Juniper Beefs Up Edge Router Line

Even though its recent headline-grabbing acquisitions have been aimed at technologies more interesting to the enterprise, Juniper Networks today will show it hasn't forgotten its bread-and-butter service provider customers, with a new router that Juniper claims has throughput capacity of up to 320 Gbps, and the ability to support 128,000 broadband services subscribers per box.

The latter figure may be of special interest to service providers who are looking to roll out new advanced IP services, such as Voice over IP or Internet television offerings, over higher-speed links to end users. By supporting more users and more bandwidth per box, Juniper said it can help providers tame operating expenses, always a concern even as providers start to open their wallets a bit more.

Tabbed the E320 broadband services router, Juniper's newest chassis is a "big brother" to the company's 300 series line, which had previously topped out at 40 Gbps and 48,000 subscribers per box. According to Juniper senior product marketing manager Dave Boland, the E320's capabilities are meant to give Juniper a competitive edge against competing products from Cisco Systems and Redback Networks in the market for broadband remote-access servers (B-RAS) that provide links between core networks and broadband end-users.

Juniper said the E320 also contains a host of software features designed to make the router as real-time as possible, allowing for continuous operation even when line cards are replaced or software is reconfigured. As providers start offering more always-on services like VoIP or TV programs, interrupting Internet access to reboot a router isn't an option anymore, Juniper's Boland said.

Routers that operate continously "are table stakes for everyone [in the router hardware market]," Boland said. Starting pricing for the E320 routers, which Juniper said will be available in September, will range from $115,000 to $150,000 for a model with 100 Gbps capacity to $115,000 to $195,000 for versions with 320 Gbps capacity.Juniper also announced new line cards for its existing ERX E-Series routers, including an 8-port Gigabit Ethernet module for its high-end ERX 1440 router as well as a module that combines ATM and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity on a single card, with two ATM ports and one Gig-E port.