Juniper reinforces its intent-based networking with Apstra purchase

Trying to shore-up its intent-based networking software program portfolio, Juniper has mentioned it can purchase Apstra for an undisclosed quantity. 

Based in 2014, Apstra’s declare to fame is its flagship Apstra Working System (AOS) software program which was developed from the begin to help IBN options. As soon as deployed, AOS retains a real-time repository of configuration, telemetry and validation data to continuously make sure the community is doing what the shopper needs it to do.

AOS additionally contains automation options to supply constant community and safety insurance policies for workloads throughout bodily and digital infrastructures. Its intent-based analytics carry out common community checks to safeguard configurations and is {hardware} agnostic so it may be built-in to work with merchandise from Cisco, Arista, Dell, Microsoft and Nvidia/Cumulus.

The corporate has had a powerful relationship with Juniper, most lately enhancing its help for Juniper’s Ethernet VPN (EVPN) which ensures that the VPNs are created correctly throughout all units and validates EVPN routing topology throughout the complete community. AOS can even stop customizations from being added to the community blueprint till they’re licensed as being in compliance with clients’ safety insurance policies. Each distributors have been robust supporters of creating Software program for Open Networking within the Cloud (SONiC), the open-source community working system, as nicely.

Including Apstra’s IBN and automatic closed-loop assurance experience advances Juniper’s imaginative and prescient to rework information middle operations mentioned Rami Rahim, CEO of Juniper Networks in an announcement. “With the mixture of Juniper and Apstra, clients get the most effective infrastructure and cloth administration with built-in design, deployment and automatic root trigger identification and remediation to fulfill any information middle setting,” he mentioned.

Apstra founder and CEO, David Cheriton, who will be part of Juniper as chief information middle scientist,  mentioned in a weblog concerning the acquisition that Apstra’s strategy has delivered substantial and quantifiable advantages to its numerous set of shoppers, equivalent to Accenture, Bloomberg and Yahoo Japan. 

“We’ve enabled them to search out ‘needle in haystack issues,’ like just a few mis-cabled ports throughout 10,000 units and dangerous fiber hyperlinks that have been debilitating the info middle,” Cheriton acknowledged. “Quick and correct root-cause identification and remediation is our specialty and important to saving clients money and time whereas making certain mission-critical infrastructures function as supposed. Collectively, on day one, we’ll ship unmatched intent-based networking and automatic steady validation, empowering simplified operations on prime of the main information middle portfolio, which is differentiated for its vary of cloth choices, wealthy telemetry and open programmability.”

The Apstra transfer is simply the most recent in a string of acquisitions Juniper has made to spice up its networking software program the place it had weaknesses, mentioned Lee Doyle, principal analyst at Doyle Analysis. “Apstra has some key automation and intent-based know-how that whereas not breakthrough, has some traction and can assist Juniper.”

Different Juniper acquisitions this yr embody 128 Expertise for SD-WAN know-how and Netrounds active-test and service-assurance applications for fastened and cell networks. It acquired wi-fi/AI specialist Mist in 2019.