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 utilizes the same Junos operating system and programmable Trio chipset microcode as the physical MX Series portfolio. The vMX and MX Series routers can be selected based on specific goals and objectives without any operational penalty or risk, 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 2 (virtual private LAN service, L2 circuits, L2VPN, and EVPN); Layer 2.5/MPLS (LDP, RSVP, P2MP LDP, and RSVP, with class of service/ QoS); Layer 3 (unicast and multicast L3VPNs with CoS/QoS); BNG/LNS; and a variety of multicast techniques (physical interface module, Internet Group Management Protocol, Multicast Listener Discovery, multicast generic routing encapsulation).

Comprehensive BNG Capabilities

The vMX makes an ideal BNG for extending broadband services to residential consumers and extending network access to wholesalers. The extensive suite of BNG feature support includes L2TP network server/Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (LNS/L2TP), Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCPv4/v6), Pseudowire Headend Termination (PWHT), static and dynamic (RADIUS) subscriber interfaces, DHCP local server and relay, QinQ, integrated firewall filters, and reverse-path forwarding (RPF) check.

High-Performance Virtual Route Reflection

The vMX also supports virtual route reflection, which is optimized for high scale and performance and offers key features such as route target address family (RFC4684), BGP ADD_PATH, 4 byte Adaptive Services system support, L2VPN address families (RFC4761, RFC6074), and multihop BFD for both BGPv4 and BGPv6. Virtual route reflection helps operators efficiently increase network scale and avoid the cost and complexity of dedicated physical routing platforms.

Improve Control Plane Scale

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 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) Marketplace where it can provide secure routing between AWS virtual path connections (VPCs), private clouds, and on-premises resources. Additionally, AWS customers can bring their own vMX license or take advantage of hourly or annual “pay-as you-go” pricing. The vMX can also be installed on the NFX250-S2-R, enabling customers to deploy a single-vendor hardware/software solution.

Value-Added Service Integration

A suite of licensed virtual services, including IPsec to Layer 7 application awareness (based on deep packet inspection technology), stateful firewall, and carrier-grade NAT, can be optionally added to the vMX. These virtual services broaden the use cases and revenue opportunities that network operators can address while maintaining a single OS for routing and services.

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 lowrisk 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:

Documentation:

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