EX4500 Switches Hardware Overview
Juniper Networks EX4500 Ethernet Switches provide high performance, scalable connectivity, and carrier-class reliability for high-density environments such as campus-aggregation and data-center networks.
You can manage EX4500 switches using the same interfaces that you use for managing other devices running the Juniper Networks Junos operating system (Junos OS)—the command-line interface (CLI) and the J-Web graphical interface.
The Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches run Junos OS, which provides Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching, routing, and security services. The same Junos OS code base that runs on EX Series switches also runs on all Juniper Networks J Series, M Series, MX Series, and T Series routers.
EX4500 Switches
EX4500 switches provide connectivity for high-density 10-Gigabit Ethernet data center top-of-rack and aggregation deployments. Typically, EX4500 switches are used in data centers where they can be positioned as the top device in a rack to provide connectivity for all devices in the rack.
The EX4500 switch is 2 rack units (2 U) in size. Each EX4500 switch is designed to optimize rack space utilization and cabling. See Figure 1 and Figure 2.
Figure 1: EX4500 Switch Front
Figure 2: EX4500 Switch Rear
EX4500 switches are available in models with either front-to back airflow or back-to-front airflow and hardware that is Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) capable or not. All four models provide 40 wire-speed 10-gigabit small form-factor pluggable (SFP+) network ports that can house either 1-Gigabit Ethernet connectors or 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectors. All models support two optional high-speed uplink modules. See EX4500 Switch Models.
 | Note: The side of the switch where the network ports are located is the front of the switch. |
To provide carrier-class reliability, EX4500 switches include:
- Dual redundant, load-sharing power supplies that are field-replaceable, hot-removable, and hot-insertable.
- A field-replaceable fan tray with five fans. The switch remains operational if a single fan fails.
- Junos OS with its modular design that enables failed system processes to gracefully restart.
Uplink Modules
Optional uplink modules are available for EX4500 switches. Two uplink modules can be installed in an EX4500 switch. Each uplink module provides four SFP+ ports for connecting to core devices in a data center. You can install SFP or SFP+ transceivers in these ports.
