JUNIPER SPRINGS FORWARD: New IP backbone router quadruples capacity

Once it was a stigma to have the word "start-up" tacked on to a company. For Juniper Networks, however, that stigma appears to have dissipated in the wake of newer and faster core networking gear the vendor keeps producing.

In just 18 months, the vendor has obtained about a 15% portion of the IP router market share from networking giant Cisco Systems. And with the additional capacity of Juniper's newest brainchild, that percentage likely will escalate.

Juniper's new M160 router effectively quadruples the capacity of its predecessor, the M40, which supported line rates of OC-48c to OC-192c. Each interface in the M160 connects to a clear channel 10 Gb/s circuit, rendering the router capable of handling 160 Gb/s of throughput.

"We have had the luxury of starting from a clean sheet," said Scott Kriens, CEO of Juniper.

The equipment also is a result of a vicious cycle, Kriens said. "You build the core, which burdens the edge. You rescue the edge, then rebuild the core, which creates a continuous cycle."

Because the M160 essentially is an upgrade of the M40 and uses the same software, it is compatible with the M40 and M20 routers. "We are seeing immediate acceptance because of the operational transparency," Kriens said.

One carrier already familiar with Juniper, Cable & Wireless, carries the traffic on a clear channel OC-192c 10 Gb/s IP/multiprotocol label switching circuit between points of presence in Washington and New York.

"We were already using [the M160's] little brother, the M40," said Jeff Young, vice president of engineering for C&W. "We determined those to be best of breed at the time, and the same was true for the M160."

C&W already has purchased 24 routers and plans to deploy them in the U.S. and Europe, Young said.

MCI WorldCom's data and Internet arm, UUNet, also is taking the Juniper plunge. UUNet is activating OC-192c circuits using the Juniper routers between three major hubs in Chicago, New York and Washington. Ironically, MCI WorldCom holds an early equity stake in Juniper.

"We were trying out the Juniper software before the hardware even existed," said Mike O'Dell, senior vice president and chief scientist for UUNet.

C&W's and UUNet's reasons for choosing the Juniper product are strikingly similar. "Everyone talks, but the M160 is the first product to qualify in the backbone, both hardware- and software-wise," O'Dell said.

But a Cisco representative disagreed, noting that Cisco already has reached terabit levels with OC-192c.

"We have already done trials for OC-192c with Qwest, and they have deployment plans for the second half of this year," said Kelly Ahuja, director of marketing for Cisco, referring to trials of the Cisco 12016 GSR router. To reach the terabit levels, Cisco suggests deploying the 12016 side by side.

"If they join four 2.5 Gb/s [routers] and run them together, that is really cheating," Young said. "If I wanted to do that, I could have done it with the Marconi equipment I already have."

Adding more salt to Cisco's wound, O'Dell said that UUNet will be replacing some Cisco 12000 GSRs in its network with Juniper equipment.