Introduction to the vJunos-switch VM
vJunos-switch is a virtual Junos® OS based platform designed to easily create instant virtual lab topologies for training, demo, proof of concept, script development, configuration generation, and testing the control plane in virtual lab environments.
This is all done without having to build labs with Juniper Networks’ physical routers and switches based on Junos OS. vJunos Lab platforms are available at no cost for non-production test environments only and have no time limit—feel free to use them as long as you like.
vJunos Labs are for non-production test environments only. These products are exclusively for testing configurations and running low traffic to validate switch topologies. Juniper provides no commercial customer support for this software. Also, Juniper Networks Technical Assistance Center (JTAC) support is not available.
This document supplements the public vJunos-switch documentation with information from users that have already built labs in various hypervisor environments. The focus of this document is to show how to run vJunos-switch VM in each hypervisor environment so that you can reproduce the steps easily. An example can help you understand how to build the lab before you try it yourself. With this document, you will learn how to build the lab using an example.
The key focus of this document is the integration to Mist Cloud as a management tool for vJunos-switch. This allows you to simulate branch topologies as well as campus fabric designs.
In this document, the described hypervisor environments are based on the officially supported Debian or Ubuntu Linux distributions for vJunos-switch:
- EVE-NG is a complete and GUI based solution to build virtual labs.
- Ubuntu KVM with libvirtd-based VM management is a minimum hypervisor environment that can run your vJunos-switch VMs and in parallel execute other services at the same time on the server.
- Proxmox VE is a scalable hypervisor environment designed for data centers.
If you have not selected a particular environment yet, then the table below might help you select the right environment.
Environment | Knowledge Level Required | Linux Bridge Updated | Cluster Option | RAM Usage Optimized | Server Minimum RAM | Integrate Physical Hardware | Network Sniffer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EVE-NG on BMS | Beginner | Yes | Yes (professional version only) | Yes | 32 GB | Limited to networks | Wireshark |
Ubuntu KVM w. libvirtd | Expert | Needs Script | No | Optional | 64 GB or 32 GB with UKSM Kernel | Yes | Local tcpdump |
Proxmox VE | Expert | Needs Script | Yes | No | 64 GB | Yes | Local tcpdump |
For all these environments, you must have a dedicated bare metal server (BMS). If you want to run multiple vJunos-switch VMs in parallel, then consider having a minimum of 32 GB RAM and 16 vCPUs on your server. CPU oversubscription is possible but must be carefully evaluated as the experience changes throughout the different hardware. We recommend not to oversubscribe more than twice the level of 4 vCPUs per vJunos-switch instance required.