Juniper Networks agreed to acquire Apstra, a start-up based in Menlo Park, California offering intent-based networking and automated closed loop assurance solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Apstra offers an intent-based network operating system for simplifying the management of data center networks. Intent-Based Networking (IBN) is a closed-loop, continuous validation approach to designing, deploying and managing infrastructure. Apstra automatically generates and deploys full configuration of all devices based on a service description, and continuously provides assurance checks between the intended and operational state. Apstra’s multivendor integrations extend its closed loop automation and analytics to customers independently of their underlying infrastructure, including those running SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud).
Juniper said the acquisition expands its commitment to open programmability, adding to its portfolio of solutions that includes powerful switching platforms with native SONiC integration and a deployment-hardened, cloud-native routing stack for the SONiC ecosystem.<br>
“Juniper’s Data Center portfolio is consistently recognized by both analysts and customers as industry leading, with top marks for performance, scale, security and simplified operations through automation. Adding Apstra’s intent-based networking and automated closed loop assurance advances our vision to transform data center operations. With the combination of Juniper and Apstra, customers get the best infrastructure and fabric management with integrated design, deployment and automated root cause identification and remediation to satisfy any Data Center environment. This is networking for the modern cloud era,” stated Rami Rahim, CEO, Juniper Networks.
“We founded Apstra to automate the data center as a holistic system from its initial design to all aspects of its operation and maintenance. Our automation allows valuable network engineers to focus on strategic issues and avoid spending time on network configuration and troubleshooting, particularly with the attendant risk of human error. Joining Apstra with Juniper’s strong reputation in networking and its commitment to open networking removes the long-standing tradeoff between manageability and vendor lock-in and advances the industry toward the true self-driving network, said David Cheriton, CEO and Co-Founder, Apstra.
