Download A Flexible and Scalable Lab Environment

SOLUTION BRIEF
A Flexible and Scalable Virtual
Lab Environment
Using Junosphere to Cost-Effectively Design and Test Networks
Imagine that you can build a lab, on demand, as big as you want, when you want, and
running Juniper Networks® Junos® operating system….well now you have it. Juniper
Challenge
Enterprises and network operators
have long been challenged to find ways
to efficiently and accurately design and
test networks at production scale.
Networks Junosphere™ Lab is a groundbreaking offering that enables service providers
and enterprises to create and run Junos OS-based networks in a virtual environment.
Accessed from the cloud, Junosphere delivers something entirely unique in the
industry—the ability to design, model, and experiment with a real commercial network
operating system, the powerful Junos OS. Junosphere ’s flexibility, scale, and costefficiency offers users the potential to do things never before possible, and it means
Solution
that the service can be used in many different ways, according to your organization’s
Junosphere enables operators and
unique goals and objectives.
enterprises to access Junos OS on
In this solution brief, we outline a few of the many ways that organizations are already
demand, to create and run test networks
benefiting from the Junosphere environment. While the examples described herein
with an unparalleled level of realism,
are all unique and innovative, they are by no means comprehensive—Junosphere’s
flexibility, and scale. Junosphere
flexibility enables many possibilities beyond what would be feasible to cover in this
networks enable users to improve
solution brief.
the efficiency and performance of
production networks.
Benefits
• Increased flexibility and scale—
enables experimentation and
“what-if” modeling without risk to
The Challenge
Lab environments are important to anyone who manages, designs, or operates a network.
The ability to model network changes, plan new services, or simulate network outages can
enable network operators to reduce risk, improve the operation and performance of their
network, and ultimately increase the value they provide to customers.
production network or customer
Yet, as important as networking labs are, it has long been a challenge for service providers
SLAs
and enterprises to implement lab environments that approximate their operational
• Cloud-based delivery—connects
teams from multiple locations to a
single resource over basic Internet
connections
• Reduced costs—according to ACG
Research, Junosphere can lower
network. Acquiring and maintaining even small physical lab environments can be difficult
and expensive, and reproducing the network at realistic scale is simply not feasible for
most organizations. There are various software tools available, but they are not always an
accurate representation of commercial network operating systems.
The challenge is finding a network lab environment that delivers a high level of realism, can
scale to the size of your actual network, and can meet your objectives for cost-efficiency.
total cost of ownership by as much
as 90% compared to physical labs
1
The Juniper Networks Junosphere Solution
Junosphere Lab is a groundbreaking solution to the challenges
traditionally associated with network modeling, planning, and
testing. Delivered from the cloud, Junosphere enables you to
create and run networks in a virtual environment—using the same
Junos operating system that runs across Juniper routing and
security platforms.
Junosphere can also be a valuable tool if you are considering or
have already made the decision to move to a Juniper network. With
Junosphere, you can design your network in the cloud and provide
employee education in a risk-free environment. Junosphere will
also enable you to show others how the new network will operate,
along with the considerable advantages of moving to a single
operating system network. In the Junosphere environment, you can
perform what-if scenarios and evaluate network behavior prior to
The networks created within the Junosphere environment can be
easily scaled up or down; can be configured with huge time savings
over racking, stacking, and cabling physical equipment; and are more
cost-effective than their physical counterparts. This tremendous
flexibility means that Junosphere users can do things they might
never have thought possible before. Creating a test bed of hundreds
of routers is no longer impractical or cost prohibitive—networks
of this scale are easily and cost-effectively created within the
Junosphere environment. And this is just one of the many possible
uses for Junosphere.
introducing new hardware into your network.
Figure 1 illustrates how one customer has used the Junosphere
environment in exactly this manner. Prior to moving its network to
Juniper, this customer modeled the new network within Junosphere.
Using Junosphere Connector enabled linking the smaller physical
test lab with a production scale Junosphere environment network—
effectively replicating the entire physical network.
Testing the Untestable
The next scenario we will describe highlights two of the
In the sections below, we outline a few of the ways our customers
Junosphere environment’s primary benefits—scalability and
have used the Junosphere environment to help stimulate new
realism. Because Junosphere networks are built with Junos OS,
ideas, and we give you a sense of the power and potential of the
they offer the same protocol support and operational behavior
Junosphere offering for your organization.
as Juniper routers. This means that Junosphere networks can
test some of the most advanced routing features and protocols—
Design the New Network
protocols that may not be supported by other offerings—enabling
As more people become aware of the innovation, technology
you to evaluate the behavior of these features before introducing
advantage, and financial advantages that come with Juniper’s
them into your production network.
vision of the new network, an increasing number of organizations
are interested in switching to networks powered by Junos OS.
While the advantages of moving to Junos OS are extensive,
shifting to a new technology partner is never entirely without
challenges. Employees may need to be educated on the Junos
operating system, and there may be naysayers within the
Junosphere networks are capable of scaling to hundreds of
elements without requiring huge capital investments in physical
test platforms. Likewise, even the largest of networks within the
Junosphere environment consume no power, space, or cooling
resources in your own lab.
organization who doubt the power of Junos OS.
Physical Lab
Actual Network
Junosphere + Lab Network
Figure 1: Junosphere enables you to model and design a new network prior to rollout.
2
Virtual
Test Set
Junosphere Connector
Virtual
Test Set
Physical Lab
Figure 2: Junosphere can enable testing of advanced protocols at production scale.
This combination of scalability and realism can enable testing of
their physical network or a portion of it within the Junosphere
protocols and scale that simply wasn’t possible before Junosphere.
environment. Employees are given access to Junosphere, where
As an example, one customer was looking to introduce a multicast
they model new configurations and can practice resolving “what-
VPN service based on IPv6, and wanted to evaluate how this would
if” scenarios. Because the Junosphere environment runs Junos
impact the network. Testing this service required support of IPv6
OS, you can expect the network within Junosphere to behave
BGP multicast and dozens of provider edge (PE) routers to simulate
identically to the actual, physical Junos OS devices.
a production environment. (Figure 2)
In this manner, Junosphere can help instill employee confidence
This type of scenario would have been nearly impossible to test
and competence, reduce the risk of network downtime due to
without Junosphere. With Junosphere, this customer was able to
configuration errors, and speed the time it takes to recover from
rapidly evaluate and design its new service offering with minimal
network outages.
investment and maximum confidence.
Summary—Flexible, Scalable Cloud-Based
Lab Environment
Network “Flight Simulation”
One of the challenges of operating a large network is the fact that
no two networks are designed and operated exactly the same.
New or even existing employees within your organization may be
highly trained, competent, and proficient, but even configuration
or topology changes can behave differently according to
differences in network design. Or, if a network crisis should occur,
do your employees know the best course of action to resolve
issues on your network?
Junosphere is an innovative new offering which provides a level of
flexibility that enables many potential uses. Regardless of how you
choose to use the virtual Junosphere environment, it is a powerful
operational tool that can help you reduce risk, lower costs, and
improve network efficiency and performance. In this solution brief,
we have shared several of the ways our customers are currently
using Junosphere to design, test, and simulate networks today. In
the future, we look forward to hearing from other customers such as
With Junosphere, you can ensure that they do. Junosphere can be
you to see how Junosphere has helped make managing, operating,
used as the networking version of a “flight simulator.” Customers
and designing your network easier and more cost-efficient.
who have used Junosphere in this manner essentially replicate
Junosphere Lab
Your Network
Employee
Figure 3: Junopshere environment can serve as a “network simulator,” enabling employees to experiment and
learn on a replica of your real network.
3
Even more ways to use Junosphere
In addition to the detailed examples described in the body of this
brief, here are a few other ways you can take advantage of the
cloud-based Junosphere environment:
• Integrate networks from mergers and acquisitions with
confidence
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is in the business of network innovation. From
devices to data centers, from consumers to cloud providers,
Juniper Networks delivers the software, silicon and systems that
transform the experience and economics of networking. The
company serves customers and partners worldwide. Additional
information can be found at www.juniper.net.
• Move from IPv4 to IPv6 before there is a crisis
• Test interoperability
• Add a new node to an existing network
• Try new network traffic flow patterns
• Replicate stubborn outage patterns
• … and many more!
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Copyright 2011 Juniper Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Junos,
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3510427-001-EN
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Sept 2011
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authorized reseller.