Juniper Networks New High-Performance Carrier Ethernet Plataforms Enable Service Providers To Accelerate Next-Generation Services

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR), the leader in high-performance networking, today announced the expansion of its Carrier Ethernet portfolio with new platforms, system hardware and software enhancements designed to enable the efficient and cost-effective deployment of Ethernet networks and services. With the new MX240 and MX480 Ethernet Services Routers, the MX-series now delivers industry-leading performance and scale in a range of compact, efficient form factors. Juniper also announced a suite of new Dense Port Concentrator (DPC) cards that maximize MX-series system flexibility, enabling providers to drive new sources of revenue while reducing cost and complexity.

“The MX240 and 480 extend the high-performance and capacity of the MX960 to compact form factors that fit a broad range of applications,” said Raj Patel, vice president of network, system and storage engineering at Yahoo!. “We are pleased to see Juniper expanding its MX-series portfolio with this announcement.” The MX-series leverages the proven JUNOS software as its operating system, which now delivers many scalable Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) innovations and new Layer 2 operations, administration and management (OAM) capabilities and features, in addition to full Layer 2 switching. The powerful combination of these next-generation hardware platforms with JUNOS improve the performance and scalability of Carrier Ethernet, while also simplifying the deployment, provisioning and management of new services.

Breakthrough Carrier Ethernet Performance and Scale
The new MX240 delivers 240 Gbps of switching or routing capacity in a compact 5 rack unit (RU) form factor; the MX480 features 480 Gbps of capacity in an 8 RU size. The platforms can simultaneously support up to 120 and 240 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, respectively, which is more than twice the capacity of similarly-sized Carrier Ethernet platforms. Because the MX-series can support more than twice as many interfaces per chassis, customers can increase the energy efficiency of their networks, reducing power, space and cooling costs by as much as 60 percent. Both platforms scale to support over 1 million MAC addresses–15 times more than the closest currently available competitive offering–which enables providers to overcome one of the major challenges associated with scaling Ethernet to support large service provider deployments.

In combination with the MX960, the new platforms further strengthen Juniper’s expanding position in the multi-billion-dollar Ethernet market, and offer service providers a greater degree of choice and flexibility. Synergy Research is forecasting Carrier Ethernet Equipment revenue to increase to over $7 billion by 2011 with a CAGR of 17 percent.

“Ethernet has clearly become the technology of choice for service providers who are increasing bandwidth to support new applications, such as digital media, while also needing to reduce costs,” said Ray Mota, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group. “With bandwidth-intensive applications transforming network architectures at the edge, Juniper has addressed this opportunity with the introduction of the MX240 and MX480. With the same functionality as the MX960, but in a smaller form factor, they are giving service providers more cost-effective choices to meet their specific capacity requirements.”

With the MX-series, Juniper is delivering the industry’s broadest range of next-generation Carrier Ethernet platforms, which allows customers-including wireline service providers, MSOs, wireless operators and large data centers-to deploy the optimally sized Ethernet platform to meet a range of requirements. The MX-series is fully policy-enabled via tight integration with the Session and Resource Control portfolio.

To maximize the flexibility and performance of the MX-series in multiple network environments, Juniper is also introducing a suite of new DPC cards, which deliver high-density Ethernet interfaces and a range of service capabilities. The new and enhanced DPC Cards include:

Switching and Routing (DPCE-R): Mid-range solution that can operate as either a complete Layer 3 router or purely Layer 2 switch. Provides maximum flexibility and reduces sparing costs.
Layer 2 Switching: (DPCE-X): Cost-optimized solution designed for metro Ethernet Transport; operates at Layer 2 or 2.5.
Enhanced Queuing (DPCE-Q): Premium card that supports per-VLAN queuing (up to 64,000 queues per card), enabling providers to deploy business Ethernet services with committed bandwidths and QoS characteristics. Increases service revenue opportunities; ideal for migrating Frame Relay and ATM VPNs.
All of the above DPCs are available with 4x10 Gigabit Ethernet and 40x Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and are interchangeable across the MX-series line, reducing operational complexity, minimizing sparing costs and providing superior investment protection.

Simplifying Deployment and Management: Proven JUNOS Software
With a single release train developed from a single code source base, JUNOS software is designed to reduce the operational complexity of deploying large MPLS and Ethernet networks with a rich set of IP-service and automated operations features. Juniper is now further expanding the industry-leading JUNOS operating system with a full range of scalable VPLS innovations and Ethernet Operations, Administration and Management (OAM) features that provide the tools needed to configure and provision Carrier Ethernet networks in a “plug-and-play” manner.

JUNOS software now includes standards-based features such as IEEE 802.1ag to simplify fault management, as well as the industry’s most compressive range of VPLS features, including support for both BGP- and LDP-based VPLS; egress multicasting capabilities for maximum bandwidth efficiency; and advanced multi-homing for high reliability and resiliency all the way to the Ethernet edge. Together, the enhanced JUNOS software and MX-series platforms enable service providers to quickly and cost-effectively deliver a range of high-performance, scalable Ethernet services while simplifying network operations.

“When Juniper announced the MX960 last year, we established new levels of performance, scale and reliability previously unseen in the Carrier Ethernet market, and truly raised the bar for Carrier Ethernet,” said Kim Perdikou, executive vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Products Group at Juniper Networks. “With this announcement, we are now providing the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of high-performance Carrier Ethernet platforms, all of which can deliver superior scale and efficiency. By giving customers a greater degree of choice and flexibility for high-performance Ethernet, Juniper’s full suite of MX-series platforms enables providers to quickly drive new sources of revenue, while also reducing capital and operational expenditures.”

In addition the suite of MX-series chassis, line cards and JUNOS Carrier Ethernet features, Juniper is also delivering three new processor cards for its flagship M-series chassis, the M320. These new FPC-E3s take advantage of Juniper’s new I-chip ASIC development that increases system performance, scalability and provides additional QoS capabilities.

The MX480 ESR, DPCE-X layer 2 switching cards and FPC-3 cards are available immediately. The Enhanced Queuing DPCE-Q cards will be available in Q4 2007. The MX240 is expected to be generally available in Q1 2008.