Juniper Networks EX4550-32T Ethernet Switch
32-port 100M/1G/10G BASE-T, converged switch, 650 W AC PS, port side to PSU side airflow or PSU side to port side airflow

EX4500 Overview:

The Juniper Networks EX4550 line of Ethernet switches delivers scalable, high-performance platforms for supporting high-density 10 gigabit per second (Gpbs) data center top-of-rack as well as data center, campus, and service provider aggregation deployments.

Featuring up to 48 wire-speed 1GbE or 10GbE small form-factor pluggable transceiver (SFP/SFP+) or 100M/1GBASE-T/10GBASE-T ports in a compact one rack unit (1 U) platform, the Juniper Networks® EX4550 Ethernet Switch delivers 480 Gbps of Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity to networked devices such as servers and other switches. Two versions of the EX4550 base switch are available: a 32-port fiber-based version that provides 32 fixed 10GbE SFP/SFP+ pluggable ports, and a 32-port copper-based* version that supports 32 fixed 100M/1GBASE-T/10GBASE-T ports.

Both versions feature two expansion slots, one in front and one in back, that can accommodate one of four optional expansion modules, providing tremendous configuration and deployment flexibility for campus and data center access and aggregation networks. The four expansion modules include:

• A 128 Gbps Virtual Chassis module
• An 8x10GBASE-T copper expansion module*
• An 8x10GBASE SFP/SFP+ fiber expansion module
• A 2x40GbE expansion module*

Virtual Chassis Technology

The EX4550 supports Juniper Networks' unique Virtual Chassis technology, which enables up to 10 interconnected switches to operate as a single, logical device with a single IP address. Virtual Chassis technology enables enterprises to separate physical topology from logical groupings of endpoints and, as a result, provides efficient resource utilization. The EX4550 can participate in the same Virtual Chassis configuration with any combination of Juniper Networks EX4200 and EX4500 Ethernet Switches, delivering highly flexible and scalable configuration options for campus and data center deployments. EX4550 switches in a Virtual Chassis configuration can be connected using dedicated 128 Gbps interconnect ports on the Virtual Chassis expansion module, or via link aggregation groups (LAGs) across 10GbE/40GbE* ports, providing aggregate backplane capacity of up to 320 Gbps.

In the data center, EX4550 Virtual Chassis deployments can extend across multiple topof- rack or end-of-row switches, providing tremendous configuration flexibility for 10GbE server connectivity by only requiring redundant links between Virtual Chassis groups rather than each physical switch to ensure high availability. In addition, mixed Virtual Chassis configurations featuring EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 switches provide an ideal solution for data centers with a mix of 1GbE and 10GbE servers, or for environments transitioning from 1GbE to 10GbE server connectivity.

Features & Benefits:

The EX4550 Ethernet switches include the following key features and benefits.

High Performance

Each EX4550 supports 480 Gbps of bandwidth with 48 line-rate 10 Gbps ports at all packet sizes, or 14.88 Mpps per port at the minimum Ethernet frame size.

Security

EX4550 fiber ports (on the base unit or optional expansion module) ship with hardware-capable IEEE802.1AE MACsec ports.

High Availability

EX4550 switches offer dual internal load-sharing AC power supplies and redundant variable-speed fans as standard features, protecting the switch from a single power supply or fan failure. DC power options are also available.

Energy Efficient

Consuming less than eight watts per 10GbE interface, the EX4550 offers a low power solution for 10GbE top-of-rack, end-of-row, and aggregation deployments. The EX4550 switches also improve cooling efficiency with redundant variablespeed fans that automatically adjust their speed based on existing conditions to reduce power consumption.

Small Footprint

The EX4550 supports up to 48 wire-speed 10GbE ports in a single 1 U platform.

Junos Operating System

The EX4550 runs the same Juniper Networks Junos operating system that is used by other EX Series Ethernet Switches, as well as all Juniper Networks routers and Juniper Networks SRX Series Services Gateways. By utilizing a common operating system, Juniper Networks delivers a consistent implementation and operation of control plane features across all products. To maintain that consistency, Junos OS adheres to a highly disciplined development process that uses a single source code, follows a single quarterly release train, and employs a highly available modular architecture that prevents isolated failures from bringing down an entire system.

These attributes are fundamental to the core value of the software, enabling all Junos OS-powered products to be updated simultaneously with the same software release. All features are fully regression tested, making each new release a true superset of the previous version; customers can deploy the software with complete confidence that all existing capabilities will be maintained and operate in the same way.

Junos OS utilizes a single source code, adheres to a consistent and predictable release train, and employs a single modular architecture.

Management Options

Up to four different system management options are available for the EX4550 Ethernet switches.

1. The standard Junos OS command-line interface (CLI) offers the same granular management capabilities and scripting parameters found in any router powered by the Junos OS.
2. The EX4550 also includes the integrated Juniper Networks J-Web Software, an embedded web-based device manager that allows users to configure, monitor, troubleshoot, and perform system maintenance on individual switches via a browserbased graphical interface.
3. EX4550 performance, configuration, and fault data can also be exported to leading third-party management systems such as HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli, and Computer Associates Unicenter software, providing a complete, consolidated view of network operations.
4. The EX4550 is also supported by Juniper Networks Junos® Space*, an open, programmable application platform for hosting a comprehensive suite of network operational application tools that provide a smart, simple, and open approach for automating the deployment and operation of a Juniper infrastructure.
   Explicitly designed to allow partners and customers to build and deploy smart, simple, and easy-to-use applications, Junos Space provides multiple management and infrastructure applications for managing Juniper resources and assets, including inventory management, device and interface configuration, automated software management and deployment, and event-driven fault management. These Junos Space applications offer predefined automation schemes and best practice templates to enable rapid and accurate deployments.

Additional Features

• System status LEDs
• LCD status display
• Versatile two- and four-post rack mounting options
• Front-to-back and back-to-front airflow options
• AC and DC power supply options
• Support for Jumbo frames (9,000)
• Quality of service (IEEE 802.1p marking)
• Multicast (Internet Group Management Protocol v1/v2/v3 snooping)
• Layer 2 features including support for 4,096 VLAN IDs, Spanning Tree (802.1s and 802.1w), bridge protocol data unit (BPDU) guard, 802.3as Link Aggregation
• Management features including Telnet and SSH v1/v2, SNMP v1-v3, RADIUS, TACACS+, and RMON

Data Center and Campus Advantages:

The EX4550 delivers a highly available, simple, and scalable 10GbE connectivity solution in a compact and power efficient platform, making it a perfect fit for both data center and campus networks. The EX4550 offers a number of other advantages for

Simple

Virtual Chassis technology on the EX4550 dramatically simplifies the campus aggregation layer, eliminating the need for Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), complex routing, or VLAN configurations. In addition, when deployed in a Virtual Chassis configuration, the EX4550 also reduces the number of devices to manage and can even eliminate network switching layers. A single Virtual Chassis configuration can span multiple nodes, reducing the need for larger, more expensive nodes on superior tiers. Juniper Networks Junos® operating system, which is common across the entire EX Series switch product family, accelerates the learning curve by enabling the entire architecture to be managed with a common set of

Scalable

A single EX4550 can support up to 48 10GbE ports at line rate, providing a highly scalable solution for even the most demanding environments. In addition, Virtual Chassis technology makes it easy to scale the network while reducing management complexity

By adding switches to a Virtual Chassis configuration, it is possible to grow the number of switch ports without increasing the number of devices to manage. As more switches are added to the Virtual Chassis configuration, backplane bandwidth demands can also be scaled to maintain adequate oversubscription ratios. EX4550 Virtual Chassis bandwidth can be increased to 256 Gbps by inserting 128 Gbps Virtual Chassis expansion modules in each of the two available expansion slots.

Highly Available

When EX4550 switches are deployed in a Virtual Chassis configuration, Junos OS initiates a process to assign a master (active) and backup (hot standby) switch to manage the configuration. If the master switch fails, an integrated Layer 2 and Layer 3 graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) feature automatically switches to the backup to maintain continuous and uninterrupted system operations. The EX4550 switch also includes a number of other high availability features, including redundant power and cooling, graceful protocol restart, equal-cost multipath (ECMP), LAG links distributed across multiple slots, and quality of service (QoS) to prioritize time-sensitive data.

Adaptable and Modular

As business grows, the network needs to evolve. With its compact 1 U form factor and complete switch features, the EX4550 can be easily redeployed in different environments and physical layouts. For customers with fiber port requirements, the dualspeed interfaces on the EX4550 enable an easy transition from 1GbE to 10GbE. EX4550 switch capacity can be expanded without increasing the number of managed devices by simply adding more switches to the Virtual Chassis configuration.

Network Deployments:

Campus Deployments

The EX4550 offers an economical, power efficient and compact solution for aggregating 10GbE expansions from access devices in building and campus deployments (see Figure 1). The switch's dualspeed interfaces also support environments transitioning from 1GbE to 10GbE.

The EX4550 easily meets enterprise core switch requirements, delivering wire-speed performance on every port, full device redundancy, support for Layer 3 dynamic routing protocols such as RIP and OSPF, L2 and L3 MPLS VPNs, and a comprehensive security and QoS feature set.

Data Center Deployments

The EX4550 Ethernet Switch is designed for demanding data center applications where high performance, high availability, and energy efficiency are key requirements (see Figure 2). Operating at wire speed, the EX4550 switches deliver 714 Mpps throughput and a data rate of 960 Gbps (full duplex) for both Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols. EX4550 switches can be interconnected in a Virtual Chassis configuration that also includes EX4200 and EX4500 switches, creating a single logical device that offers a variety of port and density options for mixed server environments.

Flexible deployment options enable the EX4550 to support back-to-front and front-to-back cooling, which ensures consistency with server designs for hot and cold aisle deployments. Front and rear facing configuration options ensure closer proximity to server ports, optimizing performance and keeping cable lengths short and manageable. The EX4550 is also very environmentally conscious, drawing less than eight watts per port under maximum load.

For small data centers, the EX4550, when deployed in a Virtual Chassis configuration, is ideally suited as an aggregation/core switch, aggregating 10GbE expansions from EX4200 Virtual Chassis configurations in the access layer (see Figure 3).

Customers introducing 10GbE into their server racks can use the EX4550 to add 10GbE-attached servers, iSCSI, and networkattached storage (NAS) with minimal impact to the current switching infrastructure.

Figure 1: The EX4550 offers an economical, power-efficient, compact solution for campus aggregation deployments.

Figure 2: The EX4550 provides 10GbE server access in the data center.

Figure 3: The EX4500 10GbE switch is ideal for small data center core deployments.

10GbE Data Center Bridging and I/O Convergence Deployments

The EX4550 is a full IEEE DCB- and T11 FC-BB-5-based Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) transit switch, delivering a high-performance solution for converged server edge access environments. As an FCoE transit switch, the EX4550 provides a pure IEEE DCB converged access layer between FCoE-enabled servers and an FCoE-enabled Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN) (see Figure 4).

The EX4550 also supports FC Initiation Protocol (FIP) snooping, which provides perimeter protection to ensure that the presence of an Ethernet layer does not impact existing SAN security policies. The FCoE transit switch functionality, along with prioritybased flow control (PFC) and Data Center Bridging Capability Exchange protocol (DCBX), are included as part of the default software; no additional licenses are required.

Figure 4: The EX4550 deployed as a data center FCoE transit switch in a top-of-rack Virtual Chassis configuration.

Technical Specifications:

Additional Feature Specifications:

Views:

Top Front View

Front View

Rear View

Left Angle View

Right Angle View

Documentation:

Download the Juniper Networks EX4550 Ethernet Switches Datasheet(PDF).