Juniper integrates Contrail Cloud into Red Hat OpenStack Platform
Juniper Networks, an American multinational corporation for networking products, announced updates to its Contrail Cloud Platform, a turnkey cloud management platform that automates and orchestrates compute, storage and networking resources to create scalable clouds. As part of the update, Juniper has integrated Contrail Cloud into Red Hat OpenStack Platform, an open source software that manages pools of compute, storage and networking within a datacenter through an administrative dashboard.
Several companies want to take advantage of the cloud, but are plagued by technical difficulties while making the transition. In a poll consisting of Juniper customers, almost 40% of respondents cited a “lack of visibility for all parts of cloud networks” as their top challenge in switching to the cloud. Operational complexity was deemed the second biggest challenge cited by Juniper customers followed by gaps among engineers to manage the cloud, and rip-and-replace costs.
“Realizing the benefits of the cloud is near the top of the list for strategic imperatives for nearly all service providers big and small – equivalent to keeping costs low and innovation high,” explained Pratik Roychowdhury, senior director of product management, Contrail at Juniper Networks. “Unfortunately for many, that move isn’t as easy as just flipping a switch. Based on our experiences in helping to run the cloud networks of some of the largest telcos in the world, we are introducing an easy, prescriptive path to building and operating a cloud, and making it available to all,” he added.
According to Juniper, Contrail makes it easier to launch the telco cloud by simplifying the underlying Linux distribution with Red Hat. As part of the update, Contrail Cloud now includes the automation and optimization of AppFormix, a software for removing and thwarting resource contention among applications from the infrastructure, which Juniper acquired in 2016. The software automates the operations of applications and software-defined infrastructure.
Juniper also expanded its relationship with Red Hat by integrating Contrail Cloud to Red Hat OpenStack Platform, a production-ready Infrastructure-as-a-Service solution, and Red Hat Ceph Storage, an open source platform that provides unified software-defined storage on standard, economical servers and disks. The update builds upon the relationship between the two companies. Earlier this year, Juniper joined OpenShift Commons and Hub communities, and has earned the Red Hat OpenShift Primed technical readiness designation.
Moreover, Contrail Cloud now includes a pre-vetted hardware and software compatibility list that is intended to make cloud deployments easier. The solution can support Juniper’s vSRX Virtual Firewall, Affirmed Networks’ Mobile Content Cloud virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) solution, and future third-party virtual network functions.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Juniper Networks to reduce the complexity of building a cloud and deliver an open, cloud-grade solution,” Radhesh Balakrishnan, general manager, OpenStack, Red Hat. “As an industry leader for OpenStack and Ceph, we’ve set a clear vision for how software-defined compute and storage can play a transformational role in high-performance service provider clouds for NFV solutions. Building on Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red at Ceph Storage, Contrail Cloud offers a compelling solution for customers to help them realize the true benefits of cloud and NFV.”
