Extends portfolio’s unique services, security and performance benefits to new markets

Melbourne - November 7, 2003 - Juniper Networks, Inc. today announced the introduction of the Juniper Networks M7i and M10i routing platforms to enhance its Infranet-ready Service-built Edge portfolio. Continuing Juniper Networks’ tradition of delivering performance without compromise, these compact platforms extend the benefits of the Service-built Edge to small- and medium-sized Points of Presence (POPs), campus networks and managed services environments. Offering enhanced security, reliability and advanced services, the M7i and M10i are ideal for providers looking to transform their legacy edge infrastructure and upgrade to a more scalable, feature-rich solution.

"At the State of Delaware we have been using Juniper Networks M- and T-series platforms for our highly secure and reliable IP/VPN/MPLS backbone and we are pleased to be able to extend these qualities to our smaller sites,” commented Mark Cabry, senior telecommunications technologist, State of Delaware. “The newly deployed M7i platform delivers both the packet intelligence and performance we need to support the most demanding applications such as H.323 video and Voice over IP. The M7i's will enable our criminal justice community to do video arraignments over our existing MPLS network, rather than on less reliable ISDN circuits. Being able to leverage the ease, flexibility and stability of JUNOS software from the core to the edge was a key element in our decision."

The M7i is Juniper Networks most compact M-series offering to date, featuring integrated, ASIC-based, high performance J-Protect security in a four-slot, two-rack unit high chassis. The J-Protect features include Network Address Translation (NAT), stateful firewall, IPSec and J-Flow accounting. The platform also comes with a choice of two fixed Fast Ethernet interfaces or a single fixed Gigabit Ethernet interface, providing Ethernet connectivity without consuming a PIC slot. The M7i serves as an ideal provider edge router in small POPs, as well as a carrier-class customer premise equipment (CPE) solution for managed services and campus border router applications.

The M10i is Juniper Networks most compact and cost-effective, fully redundant platform. An 8-slot, five-rack unit high chassis, it features fully redundant routing engines, forwarding boards, power, and cooling. With new high availability software features such as Hitless Switchover and In-service Software Upgrades, it is designed to deliver provider edge services with non-stop forwarding in small- and medium-sized locations.

“Service Providers are aggressively investing at the edge driven by a need to build differentiation in an increasingly competitive environment as well as increase their respective revenues," says Ray Mota PhD, Chief Research Officer, Synergy Research Group. "The high performance and rich feature set of the Juniper Networks M7i and M10i hit the sweet spot of this strategy and, further, present an attractive upgrade option for legacy infrastructure at the Edge.”

Both the M7i and M10i platforms leverage Juniper Networks proven service-built architecture, with a forwarding plane consisting of programmable ASICS and a separate control plane running feature-rich and highly scalable JUNOS software. JUNOS software is common across all Juniper Networks M- and T-series platforms, delivering consistent services to all customers, regardless of location or connection type. Both the M7i and M10i platforms boast comprehensive IP/MPLS provider edge functionality including the industry’s most comprehensive VPN portfolio, granular QoS and hardware-based IPv6 performance. In addition, both platforms support M5 and M10 Physical Interface Cards (PICs) for investment protection.

"Asian operators have been trying to push services closer to the end customer, but have been handicapped by the limitations of legacy routers," said Adam Judd, vice president, Asia Pacific, for Juniper Networks. "With the M7i and M10i, these operators now have options that take them well beyond the performance and feature shortcomings of their older technology."

About Juniper Networks, Inc. Juniper Networks transforms the business of networking by converting a commodity - bandwidth - into a dependable, secure, and highly valuable corporate asset. Founded in 1996 to meet the stringent demands of service providers, Juniper Networks is now relied upon by the world's leading network operators, government agencies, research and education institutions, and information-intensive enterprises as the foundation for uncompromising networks. Juniper Networks is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net.

Juniper Networks is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries as a trademark of Juniper Networks, Inc. ERX, ESP, E-series, Internet Processor, J-Protect, JUNOS, JUNOScript, JUNOSe, M5, M10, M20, M40, M40e, M160, M-series, NMC-RX, SDX, T320, T640, and T-series are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.