When we launched the Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches back in January 2008, we were the first in the industry to introduce Virtual Chassis technology – the ability for multiple interconnected switches to behave as a single, logical device. Over time, this innovation drove the industry away from the monolithic hardware chassis model at the network edge and transformed the access layer, introducing simplicity and changing economics for the better.
“’And the switch is on,’ (Scott) Kriens said as he unveiled the new switches to the tune of the Scorpions staple ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane,’ as Hurricane was the rumored code name for the switching series.” – as quoted in CRN on January 2, 2008.
Now almost 12 years young, we believe that the Juniper EX Series continues to transform the networking industry with innovations such as our powerful, standards-based EVPN-VXLAN technology for connecting campus fabrics. We moved from hurricanes at launch to the Large Hadron Collider with the Juniper EX9200 switch, having recently been selected by CERN to help process more than 7.5 Tbps of data generated by their ongoing research – that I think is one of the most challenging environments in the world in terms of raw data transport volume.
Last quarter, the EX Series achieved a major milestone by exceeding two million units shipped to more than 30,000 customers who are building their businesses on the innovative EX Series portfolio and have achieved the #2 position in campus installed Ethernet ports in North America, large enterprise (as reported in the 650 Group’s 3Q19 Ethernet Switching Report).
The power and simplicity of the EX Series is helping Aston Martin’s IT team to advance the economics of their networking infrastructure, as noted by their director of IT.
“With Juniper, we have a high-performance network that is simpler, more consistent and easier to support. Juniper gives us a better return on investment.”
– Steve O’Connor, Director of IT, Aston Martin
Juniper’s EX Series portfolio has the flexibility to meet a wide range of requirements with deployments across top enterprise, service provider and cloud customers. Users can manage their software-defined LAN (SD-LAN) from cloud-based or on-premises management platforms. For a quick introduction to our cloud-managed SD-LAN capabilities across our EX Series and Mist products, check out this “SD-LAN 15 Features in 15 Minutes” video playlist.
Today, we are poised to accelerate this traction with the synergy created by Juniper’s April 2019 acquisition of Mist Systems, extending their AI for IT™ technology to the EX Series switches. With this synergy, EX Series customers can now gain insight into user/device performance, helping them to deliver better experiences by shifting to a proactive, AI-driven network.
Our AI-Driven Enterprise vision is resonating strongly with customers. For example, UT Dallas has deployed EX Series switches and is leveraging Mist AI. Here is what their CIO had to say about the deployment:
“Our campus network and helpdesk staff are under constant pressure to handle the influx of new mobile and IoT devices, coupled with an increased demand for digital learning initiatives that require a reliable and pervasive wired and wireless experience. We are transforming our campus network to address these challenges with state-of-the-art Mist Wi-Fi 6 access points, Juniper QFX and EX switches and a unified cloud and AI engine that delivers proactive and rapid troubleshooting, automated workflows and deeper insight enabling better decision making.”
– Frank Feagans, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, UT Dallas
The open Junos® OS heritage that the EX Series is built on was engineered for simplicity, interoperability and automation, allowing customers to easily scale and engineer their networks for reliability. One of our customers, Dartmouth College — which has deployed Juniper EX Series switches, QFX Series switches and Mist— recently spoke at an industry event, Network Field Day, where they shared their experiences about the powerful automation (and more recently added AI-Driven insights) capabilities of the EX Series (highlighted in this video). Thanks to these capabilities, they are saving three-person years relative to legacy solutions, as they refresh their access infrastructure to ready the campus for digital learning.
To learn more about how our EX Series Ethernet Switches can transform your business, check out our website and switch selector tool.
