Juniper migration · Service provider · Open networking

IP Infusion vs Juniper MX, PTX, ACX and QFX: a technical comparison.

Platform by platform, silicon by silicon: how IP Infusion routers and switches line up against the MX204, QFX5120, QFX5220, ACX7100 and PTX10001, with a Junos-to-OcNOS CLI map and what published operators said about the move.

Download the white paper Request migration assessment Junos to OcNOS CLI cheat-sheet

The MX204 last order date is 15 June 2027.

OcNOS-SP on the Edgecore AGR130 and the UfiSpace S9510-28DC is IP Infusion's option for the SP edge, PE and aggregation role the Juniper MX204 fills today. Juniper announced end of life for the MX204 on 15 June 2026 in TSB107750 and publishes these milestones:

  1. 15 June 2026End of life announced (TSB107750)
  2. 15 June 2027Last order date for MX204 hardware
  3. 15 June 2028End of hardware failure analysis
  4. 15 June 2030End of engineering; 27.4 is the last software version
  5. 30 June 2032End of support

The OcNOS-SP platforms for the MX204 role

  • Edgecore AGR130 (AS5916-54XKS) front panel
    Edgecore AGR130 (AS5916-54XKS)For a 10G-dense edge
  • UfiSpace S9510-28DC front panel
    UfiSpace S9510-28DCFor 25G access with 400G uplinks

Three planning steps to start this quarter

  1. 1. Inventory every MX204 by roleBuild one row per router: site, serial number, software release in production, support contract end date and the role it plays (PE, P, peering, aggregation or lab). The list shows which routers carry critical traffic, which can move first, and which reach a contract renewal before a replacement could be in place.
  2. 2. Map the features each role depends onList the protocols and services each configuration actually uses and check them in the OcNOS Feature Matrix for the platform and release you plan to run. Route policy needs its own review: each Junos policy statement is rewritten as an OcNOS route map that expresses the same intent, rather than ported line by line.
  3. 3. Test one site safelyAgree the pass criteria first: convergence time, control-plane load, telemetry and the upgrade procedure. Build the OcNOS-SP router in a lab, or as a shadow peer that learns the same routes under the same policy but carries no customer traffic, and move production traffic only after the criteria are met. The free OcNOS VM runs in GNS3, EVE-NG and KVM, so configuration work can start before hardware arrives.

The MX204 row in the platform mapping below compares both OcNOS-SP platforms on ports and capacity, and a migration assessment confirms scale and features against your configuration before any unit is replaced. Dates are as published by Juniper and were checked in October 2026; Juniper's page is the authoritative source.

See the MX204 platform mapping ↓ OcNOS Feature Matrix → Free OcNOS VM → Juniper M and MX Series hardware dates and milestones ↗

Same four layers. Different suppliers.

Both are commercial and carrier-grade, both run the same standards, and both come with SLAs and a global support organization. A router is four layers either way. What differs is who supplies each layer, and whether you can change one of them without changing the rest.

IP InfusionSourced separately, shipped as one system
HardwareEdgecore, UfiSpace, Celestica
Network OSOcNOS-SP or OcNOS-DC
OpticsMultiple suppliers, including 400G ZR and ZR+
SupportIP Infusion: one support contract and one RMA path

Different suppliers per layer, qualified together by IP Infusion and delivered as one product on one support contract and one RMA path.

JuniperSourced and shipped as one stack
HardwareJuniper MX, QFX, ACX, PTX
Network OSJunos OS or Junos OS Evolved
OpticsJuniper
SupportJuniper JTAC

One supplier for every layer, delivered and renewed under one contract.

DimensionIP Infusion (OcNOS)Juniper (Junos)
What you buyThe finished router or switch: open hardware, OcNOS, optics and support as one system. Or OcNOS on its own, for hardware you already run.The finished router or switch: Juniper hardware, Junos and support from one vendor.
HardwareOpen platforms from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica. One OcNOS operating model across all of them.Juniper-branded systems: MX, QFX, ACX, PTX.
SiliconBroadcom merchant: Qumran and Jericho for routing, Trident and Tomahawk for switching.Juniper Trio (MX) and Express (PTX), plus Broadcom merchant silicon in the QFX5000 (Trident, Tomahawk) and ACX7000 (Jericho2) lines.
Operating systemOcNOS-SP for service-provider routing, OcNOS-DC for the data center.Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved across the MX, QFX, ACX and PTX lines.
LicensingLicensed separately from the hardware. Perpetual and term, with feature tiers unlocked by software upgrade.Juniper Flex software licensing, with subscription and term tiers.
SourcingHardware and software are bought separately, so platforms can be competed across ODMs.Hardware, software and support are sourced from Juniper.
ProtocolsBGP, OSPF, IS-IS, MPLS, SR-MPLS, SRv6, EVPN-VXLAN, EVPN-MPLS, RSVP-TE, IEEE 1588v2. Per-platform detail in the Feature Matrix.Comparable standards-based suite across Junos.
OpticsMulti-vendor pluggables with proven interoperability, including 400G ZR and ZR+ coherent.Juniper optics.
ManagementIndustry-standard transactional CLI with explicit commit. NETCONF, OpenConfig, gNMI/gRPC, YANG, RESTCONF, Ansible, IP Maestro EMS.Junos CLI with a commit model. JTI and OpenConfig telemetry, Apstra and Mist.
SupportOne support contract and one RMA path from IP Infusion, across software and hardware.Single-vendor JTAC for hardware and software.

Which one fits your network

The protocol sets overlap heavily, so the decision usually comes down to how you want to buy and operate the network.

Choose IP Infusion when you want
  • Licensing you own. Perpetual and term options, licensed separately from the hardware, so the features you depend on stay a cost you own rather than one you renegotiate at every renewal.
  • Hardware you can compete. The same OcNOS image runs on merchant-silicon platforms from Edgecore, UfiSpace and Celestica, so the box can go out to bid without changing the network OS.
  • Layers that stay separable. Hardware, software and optics are bought on their own merits, so a change of supplier in one does not force a change in the others.
  • Multi-vendor optics. Pluggables with proven interoperability from several suppliers, including 400G ZR and ZR+ coherent for IPoDWDM and DCI.
  • Support from one team. One responsive IP Infusion team backs both the software and the hardware, under a single contract and one RMA path, so a problem does not bounce between suppliers.
Choose Juniper when you want
  • A single vendor across hardware, software and support, with one JTAC relationship.
  • Operations already standardized on Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved, with Juniper tooling, automation and processes you intend to keep.
  • Features that live in the Junos stack specifically, such as advanced BNG and subscriber management on MX, or Junos-proprietary behavior your design depends on.

Five Juniper anchor platforms, mapped by capacity and role.

Each row pairs a Juniper anchor platform with its IP Infusion equivalent, the one-way capacity comparison, the fit verdict and the key caveat. Where one IP Infusion platform does not carry the capacity, the row says so and names the combination that does.

Juniper platform IP Infusion equivalent Ports Capacity Match Notes
Juniper MX204SP edge / aggregation / DCI · Junos Trio AGR130 / S9510-28DCOcNOS-SP 8×10G + 4×100G → 48×10G + 6×100G 400G → 800G Capacity headroom Confirm in the assessment: Trio BNG subscriber scale and DCI throughput against your port mix.
Juniper QFX5120-48YDC leaf / EVPN-VXLAN ToR · Junos OS AS7326-56X / S8901-54XCOcNOS-DC 48×25G + 8×100G → 48×25G + 8×100G 2.0T → 2.0T (one way) Port-for-port match SKU selection depends on copper-versus-fiber ports and uplink mix, mapped against the HCL in the assessment.
Juniper QFX5220-32CDDC spine / 400G · Junos OS Evolved Edgecore AS9716-32DOcNOS-DC 32×400G → 32×400G 12.8T → 12.8T Port-for-port match For AI fabric, both sides sit below the tier we would recommend: Tomahawk 4 or higher is the starting point, so the QFX5220 is not the AI-fabric platform on either side.
Juniper ACX7100-32C / 48LCloud-metro / 5G xHaul aggregation · Junos OS Evolved S9600-56DX / AGR560OcNOS-SP 32×100G + 4×400G → 48×100G + 8×400G 4.8T → 4.8T / 7.2T Same capacity class Confirm for 5G fronthaul: Class C timing (T-BC, SyncE, PTP, GPS in and out). MACsec is not offered on these platforms.
Juniper PTX10001-36MRSP compact core / peering · Juniper Express4 S9610-36DOcNOS-SP 12×100G + 24×400G → 36×400G 9.6T → 14.4T Different silicon The most design-dependent mapping in the set. The SKT live PoC (Jun 2025) is the public IPoDWDM proof point.
Role, ports and capacity all line up Same capacity class Design review

How to read these. Rows are matched on role, port profile and capacity, and capacity is stated one way on both sides. Silicon is named only where the vendor names it: Juniper publishes the Trio chipset for the MX204 and Express4 for the PTX10001-36MR, and publishes no forwarding ASIC for the QFX5120, QFX5220 or ACX7100, so no Broadcom part is attributed to those platforms here. Specific feature areas (BNG scale, Class C timing, RSVP-TE facility-backup form) depend on your deployment and are confirmed by the migration assessment. No anchor SKU is presented as a guaranteed one-to-one swap. OcNOS competes strongest in standards-based routing, EVPN fabrics, metro aggregation and IP/optical transport; advanced BNG and subscriber-management workloads warrant deeper architecture work.

Four protocol areas, side by side.

Four representative previews. OSPF, LDP, MPLS-TE, ACLs, full policy translation, and SR-TE construction are covered in the downloadable CLI cheat-sheet.

1. BGP - iBGP neighbor (loopback peering)

Junos
set protocols bgp group RR type internal
set protocols bgp group RR local-address 10.0.0.10
set protocols bgp group RR neighbor 10.0.0.1
OcNOS
router bgp 65000
 neighbor 10.0.0.1 remote-as 65000
 neighbor 10.0.0.1 update-source lo

2. IS-IS Level-2 - core IGP

Junos
set interfaces lo0 unit 0 family iso address 49.0001.0000.0000.0001.00
set protocols isis interface et-0/0/0.0
set protocols isis level 1 disable
OcNOS
router isis ISIS-IGP
 is-type level-2-only
 metric-style wide
 net 49.0001.0000.0000.0001.00

3. SR-MPLS - SRGB + node-SID

Junos
set protocols isis source-packet-routing srgb start-label 800000 index-range 8000
set protocols isis source-packet-routing node-segment ipv4-index 100
OcNOS
segment-routing
 global block 30000 50000
router isis isis1
 isis segment-routing global block 30000 50000
interface lo
 prefix-sid index 100

4. EVPN-VXLAN - DC overlay

Junos
set protocols evpn encapsulation vxlan
set protocols evpn extended-vni-list 101
set switch-options vtep-source-interface lo0.0
OcNOS
nvo vxlan enable
nvo vxlan vtep-ip-global 1.1.1.1
nvo vxlan id 50 ingress-replication inner-vid-disabled
QFX EVPN-VXLAN migration guide →

Get the full CLI cheat-sheet →

HPE closed the Juniper acquisition on 2 July 2025.

HPE completed its acquisition of Juniper Networks on 2 July 2025 at an announced equity value of approximately 14 billion US dollars. A US DOJ consent decree required HPE to divest the Instant On wireless LAN business and license Juniper Mist AIOps source code to third parties. The combined networking organization is branded HPE Networking, with HPE Juniper Networking and HPE Aruba Networking retained as sub-brands, and MX, PTX and QFX platforms continue to ship. That is the published record, and it is linked below. We make no claims about future roadmap or support windows.  HPE acquisition release.

Operators who made the move, and why.

Operators who have moved production traffic off Juniper, and in some cases Cisco, onto OcNOS on open hardware. Each reason below is the one the operator gave in its own published story.

BroadStar Replaced Juniper switches for MDU residential access. Cited OcNOS interoperating with other vendors, so hardware could be matched to budget and feature requirements, and a return on investment in months rather than years. Read the story → Celerity Internet / WispWest Moved off MikroTik and Juniper, which could not meet the scalability the company needed. Cited greater scalability from edge to core, better BGP router scalability, and compact, energy-efficient MPLS routing for tower sites with limited space. Read the story → Haefele Connect A former Cisco and Juniper network, now OcNOS-SP on Edgecore for L3 aggregation. Cited high-density 10G with medium-density 100G ports, equipment available in weeks instead of years, and interoperation with the Juniper system already deployed. Read the story → Vyve Broadband On track to 200 OcNOS nodes, displacing Cisco and Juniper. Cited the flexibility to convert existing hardware to OcNOS while gaining service-provider feature sets, and quicker deployment cycles on one standardized platform. Read the story →

Frequently asked questions

Does IP Infusion sell complete switches and routers, or just the OcNOS software?
Both. The main offering is the finished product: a carrier-grade router or switch with OcNOS pre-installed on open hardware, plus the optics and the support contract, delivered as one system and validated on the Hardware Compatibility List. If you already run open hardware, you can license OcNOS on its own for it. Because hardware, software and optics stay separable, you can change any one of them later without replacing the others.
Can OcNOS replace a Juniper MX204 1:1 for SP edge and aggregation?
At the protocol layer yes: OcNOS-SP carries BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, MPLS-LDP, SR-MPLS, EVPN-MPLS, RSVP-TE, L2VPN/L3VPN, QoS, and IEEE 1588v2 timing on Edgecore AGR-series and UfiSpace SP platforms. The MX204 port profile (4xQSFP28 + 8xSFP+, 1RU, 400 Gbps) is closest to Edgecore AGR130 (AS5916-54XKS) for low-density edge work, and to UfiSpace S9510-28DC for higher-density aggregation. Trio-specific BNG subscriber scale and DCI throughput do not have a published OcNOS comparison, so a 1:1 swap for those workloads needs an SE design review against your actual port mix and feature usage.
When is the Juniper MX204 end of life?
Juniper announced end of life for the MX204 on 15 June 2026 in TSB107750. The last order date for MX204 hardware is 15 June 2027, hardware failure analysis ends on 15 June 2028, engineering ends on 15 June 2030 with 27.4 as the last software version, and support ends on 30 June 2032. These dates are as published on Juniper's M and MX Series hardware dates and milestones page, checked in October 2026; Juniper's page is the authoritative source.
What is the OcNOS equivalent for a QFX5120-48Y DC leaf?
Edgecore AS7326-56X (DCS203) is the port-for-port match: 48x25G SFP28 with 8x100G QSFP28 uplinks at 2.0 Tbps, the same profile Juniper publishes for the QFX5120-48Y (up to 2 Tbps unidirectional). UfiSpace S8901-54XC is the same class with 6x100G uplinks rather than 8. Both run OcNOS-DC with EVPN-VXLAN, BGP-EVPN and MAC-VRF, so the overlay primitives carry across. Juniper does not publish the forwarding ASIC for the QFX5120, so the match is made on role, ports and capacity. The SKU choice depends on copper-versus-fiber port preference and uplink mix, which the migration assessment maps against the HCL.
Does OcNOS run on a 32x400G spine equivalent to the QFX5220-32CD?
Yes. OcNOS-DC ships on the Edgecore AS9716-32D (Broadcom Tomahawk-3, 32x400G QSFP56-DD, 12.8 Tbps) for EVPN-VXLAN spine duty, which matches the QFX5220-32CD port for port and at the same 12.8 Tbps Juniper publishes. Juniper does not publish the forwarding ASIC for the QFX5220. For AI fabric workloads we steer customers to Broadcom Tomahawk 4 and Tomahawk 5 platforms instead, so the QFX5220 is not the AI-fabric platform on either side.
How close is OcNOS-SP feature parity with the ACX7100 for 5G xHaul and SR-MPLS aggregation?
Juniper publishes the ACX7100 at 4.8 Tbps (32C = 32x100G + 4x400G; 48L = 48x10/25/50G + 6x400G) and does not publish its forwarding ASIC. On capacity the match is UfiSpace S9600-56DX at 4.8 Tbps (8x400G + 48x100G, Broadcom Qumran2c), with Edgecore AS9947-36XKB (AGR560) as the headroom option at 7.2 Tbps on Jericho2C+. For smaller cell-site and access-gateway roles the Qumran-class AGR400, AGR130 and CSR440 platforms cover the tier below. Public validation includes the SKT 400G OpenZR+ live PoC (Jun 2025), the AnschlussWerk Edgecore and OcNOS wireline deployment (Nov 2024), and the TIP Validated Solution Gold Badge for the OcNOS DCSG profile. Class C timing (T-BC, SyncE, PTP, 1PPS and 10 MHz GPS in and out) is the feature area to confirm against your specific deployment. MACsec is not offered on these platforms: it is coming in OcNOS 7.1 on the UfiSpace S9610-46DX and S9610-36D only, with the OcNOS SP PLUS SEC license.
Is there an OcNOS-SP equivalent for the PTX10001-36MR compact core?
Yes, but it has to be sized honestly. Juniper publishes the PTX10001-36MR at 9.6 Tbps (24x400G + 12x100G, 1RU) on Express4 silicon, which is a large box. The single-platform answer is OcNOS-SP on the UfiSpace S9610-36D: 36x400G at 14.4 Tbps on Broadcom Jericho2c+ with a 16 GB buffer, in 2RU. The Edgecore answer is two AS9947-36XKB (AGR560) units at 7.2 Tbps each, also Jericho2c+; one on its own does not reach 9.6 Tbps. Express4 and Jericho2c+ are architecturally distinct, so buffer depth and FIB/RIB and LSP scale are compared against your peering and core requirements. MACsec on the S9610-36D is coming in OcNOS 7.1 and requires the OcNOS SP PLUS SEC license. This is the most design-dependent of the five anchor mappings and is handled as a per-deployment design exercise rather than a SKU-for-SKU swap.
How does Junos route-policy translate to OcNOS route-map syntax?
Junos policy-statement is a chained match-and-then language attachable from any protocol; OcNOS route-map is the industry-standard sequence + match/set form, which covers most real BGP and IGP redistribution patterns but is structurally narrower. Migration projects need a policy-translation pass rather than a line-by-line port. The CLI cheat-sheet below shows the standard mappings; complex nested Junos policy chains should be validated before cutover.
Does OcNOS support fast reroute with RSVP-TE the way Junos does?
OcNOS-SP MPLS documents RSVP-TE FRR one-to-one with node-protection and the corresponding configuration form. BFD provides the fast failure detection that, combined with pre-computed FRR backup paths, supports fast protection; achievable times depend on the BFD interval/multiplier, hardware offload, and platform (OcNOS BFD minimum 3 ms hardware, 10 ms software). Facility-backup (link-protection / bypass) and auto-bandwidth are documented in the broader OcNOS-SP MPLS tree. For the specific FRR coverage you need - detour vs facility, link vs node protection, and CSPF constraints - contact us for the detailed mapping.
What did the HPE acquisition of Juniper change?
HPE closed its acquisition of Juniper Networks on 2 July 2025 at an announced equity value of approximately 14 billion US dollars. A US DOJ consent decree required HPE to divest the Instant On wireless LAN business and to license Juniper Mist AIOps source code on a perpetual, non-exclusive basis to third parties. The combined networking organization is branded HPE Networking, with HPE Juniper Networking and HPE Aruba Networking retained as sub-brands, and MX, PTX and QFX platforms continue to ship. Those are the published facts, and they are linked on this page. We do not speculate about future roadmap or support windows.
How does OcNOS licensing compare to Juniper on cost and lock-in?
OcNOS licenses the software independently of the hardware, with perpetual and term options and progressive feature tiers unlocked by software upgrade, so the software cost is visible and separable from the box, and the hardware can be competed across ODMs on the Hardware Compatibility List. Router licensing across the industry is broadly shifting toward subscription and term models, so a renewal or a refresh is a good moment to model the full multi-year cost. Vendor-neutral questions worth asking any incumbent: which capabilities are perpetual versus subscription, whether any feature previously included now carries an annual fee, and how purchase price, support price, and lead time compare for the same role. Per-deployment cost figures come from an IP Infusion migration assessment rather than a marketing chart.

Migration resources

Two gated downloads: the Democratizing the Network white paper (the open-networking case for moving off Juniper) and the full Junos-to-OcNOS CLI cheat-sheet. Short form, then the PDF opens in a new tab.

White Paper

Moving from Junos to OcNOS

A plan for Junos operators: which OcNOS-SP router takes each role, which OcNOS feature covers each function, and how the CLI maps.

Get the white paper
Engineer Reference

Junos to OcNOS CLI cheat-sheet

Side-by-side Junos and OcNOS for the protocol areas your team uses daily: BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, LDP, SR-MPLS, EVPN-VXLAN, EVPN-MPLS, MPLS-TE, ACL, QoS, NetConf, and interface/breakout.

Get the PDF

A finished router or switch, sourced on open terms.

Juniper is a mature incumbent with a deep portfolio and JTAC behind it. IP Infusion competes on procurement: merchant-silicon hardware you can compete across ODMs, software licensed separately from the box and available perpetually, and optics from more than one supplier, delivered as a finished router or switch validated on the Hardware Compatibility List. Where your requirement is the standards-based protocol set, that is the trade worth pricing.

Feature Matrix

Per-feature, per-platform support across the OcNOS portfolio.

Hardware Compatibility List

The validated set of open platforms OcNOS runs on.

OcNOS-SP

Service-provider routing for edge, aggregation and core.

OcNOS-DC

EVPN-VXLAN data-center and AI-fabric switching.

OcNOS vs Cisco

Cisco Nexus, NCS and 8000, platform by platform.

OcNOS vs SONiC

Open network operating systems for the data center.

Request a migration assessment.

Request a written assessment of your current Juniper platforms, roles, and migration path from IP Infusion.

Juniper, Junos, MX, QFX, ACX, PTX, Apstra, Mist, and Trio are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. HPE and Aruba are trademarks of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Cisco is a trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. IP Infusion is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Juniper Networks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, or Cisco Systems. Platform comparisons reflect publicly documented specifications as of June 2026 and are provided for evaluation purposes only.