Juniper Networks Simplifies Data Center Operations With Solutions for Automation

TOKYO–(Marketwired – Jun 11, 2013) – (Interop Tokyo) — Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR, news, filings), the industry leader in network innovation, today announced a holistic set of network automation and orchestration tools for simplifying data center operations. Extending the benefits of a simple to manage, flat, any-to-any network architecture, Juniper’s automation solutions incorporate continued advancements on its industry-leading networking platforms and Junos® operating system, as well as integration with leading orchestration and IT automation platforms, such as OpenStack and Puppet.

News Highlights:

Designed with a flexible and open standards-based framework, Juniper’s network automation solutions simplifies the data center by enabling automation across the full operations lifecycle – from network provisioning to management to orchestration – to streamline processes and eliminate the risk of human error. These solutions allow enterprises to capitalize on the benefits network automation has to offer today, with the flexibility to implement new and emerging technologies in the future, such as software-defined networking (SDN), as dictated by evolving business needs. These solutions include:

• Provisioning and management: Zero-touch provisioning, available on Juniper Networks® EX Series and QFX Series switches, enable network administrators to provision new switches within the network without manual intervention. Once initial set-up is complete, Juniper Networks Junos® Space Network Director provides a single network view, delivering a full lifecycle management solution that includes configuration, event management and monitoring.
• Automation with Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS: To increase business agility through IT automation, Juniper has integrated Puppet Labs software into the Junos operating system. Available now on the EX Series, QFX Series and the MX Series platforms, Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS lets IT teams seamlessly manage compute resources and networking infrastructure simultaneously. Rather than opening change tickets and waiting for network administrators to add VLANs to top-of-rack (ToR) switch ports, server administrators can use Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS to make these changes the same way they configure and provision servers today. Building upon Juniper’s continued commitment to open standards, this solution is vendor-neutral and open source, allowing customers to modify it to suit their needs.
• Orchestration with OpenStack: A Gold member of the OpenStack community, Juniper Networks has built into its EX Series switches, QFX Series switches and QFabric the ability to integrate with OpenStack via the OpenStack Networking plugin. This integration simplifies the deployment of private, public and hybrid clouds through a set of standard application programming interfaces (APIs). Customers can deploy multi-tiered data center applications faster and have greater flexibility managing both the physical network and virtual network infrastructures through either JunosV Contrail or VMware-based solutions.

While cloud computing is rapidly transforming business processes today by enabling greater IT flexibility and scalability, it also introduces new levels of network complexity and risk. Managing a diverse set of IT resources in a single pool can be difficult, particularly when configuring the network is a manual task. In a recent IDC survey commissioned by Juniper, when over 500 IT decision makers in the data center were asked to name the foremost limitations of their network today, four of the top five responses indicated that slow and time-consuming manual changes negatively impacted network operations.¹

To address these challenges, data center management paradigms are evolving from silos of manual command line interfaces (CLI) to automated and orchestrated workflows. Enterprise customers are readily seeking solutions to help alleviate the pain. In a recent survey, IDC reported that the top IT management respondents’ priorities over the next three years will be operational efficiency, investing in automation and orchestration, and reducing the complexity of management tools.²

Whether deployed separately, or as part of a comprehensive data center automation strategy, these solutions can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent on routine, yet necessary, tasks. They give IT organizations the ability to maximize their IT resources and derive greater levels of scale, reliability and agility from their networks.

Supporting Quotes:

“At iWeb, we pride ourselves on delivering reliable, 24×7 service, and Juniper’s routing and switching platforms help us meet that goal. As we continue to grow our business and move to a more virtualized environment with over 20,000 servers, we must automate our services without compromising the reliability our customers expect. Juniper’s switching platforms integrated with OpenStack will play a critical role, helping us maintain the agility to innovate with new services and features and keep our customers satisfied.”
– Christian Primeau, president and chief operating officer, iWeb

“Our experience with Juniper during our collaboration to create Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS led to us actually implementing the solution within our networking environment. Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS allowed us to seamlessly integrate our networking infrastructure with our server infrastructure, creating a more efficient and agile IT environment. The solution is easy to install and it behaves exactly like Puppet Enterprise for compute and storage resources, reducing the learning curve for those already familiar with the software.”
-Kelsey Hightower, head of IT operations, Puppet Labs

“Our customers want production grade OpenStack in a complete system, from software and reference architecture to certified hardware and 24/7 support. Cloudscaling’s Open Cloud System (OCS) does this, and Juniper Networks delivers OpenStack integration across its switching portfolio. Working together, we’ve integrated JunosV Contrail technology into OCS to deliver virtual private cloud services. Now, Cloudscaling has certified selected Juniper hardware, and both companies’ customers can deploy scalable, high-performing and agile clouds for a wide portfolio of workloads.”
– Azmir Mohamed, senior director of product management, Cloudscaling

“Our solution providers rely on the cloud and virtualized technology offerings from our suppliers to deliver agility and speed in those environments without adding a layer of network complexity. Juniper’s approach to network automation with Puppet for Junos OS allows our solution providers to offer a best-in-class solution that meets customers’ diverse needs and applications, while ensuring that customers benefit from flexible and easy-to-deploy network-based services.”
–Joe Burke, vice president of Enterprise Storage/Security Virtualization and Network Group, Arrow ECS, North America

“It’s a given that enterprises today are constantly being asked to do more with less. Yet new applications, services and workloads are being introduced all the time, putting additional strain on a network that’s already operating at full capacity. Other vendors try to solve the problem through point products that require network upgrades and new hardware. At Juniper, we are working with customers to help them increase network agility and simplify network operations through programmable platforms and reliability at scale based on hardware and software solutions that protect our customer’s investment. Everything we do, from new product development, incorporating open standards, to collaboration with leading technology partners, stems from this approach.”
– Jonathan Davidson, senior vice president, Campus and Data Center Business Unit, Juniper Networks

Additional Resources:

• More information on Juniper’s Simplified Operations solutions
• IDC Webinar: “Automate & Orchestrate the Network — Build Simple and Agile Data Centers“
• Videos:
  • Business Agility Starts in the Data Center: Simplifying Operations
  • Business Agility Starts in the Data Center: Flatter Architecture
• Blogs:
  • The Network Manager’s Dilemma: Wading Through the Acronym Soup by Calvin Chai
  • Frictionless IT Automation by Jeremy Schulman
  • Workflow Automation with Puppet for Junos OS by Harsh Singh
  • Agility for the Cloud with Juniper and OpenStack by Harsh Singh

¹ IDC, Why the Network Matters Survey, November 2012
² IDC, Systems Management Software Purchasing Priorities Must Focus on Productivity and Simplification in 2013, doc #239056, January 2013.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is in the business of network innovation. From devices to data centers, from consumers to cloud providers, Juniper Networks delivers the software, silicon and systems that transform the experience and economics of networking. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net) or connect with Juniper on Twitter and Facebook.

Juniper Networks and Junos are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The Juniper Networks and Junos logo are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.