What is Juniper?

What it is

Juniper started in routing, the job of steering traffic between networks. It later added switches, firewalls and wireless access points, so a company can build most of a network from one maker.

Junos OS runs across its routers, switches and SRX firewalls. It keeps a candidate configuration apart from the live one. An administrator edits the candidate, compares it with what is running, then commits it, and a commit can be set to roll back on its own if the administrator loses access. That makes a typing mistake much less likely to take a network down.

What businesses use it for

• Routing between sites: routers carry traffic between offices, data centers and internet providers.
• Firewalls at the edge: Juniper firewalls filter traffic where a business network meets the internet.
• Switching: switches link servers, desktops and access points inside a building.
• Wireless: access points provide Wi-Fi for offices and larger campuses.

How KawaConnect works with Juniper

If you already run Juniper, we will not push you to replace it. We review the existing setup, write down the interfaces, routing and rules in plain documents, and explain to your team what each device does.

Then we connect it to the rest of the network. That can mean placing a Juniper device alongside an OPNsense firewall, building VLAN segments, setting up site-to-site VPN, and adding monitoring so a failing link raises an alert. For businesses without a vendor preference, Ubiquiti UniFi is a simpler place to start.

Learn more

• Juniper Networks on WikipediaBackground on the company and its product lines, for readers who want context first.
• Junos OS on WikipediaAn overview of the operating system itself, useful if you are reading a Juniper configuration for the first time.
• Juniper documentationOfficial guides and references for Junos OS and Juniper hardware, written for administrators.