# ARP Challenges in EVPN/VXLAN Symmetric IRB

DevFeed: [ARP Challenges in EVPN/VXLAN Symmetric IRB](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/arp-challenges-in-evpn-vxlan-symmetric-irb-11167.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.ipspace.net/2025/04/evpn-symmetric-irb-arp/>)

Published: 2025-04-03T06:30:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [ipSpace.net blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ipspace-net-blog.md>)

Topics: [evpn](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/evpn.md>), [VXLAN](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/vxlan.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>), [interoperability](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/interoperability.md>)

Tags: [arp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/arp.md>), [debugging](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/debugging.md>), [evpn](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/evpn.md>), [interoperability](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/interoperability.md>), [netlab](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/netlab.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/networking.md>), [ospf](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ospf.md>), [troubleshooting](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/troubleshooting.md>), [vxlan](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vxlan.md>)

## AI overview

An EVPN/VXLAN symmetric IRB integration test exposed interoperability issues between Nokia SR Linux or Juniper vSwitch and an FRR container. The article describes the lab topology and initial troubleshooting findings, including ARP behavior that prevented some expected connectivity.

## Source excerpt

Whenever I claimed that EVPN is The SIP of Networking, vendor engineers quickly told me that "EVPN interoperability is a solved problem" and that they run regular multi-vendor interoperability labs to iron out the quirks. As it turns out, things aren't as rosy in real life; it's still helpful to have an EVPN equivalent of the DTMF tone generators handy. I encountered a particularly nasty quirk when running the netlab EVPN integration test using symmetric IRB with an anycast gateway between Nokia SR Linux (or Juniper vSwitch) and FRR container. Lab topology Read more ...