# US 12,003,414 B1 · Traffic handling for EVPN E-tree

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- Number: US 12,003,414 B1
- Document ID: US12003414B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 18/192,578
- Filed: 2023-03-29
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2023-02-17
- Assignees: Arista Networks, Inc.
- Applicants: Arista Networks, Inc.
- Inventors: Akhil Shashidhar; Aaron David Bamberger
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12003414B1

## CPC

- H04L 45/50: using label swapping, e.g. multi-protocol label switch [MPLS]
- H04L 12/4641: {Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] (LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272)}
- H04L 45/32: {Flooding (denial of service attacks H04L63/1458)}
- H04L 45/44: Distributed routing
- H04L 45/48: Routing tree calculation
- H04L 45/66: {Layer 2 routing, e.g. in Ethernet based MAN's}
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

An EVPN network device may advertise an EVPN IMET (type-3) route in a corresponding message to one or more peer EVPN network devices. The EVPN IMET route advertisement message may include an E-tree extended community indicating a leaf or root designation of a locally attached site at the advertising EVPN network device. The inclusion of the E-tree extended community in the EVPN IMET route advertisement message may provide desired traffic handling for implementing an EVPN E-tree service such as handling of BUM traffic.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of conveying Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) routing information, the method comprising:
advertising, by an EVPN network device, an EVPN Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag (IMET) route toward one or more peer EVPN network devices,
wherein the EVPN IMET route contains an Ethernet-tree (E-tree) extended community.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method defined in claim 1, wherein the E-tree extended community contains a leaf-indication flag.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method defined in claim 2, wherein the leaf-indication flag having a set value indicates that the advertised EVPN IMET route is associated with a leaf site and wherein the leaf-indication flag having a cleared value indicates that the advertised EVPN IMET route is associated with a root site.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method defined in claim 3, wherein the EVPN IMET route is advertised for a given Virtual Network Interface (VNI).

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The method defined in claim 3, wherein the EVPN IMET route is advertised for a given Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) label.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of the one or more peer EVPN network devices are configured, based on processing the EVPN IMET route containing the E-tree extended community, to perform ingress filtering of locally sourced traffic.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method defined in claim 6, wherein the locally sourced traffic comprises broadcast, unknown unicast, or multicast (BUM) traffic.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method defined in claim 6, wherein the locally sourced traffic comprises known unicast traffic.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of the one or more peer EVPN network devices are configured, based on processing the EVPN IMET route containing the E-tree extended community, to request admittance to a multicast group of the EVPN network device.

### Claim 10

A method of operating an Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) Ethernet-tree (E-tree) network device coupled to one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices via an underlay network, the method comprising:
receiving, by the EVPN E-tree network device, local broadcast, unknown unicast, or multicast (BUM) traffic from a local site; and
prior to conveying the BUM traffic to at least some of the one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices, performing ingress filtering of the BUM traffic at the EVPN E-tree network device based on EVPN Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag (IMET) route messages.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method defined in claim 10, wherein performing ingress filtering of the BUM traffic at the EVPN E-tree network device is based on a floodlist constructed based on the EVPN IMET route messages and wherein the EVPN IMET route messages are advertised by the one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method defined in claim 11, wherein the one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices are locally attached to a set of root sites and a set of leaf sites, wherein the local site, the set of root sites, and the set of leaf sites are associated with an EVPN instance, and wherein each of the IMET route advertisement messages contains an indication of a root attachment or a leaf attachment at a corresponding advertising peer EVPN E-tree network device in the one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method defined in claim 12, wherein the local site is a leaf site and wherein the floodlist identifies the set of root sites.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The method defined in claim 12, wherein the local site is a root site and wherein the floodlist identifies the set of root sites and the set of leaf sites.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The method defined in claim 11 further comprising:
receiving, by the EVPN E-tree network device, the BUM traffic from an additional local site, wherein the local site is for a first virtual local area network (VLAN) and the additional local site is for a second VLAN and wherein the EVPN E-tree network device implements a VLAN bundle containing the first and second VLANs; and
performing ingress filtering of the BUM traffic from the additional local site at the EVPN E-tree network device.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method defined in claim 15, wherein performing ingress filtering of the BUM traffic from the additional local site at the EVPN E-tree network device is based on an additional floodlist constructed based on additional IMET route advertisement messages advertised by at least some of the one or more peer EVPN E-tree network devices.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method defined in claim 16, wherein the local site is a leaf site and the additional local site is a root site and wherein the floodlist differs from the additional floodlist.

### Claim 18

A method of operating an Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) Ethernet-tree (E-tree) network device coupled to a peer EVPN E-tree network device via an underlay network, the method comprising:
receiving, by the EVPN E-tree network device, an EVPN Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag (IMET) route advertisement from the peer EVPN E-tree network device;
sending, by the EVPN E-tree network device, a message for admittance to a multicast group for the peer EVPN E-tree network device based on the received EVPN IMET route advertisement; and
receiving traffic generated by multicast replication within the underlay network based on the admittance to the multicast group.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, wherein the EVPN IMET route advertisement contains an E-tree extended community that includes an indication of a leaf or root designation for a corresponding site locally attached to the peer EVPN E-tree network device.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein the EVPN E-tree network device is locally attached to a leaf site, wherein the indication in the E-tree extended community indicates that the corresponding site locally attached to the peer EVPN E-tree network device is a root site.
