What does EVPN mean in networks?
Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) is a subset of a BGP protocol that allows you to extend Layer 2 connectivity over a Layer 3 network. It supports several tunnelling mechanisms, including MPLS (mainly Internet Service Providers) and VXLAN (mainly data centers). It provides segmentation and isolation just like VLAN but without the limitations of traditional networks. This means you do not need to use Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), while there are no Active/Passive links and BUM traffic is limited as much as possible. EVPN has some additional features like MAC/IP advertisement and MAC address mobility. As soon as a resource appears or changes its position in the network, information about it is immediately sent to the rest of the dataplane elements via BGP protocol (limiting BUM traffic as much as possible). This feature is helpful when performing VM migration. Last but not least, EVPN is an open standard.
