Juniper aims at simplifying campus fabric deployment

Juniper Networks is looking to ease complicated campus networking by automatically configuring and helping manage Ethernet VPN-Virtual Extensible XLAN (EVPN/VXLAN) deployments.

Juniper also expanded its EX family of switches aimed at campus distribution deployments and low-density data-center top-of-rack environments, according to Jeff Aaron, vice president of enterprise marketing for Juniper.

Juniper has rolled out a process called campus fabric workflow, under its subscription-based Wired Assurance program. Campus fabric workflow can help customers deploy common standards-based campus fabrics, such as EVPN multihoming, EVPN core/distribution and IP Clos for VLAN extensions with an easy process that lets them pick their desired topology, assign devices/roles and push configurations, Aaron said.

Wired Assurance taps into Juniper’s network operating system, Junos OS, and gathers telemetry data to measure network performance for connected endpoints, including IoT devices, the company said. It also features anomaly detection to alert when there is a deviation in switch performance from baseline metrics, typically before users are aware. It works in combination with Juniper’s Mist ML/AI platform that helps deploy, provision, and manage Juniper boxes.

Mist program has supported fabric-management capabilities in the past but that has now been extended to the Wired Assurance program.

“Together the campus fabric workflow and Mist can make it much simpler to configure and manage the network, then, once it is deployed, gather insights about what apps are running and what devices are accessing them,” said Christian Gilby, senior director or product marketing with Juniper. In addition, it can identify and correct a wide array of switching problems, such as missing VLANs, port flaps, and bad cables, Gilby said.

“The idea is to help customers reduce the time and cost of designing, provisioning, and deploying standards-based networks such as EVPN while improving connectivity and security,” Gilby said.

Juniper also announced services called Juniper Mist Wired Assurance Deployment Service and Juniper Mist Campus Deployment Service that will give access to Juniper experts, automation tools, and best-practice design methodologies to help improve workflows and reduce the burden on IT teams, Aaron said.

New EX distribution switch

On the hardware side, Juniper has expanded its EX switch portfolio with the 1RU EX4400-24X Distribution Switch. The 24x10GbE port, 1080Gbps capacity EX4400 can be deployed as a distribution switch in large campuses or a core switch in small or medium campus networks. It features zero-touch provisioning and can be automatically configured and managed via Mist Wired Assurance.

Juniper’s Virtual Chassis technology enables configuring and managing up to 10 of the switches as a single logical device, according to Aaron.