Automation for the data centre

Designed with a flexible and open standards-based framework, Juniper’s network automation solutions simplifies the data centre by enabling automation across the full operations lifecycle – from network provisioning to management to orchestration – to streamline processes and eliminate the risk of human error. These solutions allow enterprises to capitalise on the benefits network automation has to offer today, with the flexibility to implement new and emerging technologies in the future, such as software-defined networking (SDN), as dictated by evolving business needs. These solutions include:

· Provisioning and management: Zero-touch provisioning, available on Juniper Networks® EX Series and QFX Series switches, enable network administrators to provision new switches within the network without manual intervention. Once initial set-up is complete, Juniper Networks Junos® Space Network Director provides a single network view, delivering a full lifecycle management solution that includes configuration, event management and monitoring.
· Automation with Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS: To increase business agility through IT automation, Juniper has integrated Puppet Labs software into the Junos operating system. Available now on the EX Series, QFX Series and the MX Series platforms, Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS lets IT teams seamlessly manage compute resources and networking infrastructure simultaneously. Rather than opening change tickets and waiting for network administrators to add VLANs to top-of-rack (ToR) switch ports, server administrators can use Puppet Enterprise for Junos OS to make these changes the same way they configure and provision servers today. Building upon Juniper’s continued commitment to open standards, this solution is vendor-neutral and open source, allowing customers to modify it to suit their needs.
· Orchestration with OpenStack: A Gold member of the OpenStack community, Juniper’s EX Series switches, QFX Series switches and QFabric integrates with OpenStack via the OpenStack Networking plugin. This integration simplifies the deployment of private, public and hybrid clouds through a set of standard application programming interfaces (APIs). Customers can deploy multi-tiered data centre applications faster and have greater flexibility managing both the physical network and virtual network infrastructures through either JunosV Contrail or VMware-based solutions.

While cloud computing is rapidly transforming business processes today by enabling greater IT flexibility and scalability, it also introduces new levels of network complexity and risk. Managing a diverse set of IT resources in a single pool can be difficult, particularly when configuring the network is a manual task. In a recent IDC survey commissioned by Juniper, when over 500 IT decision makers in the data centre were asked to name the foremost limitations of their network today, four of the top five responses indicated that slow and time-consuming manual changes negatively impacted network operations.

To address these challenges, data centre management paradigms are evolving from silos of manual command line interfaces (CLI) to automated and orchestrated workflows. Enterprise customers are readily seeking solutions to help alleviate the pain. In a recent survey, IDC reported that the top IT management respondents’ priorities over the next three years will be operational efficiency, investing in automation and orchestration, and reducing the complexity of management tools.

Whether deployed separately, or as part of a comprehensive data centre automation strategy, these solutions can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent on routine, yet necessary, tasks. They give IT organisations the ability to maximise their IT resources and derive greater levels of scale, reliability and agility from their networks.