EVPN for the rest of us – what happens when software people try to use EVPN#

Molly Miller (Flying Circus Internet Operations)

• Why: A first-hand account of migrating from flat L2 to EVPN-VXLAN terminated directly on Linux hypervisors — a design choice directly relevant to the PM's cloud-native + physical DC intersection. Zero-downtime migration execution and honest pain points from a production deployment.
• What: A software-centric organization designed and deployed EVPN-VXLAN on Linux hypervisors over ~9 months, culminating in a week-long zero-downtime production migration. Covers debugging tales, technical decisions, unexpected surprises, and remaining pain points a year later. (from abstract and page only — no slides/PDF available)
• How: EVPN-VXLAN terminated directly on Linux hypervisors (rather than TOR switches), which implies FRR/Linux-based VTEPs and control plane rather than traditional NOS-based EVPN. The talk promises details on the peculiar technical decisions and ongoing operational pain.
• Where applicable: Small-to-mid DC operators with strong Linux/software expertise who want to modernize from flat L2 without a traditional switch-centric EVPN fabric. The "EVPN on Linux hosts" approach is broadly adoptable but requires software networking depth. Flying Circus is a German ISP/hosting provider — the pattern applies to similar-scale operators.