Juniper Networks' SD-WAN as a Service Reshapes Enterprise Branch Networks

On April 9, 2019, Juniper Networks, a provider of automated, scalable, and secure network products and solutions, announced the launch of a cloud-delivered version of its SD-WAN solution, the most scalable solution on the market today. Juniper Networks' new Contrail service orchestration provides an easy way for enterprises to not only manage WAN infrastructure and maintain its security, but also manage and provide security for branch LANs and Wi-Fi networks that are typically deployed with the WAN.

The economic benefits of the cloud market are obvious to all. Enterprises are currently using cloud applications and services to achieve cost-effectiveness and agility. Cloud-delivered solutions allow enterprises, especially those with fast-evolving, distributed layouts, to significantly simplify their operations without having to run software themselves.

But this simplification should not come at the expense of an enterprise's ability to cope with growth and complexity. Juniper's cloud-based, scalable SD-WAN solution enables enterprises to prepare for the future while simplifying it. It combines the simplicity of a cloud delivery model with Contrail's centralized orchestration of network infrastructure, providing enterprises with advanced advantages such as automated network connectivity, security, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) for IT operations.

“Juniper’s Contrail SD-WAN as a Service makes the benefits of SDN accessible to any enterprise by making it easy to connect and manage Juniper’s complete suite of branch and WAN solutions,” said Manoj Leelanivas, chief product officer at Juniper Networks. “This is an important step in enabling our customers to realize AI-enabled IT operations, extending SDN transformation from the cloud and data center to the branch and WAN. The launch of this solution, coupled with our recent acquisition of Mist Systems, is a significant step forward in making SDN and AI-enabled IT operations a reality for enterprises of all sizes.”

The solution will enable new customer delivery models for Juniper's feature-rich WAN solutions, including new capabilities for secure automation throughout the enterprise branch services deployment lifecycle:

More flexible SD-WAN: Juniper SD-WAN now supports more variants, including passive redundant hybrid WAN links, WAN edge CPE or centralized WAN hub Internet breakout, as well as hub-and-spoke, partial interconnection, dynamic full interconnection and other topologies. The third-party EANTC has also conducted large-scale testing on more than 10,000 spoke sites for this purpose. Juniper SD-WAN is highly multi-tenant and has the potential to reach unprecedented scale.

Centralized management of branch LANs and WANs: By connecting Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches to single or dual WAN gateways on NFX or SRX Series devices, customers can centrally automate WAN and LAN policies and secure connectivity configurations.

Security Management: Customers now have more choice and control over managing their security needs, including integration with cloud security provider ZScaler, and management of next-generation firewall capabilities on SRX or NFX devices, including Juniper Networks Sky ATP.

Integration with Mist Systems: Mist, the AI-based smart operations provider that launched the world’s first AI-driven wireless LAN, is now integrated with the new SD-WAN management interface. In addition to WAN, LAN and security, customers can now access operational and analytical data about Wi-Fi.

Open, adaptable solution: As a solution that helps enterprises adapt quickly and grow flexibly, Juniper Networks SD-WAN allows customers to extend secure SD-WAN to cloud hubs by adding vSRX to public cloud IaaS. In addition, Juniper Networks' standards-based open architecture and application programming interfaces also support seamless system integration and NetOps workflow automation operations.

Juniper Financial Services: Juniper Networks now offers eligible customers a range of preferential plans through Juniper Financial Services (JFS), making it easier for customers to access these solutions built for the AI-driven enterprise. JFS provides “simple” financing through payment plans for bundled solutions, including Juniper’s Contrail Service Orchestration and Mist Wireless LAN, campus and branch network hardware and software solutions.

“As the City of Portsmouth takes a holistic approach to how our network operations can facilitate connectivity for our planned smart city and even smart region, our partnership with Juniper Networks has been invaluable,” said Daniel Jones, CIO, City of Portsmouth, Virginia. “Juniper’s new SD-WAN solution will provide us with the simplicity, flexibility and security necessary to move beyond our initial smart city goals and become a center of excellence for digital business technology.”

With Juniper Networks SD-WAN as a Service, Juniper Networks has laid the foundation for the next phase of multi-cloud transformation, enabling enterprises to centrally connect distributed infrastructure and centrally orchestrate operations. This scalable, open and future-proof solution provides enterprises with the simplicity of cloud-delivered services and the powerful performance and security of software-defined networks.