Switches – Switch

VIRTUAL CHASSIS TECHNOLOGY

1. Overview:

Juniper Networks supports connecting two or more switches together to form a device and only need to configure and manage only one device. This technology is called Virtual Chassis (VC).

Virtual chassis provides flexibility in network development and expansion. We can create a VC starting from 2 switches and extending it further based on the system needs. Scalability based on dedicated connections is an advantage in the enterprise network environment.

Many Juniper Networks switches from the EX Series and QFX Series support Virtual Chassis technology. Use dedicated Virtual Chassis (VCP) ports or uplink ports to connect member switches to form a Virtual Chassis, which is responsible for transmitting all data and controlling traffic between devices switching members in Virtual Chassis.

2. Simplify access

Virtual Chassis technology brings simplicity to the network

Supports up to 10 switches in a Virtual chassis
The switches in the VC are numbered slot / module / port number as in a chasis device with multiple distributed line cards.
Stable redundancy as well as high availability.
Virtual chassis creates a homogeneous architecture in the access layer.
Provides diverse connection ports
Flexible deployment model.
Ready for expansion when needed.

3. Benefit

Simplified configuration and maintenance: Multiple devices can be managed as one device. Virtual chassis works as a standalone device.
Increased fault tolerance and high availability (HA): The virtual chassis remains active and network traffic can be redirected to other member switches when a switch fails.
Flatten the network and reduce network connectivity costs by allowing network devices to synchronize with one flexible logic device instead of multiple physical ones.
Allows simplified Layer 2 network topology to minimize or eliminate the need for Spanning (STP) protocol.
Provides a flexible model to expand the network: You can easily add switches to the VC to increase the number of access ports on the network to support multiple servers, computers, phones or other Other devices with almost minimal incarnations for existing network architectures and switch configurations.

4. High availability
5. Virtual chassis supports high availability such as

Dual redundant routing engines
Link Aggregation (LAG)
Graceful protocol restart
Graceful routing engine switchover (GRES)
Nonstop active routing (NSR)
Nonstop bridging (NSB)
Nonstop software upgrade (NSSU)
Flexible deployment
Deploy access-class devices without redesigning the rack for the entire chassis.
Do not use proprietary cables.
Use the usual optical interface, cable and uplink port for Virtual chassis port (VCP)
Increase / decrease bandwidth for active link VCP port.
Can use uplink port for VCP or use as usual.
Virtual chassis participants can be scattered on floors or buildings.
1G, 10G, 40G or 100G ports can be used as VCP.