Why Upgrade Junos OS Releases

Reasons for Considering an Upgrade

A newer version of the OS includes new features, enhancements, and bug fixes; many customers find the value of upgrading to a new version beneficial to their organization with immediate returns. Here are the top benefits of keeping your software up to date.

Important Reasons for Upgrading Junos OS Release

In the rapidly changing era of mobile, cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, the legacy operating system for network infrastructure struggles to address the networking and security challenges that are becoming commonplace today. Keeping an outdated version of software on your devices increases risk to both your users and network environment in addition to a higher risk of a threat or cyber attack impacting your business. Outdated operating systems not only compound the problem, but their complexity and time-consuming maintenance requirements can also impact your team’s operational efficiency and cost other valuable resources such as time and money. You also run the risk of incurring business loss due to noncompliance with government and other organizational regulations because of outdated OS on your devices.

We understand that you might have concerns regarding upgrading to the latest OS including:

• Network downtime and maintenance affecting business continuity
• Impacts to an existing infrastructure that is otherwise operating
• Personnel impacts including learning curves, training, and more operational cost
• Configuration compatibility

However, the benefits of upgrading to the latest supported Junos OS often outweigh the potential risks you might encounter for not upgrading. Here are a few good reasons for upgrading Junos OS release:

How Can You Get Started?

We understand that upgrading on an infrastructure device may require a scheduled downtime as well as pre-and-post upgrade tasks, and planning and documenting to ensure a successful outcome.

Juniper Networks is committed to making your Junos OS upgrade procedure a simple task. You can perform the upgrade as shown in the following illustration:

You can upgrade to the Junos OS Release for various use cases including advanced security, software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), and LTE backup, or to take advantage of many other new enhancements. We provide a simple upgrade path that allows you to quickly and easily upgrade your Junos OS and start using the advanced threat mitigation capabilities on your security device.

To help you to get started with the Junos OS upgrades, read this guide to:

• Learn quickly about the important features introduced on SRX Series Firewalls in newer Junos OS releases.
• Learn about the upgrade paths available to migrate from your Junos OS Release .
• Get step-by-step instructions on procedures and pre-and-post upgrade tasks to perform a successful upgrade.
• Know about the additional features and improvements that increase the usability of your security device.

The procedures documented in this guide will help provide a starting point for you to plan for all upgrades and migration paths.

Where Can You Find More Information?

You might also be interested to see the complete list of features in the Feature Explorer. In addition to this guide, you can find detailed information on concepts, configuration, and examples in the Junos OS documentation. Want to tell us what you think about this guide?

E-mail us at:

techpubs-comments@juniper.net.