This article explains the behavior observed in the VPLS/EVPN instance forwarding table.
In the topology below, R1, R2, R3 and R4 are the core-routers. R5 and R6 are the Customer end devices. In R1 and R4, there is one VPLS instance called VPLS_TEST and one EVPN instance called EVPN_TEST.

R1-R2=10.1.1.0/30
R2-R3=10.1.1.4/30
R3-R4=10.1.1.8/30
R4-R1=10.1.1.12/30
Two LSPs are created in the core:
- LSP_1 = Strict hop to R4
- LSP_2 = Strict hop to R4 via R2 and R3.
Instances configured on R1:
VPLS:
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST instance-type vpls
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST interface ge-0/0/4.707
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST vrf-target target:65000:1
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST protocols vpls no-tunnel-services
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST protocols vpls site SITEA site-identifier 1
set routing-instances VPLS_TEST protocols vpls site SITEA interface ge-0/0/4.707
EVPN:
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST description "To-R4"
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST instance-type evpn
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST vlan-id 3057
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST interface ge-0/0/3.3057
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST vrf-target target:4787:3057
set routing-instances EVPN_TEST protocols evpn interface ge-0/0/3.3057
VPLS/EVPN instances are configured the same way on R4. When checking the routing table of each instance, both the active and best path LSPs are seen as below:
user@MX# run show route table VPLS_TEST.l2vpn.0
VPLS_TEST.l2vpn.0: 2 destinations, 2 routes (2 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
121.100.5.97:11:2:1/96
*[BGP/170] 00:05:13, localpref 100, from 121.100.5.97
AS path: I, validation-state: unverified
to 10.1.1.2 via ae3.0, label-switched-path LSP_2
> to 10.1.1.13 via ge-0/0/2.181, label-switched-path LSP_1
121.100.5.112:11:1:1/96
*[L2VPN/170/-101] 00:05:25, metric2 1
Indirect
user@MX# run show route table EVPN_TEST.evpn.0
EVPN_TEST.evpn.0: 4 destinations, 6 routes (4 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
2:121.100.5.97:9::3057::56:68:a5:d1:05:c4/304 MAC/IP
*[BGP/170] 00:00:03, localpref 100, from 121.100.5.97
AS path: I, validation-state: unverified
> to 10.1.1.2 via ae3.0, label-switched-path LSP_2
to 10.1.1.13 via ge-0/0/2.181, label-switched-path LSP_1
2:121.100.5.112:9::3057::56:68:a5:d1:06:fa/304 MAC/IP
*[EVPN/170] 00:00:04
However, when checking the forwarding table for each instance, we see load balancing i.e ECMP without per packet load balancing configured:
user@MX# run show route forwarding-table family vpls destination 56:68:a5:d1:05:c5
Routing table: VPLS_TEST.vpls
VPLS:
Enabled protocols: ACKed by all peers,
Destination Type RtRef Next hop Type Index NhRef Netif
56:68:a5:d1:05:c5/48 user 0 indr 1048577 5
ulst 1048574 2
10.1.1.2 Push 262145, Push 299840(top) 631 2 ae3.0
10.1.1.13 Push 262145 634 2 ge-0/0/2.181
user@MX# run show route forwarding-table vpn EVPN_TEST
Routing table: EVPN_TEST.evpn
EVPN:
Enabled protocols: Single VLAN, ACKed by all peers, EVPN, ARP/NDP suppression,
Destination Type RtRef Next hop Type Index NhRef Netif
default perm 0 dscd 591 1
56:68:a5:d1:05:c4/48 user 0 chain 15695870 2
56:68:a5:d1:06:fa/48 user 0 ucst 596 4 ge-0/0/3.3057
0x30006/51 user 0 comp 645 2
ge-0/0/3.3057 intf 0 ucst 596 4 ge-0/0/3.3057
0x30004/51 user 0 comp 618 2
0x30002/51 user 0 comp 615 2
intf 0 indr 1048581 3
ulst 1048580 2
10.1.1.2 Push 299808, Push 299840(top) 609 2 ae3.0
10.1.1.13 Push 299808 630 2 ge-0/0/2.181
This is the expected behavior for the VPLS/EVPN (L2 services). Whereas for the L3VPN, this is not the behavior. The active path chosen will be show in the forwarding-table.
L3VPN_TEST.inet.0: 2 destinations, 3 routes (2 active, 0 holddown, 0 hidden)
+ = Active Route, - = Last Active, * = Both
10.10.10.10/32 *[Static/5] 00:00:18
Receive
172.16.1.1/32 *[BGP/170] 00:00:18, localpref 100, from 121.100.5.97
AS path: I, validation-state: unverified
to 10.1.1.2 via ae3.0, label-switched-path LSP_2
> to 10.1.1.13 via ge-0/0/2.181, label-switched-path LSP_1
user@MX# run show route forwarding-table destination 172.16.1.1 table L3VPN_TEST
Routing table: L3VPN_TEST.inet
Internet:
Enabled protocols: Bridging, All VLANs,
Destination Type RtRef Next hop Type Index NhRef Netif
172.16.1.1/32 user 0 indr 1048579 2
10.1.1.13 Push 314800 678 2 ge-0/0/2.181