Specifications

32 Copyright © 2009, Juniper Networks, Inc.
DESIGN GUIDE - Data Center LAN Connectivity Design Guide
In addition to a command line interface (CLI), J-Web—built-in JUNOS Software—offers remote Web-based
management of all M Series models. Built-in troubleshooting also minimizes network downtime and decreases
operating expenses and revenue losses due to outages.
The M Series consolidates multiple services into a single platform, providing the lowest possible CAPEX. The rich
feature set allows customers to trial many different services without capital expenditure and scale successful
services to larger populations.
For a full set of features, benefits and specifications please see the Juniper Networks M Series Services Routers
data sheet.
For a more complete discussion on WAN Edge integration, please see the Juniper Networks Migrating to Next
Generation WANs data sheet.
Operational Simplicity and Unified Management
Network operations form a large portion of any IT budget, and any methods of simplifying data center LAN
operations help reduce operations expense. The four main challenges that complicate the streamlining of network
operations are:
Inconsistent Feature Set
Most hardware solutions have different operating systems or feature implementations for each platform. One leading
switch provider has hundreds of different operating systems in its product line, requiring IT to invest considerably
in training to master a variety of interfaces. It also adds a layer of inefficiency and complexity while increasing the
potential for misconfiguration when trying to apply consistent enterprise-wide services across the data center LAN,
WAN, campus LAN, and remote branch LANs.
Upgrades and Deployments
Testing and deploying operating system upgrades or patches can be a time-consuming and ongoing process due to
the number of different operating systems found in most legacy data center LAN solutions and the varying release
schedules to which each adheres.
Unreliable Monolithic Operating Systems
Legacy hardware solutions have operating systems built on a monolithic architecture with each code function
intertwined with the others. If any part of the monolithic operating system fails—for example, a bug in SNMP—the
operating system crashes and reboots the system. Such a fault can cause the line cards to crash or restart, resulting
in hundreds of seconds of downtime —which ripples across the enterprise, adversely affecting the bottom line.
Lack of Unified Management
The lack of unified features also impacts all aspects of setting and managing device configurations, network
settings, and security policies. Not only do different interfaces increase the time of each task, but operations costs
are further increased as IT needs to visit remote branch locations to configure devices, apply network settings and
set security policies. What’s needed instead is a set of unified and centralized management tools to address these
types of operations remotely.
Juniper Networks addresses all of these issues and reduces costs by providing JUNOS software, Juniper Networks
Network and Security Manager (NSM), and J-Web.
Achieving Operational Simplicity with JUNOS Software
JUNOS Software is the common operating system on all Juniper Networks switches, routers, firewalls and
acceleration solutions. Not only does JUNOS Software deliver advanced carrier-class network services, it provides a
consistent feature set, and a centralized management capability which simplifies planning, speeds implementation,
and enables intuitive day-to-day operations and management of any network.
The Power of JUNOS Software
Fundamental to the value of the JUNOS Software are the “three ones”—one source code, one release train and
one modular architecture. By running a common operating system on all products, Juniper dramatically reduces
maintenance and management overhead while ensuring interoperability and a consistent feature set across
all products.