Router (config-l2vpn-bg)# bridge-domain BD1 Router (config-l2vpn-bg-bd)# interface Bundle-Ether1.2001 Router (config-l2vpn-bg-bd-ac)# evi 2001`
	4.	Configure MAC advertisement. `Router(config)# evpn Router(config-evpn)# evi 2001 Router(config-evpn-instance)# advertise-mac Router(config-evpn-instance-mac)# commit`
	5.	Running configuration of EVPN E-LAN single-homing mode. `router bgp 200 bgp router-id 10.10.10.1 address-family l2vpn evpn neighbor 10.10.10.10 remote-as 200 description MPLS-FACING-PEER update-source Loopback0 address-family l2vpn evpn ! l2vpn bridge group BG1 bridge-domain BD1 interface BundleEther1.2001 evi 2001 ! evpn interface Bundle-Ether 1 ethernet-segment identifier type 0 00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00 ! evi 2001 advertise-mac !`
	6.	Use the show evpn ethernet-segment interface Bundle-Ether 1 detail command to verify that EVPN E-LAN single-homing mode is configured. Example: In this example, the operational mode is SH or single-homing, which indicates that CE1 is connected to PE1 through a single link. `Router# show evpn ethernet-segment interface Bundle-Ether 1 detail Ethernet Segment Id Interface Nexthops -------------------- ---------- ---------- N/A Bundle-Ether 1 10.0.0.2 …………… Topology : Operational : SH`

After the configuration is complete, PE1 operates in single-homing mode (SH) and advertise MAC addresses learned from CE1 to PE2.

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