Juniper Networks vMX Virtual Router
Carrier-Grade Virtual Routing for Enterprises and Service Providers

Architecture and Key Components:

The vMX consists of the following:

• Virtual control plane (VCP), which is Junos OS hosted on a virtual machine (VM).
• The virtual forwarding plane (VFP) runs the packet forwarding engine, which is the programmable Trio microcode optimized and compiled for x86 environments. Intel toolkits, including Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) and Single Root IO Virtualization (SR-IOV), are also employed to further enhance forwarding performance.

OpenStack provides VM management and provisioning of infrastructure network connections, allowing vMX orchestration like any other cloud-based application and enabling customers to nondisruptively add the vMX to their operational environments. Additionally, the vMX is fully integrated with the Juniper Networks Contrail® Cloud Platform™, a turnkey cloud management solution that is hardened with open-source technologies including OpenStack, OpenContrail, Chef, and Puppet.

Features and Benefits:

MX Series and vMX: Consistent, Compatible, and Complementary

The vMX and MX Series routers can be selected based on specific goals and objectives without any feature inconsistencies or operational penalties, enabling customers to control the pace of their network evolution without disrupting established operating environments.

MX Series customers can use the vMX to scale out their networks without impacting operations or staff training. Similarly, customers can use the vMX to satisfy immediate needs and adopt MX Series routers for service scale-up at some future point, again without operational disruption.

World-Class Routing for World-Class Networks

The vMX is a true carrier-class router that supports the same broad set of IPv4/IPv6 capabilities available in the MX Series portfolio. This includes comprehensive VPN support at Layer 3 (unicast and multicast L3VPNs with CoS/QoS); BNG/LNS; and a variety of multicast techniques (physical interface module and Internet Group Management Protocol).

Additionally, the vMX supports advanced routing protocols such as Source Packet Routing in Networking (SPRING), also known as segment routing. SPRING helps operators ensure service quality and maximize network resource utilization by steering traffic based on the application's need at the source node.

Improve Control Plane Scale

Depending on the application, edge routers can run out of control plane resources before they run out of forwarding plane resources. The vMX overcomes this issue by allowing independent control plane and forwarding plane scale, enabling very large forwarding tables and a high number of flows to be supported.

Flexible Implementation Models

The vMX is available as licensed software for x86-based servers and on Amazon Web Services (AWS), where it can provide secure routing to the cloud and between virtual private clouds and virtual networks. Additionally, AWS customers can bring their own vMX licenses to the cloud, or take advantage of hourly or annual "pay-as you-go" pricing.

Low-Risk Market Entry and Expansion

Uncertain forecasts, facility costs, and pressure from incumbents can be formidable barriers to new market entry and geographic expansion. Implementing the vMX in data centers or collocation facilities instead of dedicated telco facilities is an easy and low-risk way to enter new markets and increase or decrease network capacity in response to disparities between forecast and actual service uptake. As demands grow, the vMX is easily scaled up; or conversely, if a service or market underperforms, vMX licenses and servers can be easily redeployed without stranding assets.

Automation and Programmability

Included in Junos OS, the Junos Automation Toolkit is a suite of tools supported on all Juniper Networks switches, routers, and security devices. These tools, which leverage the native XML capabilities of Junos OS, include commit scripts, op scripts, event policies and event scripts, and macros that help automate operational and configuration tasks. Additionally, the Juniper Extension Toolkit (JET) provides a modern programmable toolkit while maintaining a platform independent architecture, and includes support for:

• OpenConfig/YANG
• gRPC, Thrift, NETCONF
• JSON/XML
• API support for all modern programming languages
• Rich on-box scripting support using Python
• REST APIs

Together, Junos OS automation and programmability features save time by automating operational and configuration tasks, reduce the chance for error, speed troubleshooting, and maximize network uptime by warning operators of potential problems and automatically responding to system events.

Specifications:

vMX Minimum Hardware Requirements

vMX Minimum Software Requirements

Juniper Networks Services and Support

Juniper Networks is the leader in performance-enabling services that are designed to accelerate, extend, and optimize your high-performance network. Our services allow you to maximize operational efficiency while reducing costs and minimizing risk, achieving a faster time to value for your network. Juniper Networks ensures operational excellence by optimizing the network to maintain required levels of performance, reliability, and availability.

vMX Ordering Information

Bandwidth-based licenses are available for each application package for the following processing capacity limits: 100, 250, and 500 MB; 1, 5, 10, and 40 GB. Note: For 100, 250, and 500 MB, there is a combined SKU with all applications included.

Virtual BNG Ordering Information

Using the vMX as a virtual broadband network gateway (BNG) requires a vMX Premium bandwidth license for each virtual BNG instance (1, 5, 10, 40, or 100 GB) and a perpetual or annual Broadband Subscriber Scale license that is applied network wide. Broadband Subscriber Scale licenses are available in packages that support the following specific features.

The following table provides a list of Broadband Subscriber Scale licenses.

Queuing License Ordering Information

The following Queuing Licenses can be added to vMX licenses and vMX virtual BNG licenses

Dedicated Virtual Route Reflector Ordering Information

Dedicated vRR licenses are purchased independent of vMX licenses, and are based on control plane scale limits defined by RIB entries.

Documentation:

Download the Juniper Networks vMX Virtual Router Data Sheet (PDF).