Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks builds enterprise and service provider networking with an AI-native operating model, covering wired and wireless access, SD-WAN, enterprise routing at 400 and 800 gigabit Ethernet, AIOps through Marvis, and secure automated data centre networking through Apstra.

Intent-based data centre networking through Apstra is the part relevant to securing a data centre, and it works differently from configuring devices. An operator declares the intended topology and policy, and the system generates and continuously validates the configuration across every switch, detecting when reality has drifted from intent. Most data centre security failures are misconfigurations rather than exploits, and configuration drift across hundreds of devices is how they arise.

Being multivendor is Apstra's genuine distinction. It manages switches from several manufacturers, which matters because a data centre refresh rarely replaces everything at once, and a management layer that only works on one vendor's hardware forces the choice it claims to solve.

AI for operations is positioned throughout rather than as a product, aimed at organisations running large networks with limited staff, where the constraint is people rather than equipment.