Juniper updates target datacentre networking

Juniper Networks has unveiled new products and software updates which it claims will help enterprise IT departments reduce the cost and complexity of datacentre networking and offer better application and business performance.

The company's "3-2-1" datacentre network architecture will allow customers to simplify legacy networks by reducing switching layers from three to two, and eventually to one, via Juniper's Project Stratus fabric, the firm said.

Juniper also announced a series of updates to its switching portfolio, adding its first fixed Junos switch for 10GbE networks, the EX4500.

The switch, due for launch in the second half of the year, will support up to 48 10GbE interfaces and use 44 per cent less power, according to Juniper. It will also add support for Converged Enhanced Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet services.

Juniper also announced a new "dynamic security model" that offers improved network security for the datacentre to help IT adapt to user behaviour and changing data flows resulting from virtualisation and cloud services, the firm said.

The new model includes AppTrack software to provide application-level visibility and control for Juniper Networks' SRX Series Services Gateways, and AppSecure that provides distributed denial-of-service prevention for the SRX Series.

Andy Jolliffe, business development executive at Juniper, claimed that the updates can improve datacentre performance while introducing cost efficiencies by simplifying the network.

"The biggest change we are seeing is that firms want to introduce new technologies like virtualisation. But to do this effectively they need to scale their network to incorporate these services," he said.

"Current network architectures do not have these capabilities but we are helping to provide the next step, in terms of software and hardware, for simplifying the datacentre in order to increase its potential."

Juniper has partnered with FireEye to use the security firm's Malware Protection System to counter data breaches, targeted attacks and recurring malware intrusions.

Mark Bauhaus, executive vice president for Juniper's service layer technology business group, suggested that this new software will give users confidence in the protection of their networks as services hosted in the cloud continue to grow.

"Juniper's security solutions build confidence in the network, improve the user experience regardless of device, location or identity, and provide a critical foundation for cloud services," he said.

Juniper has also introduced four services designed to improve the automated provisioning, management and support of enterprise and datacentre networks.

Virtual Control is part of a partnership with VMware designed to accelerate virtual server deployments, while Ethernet Design enables the datacentre to dial up or down in line with application user requests.

Security Design, meanwhile, offers point-and-click security, and Service Now, combined with Service Insight, offers quick detection, diagnosis and resolution of network performance issues, the company claimed.

Jolliffe explained that Juniper has been working on the use of applications in the Junos Space centre for a while, and that the new products will enable customers to improve operational efficiency.

"By being able to flatten the datacentre architecture and use applications, firms can automate a number of time-consuming tasks, reduce the risk of input errors and save time by reducing the need to replicate tasks," he said.

Jolliffe added that Juniper has made capital funding available for smaller companies to design and develop specific applications for this infrastructure.

Lastly, Juniper has introduced an enterprise service portfolio for larger organisations called Juniper Care Plus designed to offer protection for high-performance network investments while increasing reliability and operational effectiveness, the firm said.

Mike Rose, executive vice president for service, support and operations at Juniper, claimed that the new service portfolio will help customers quickly integrate Juniper technology into enterprise and datacentre environments.

"Juniper Care Plus will pre-empt exposure to known issues, not just by identifying and resolving them, but by empowering customers and service partners to anticipate problems and take proactive measures to avoid them," he said.