Understanding the architecture is crucial before working with this bundle. Unlike physical routers that combine control and forwarding planes in a single chassis, the vMX is a : it operates as two separate virtual machines that communicate with each other to function as a unified router:
Running version 17.1R1.8 requires strict hardware adherence, particularly on the host CPU. This version relies heavily on Intel VT-x extensions and specific instruction sets to achieve near-line-rate packet processing inside software bridges. Minimum Hardware Specs (Lab Setup)
Once running, you can console into the VCP to confirm that the forwarding plane has online status:
The vMX is designed to run on industry-standard x86 servers using either (Ubuntu/CentOS) or VMware ESXi hypervisors. Vmx-bundle-17.1r1.8.tgz
vmx-17.1r1.8/ ├── config/ # Contains configuration templates (vmx.conf) ├── drivers/ # DPDK and SRIOV compatible drivers ├── images/ # Core virtual disk images │ ├── vcp.img # Virtual Control Plane Junos image │ └── vfp.img # Virtual Forwarding Plane packet processing image ├── scripts/ # Management scripts (startup, shutdown, cleanup) └── vmx.sh # The primary orchestration and execution script Use code with caution. Step-by-Step Deployment on KVM
: Change directory into the extracted bundle folder [9†L26]:
virtioa.qcow2 (Note: The VFP filename may vary slightly by build date). 4. Verification & Permissions Minimum Hardware Specs (Lab Setup) Once running, you
The most common use case for this bundle is deployment within the EVE-NG (Emulated Virtual Environment - Next Generation) platform. Step 1: Upload the Bundle
In this dual-node architecture, all CLI configurations are performed on the VCP, but all network ports and connections are managed and located on the VFP. An isolated network bridge must be established between the VCP and VFP VMs for internal communication, ensuring they operate as a single, logical router [7†L8-L11][11†L35-L38].
Used in cloud and virtualized data centers for functions like Virtual Route Reflection or as a Virtual Provider Edge (vPE) router. Installation & Management Extraction: The file must be uncompressed using the command tar xvf vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz to access the underlying images. Deployment: ensuring they operate as a single
: Upload vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz to the EVE-NG server and extract it [7†L11-L15]:
Have you deployed vMX 17.1 in your lab? What topologies are you building? Let us know in the comments!
Executes the packet forwarding engine using programmable Trio microcode optimized for x86 environments (often referred to as the vTrio). 2. Contents of the .tgz Archive
The Juniper Networks vMX is a carrier-grade virtual MX Series routing platform. It runs the Junos operating system and operates as a software-based router on x86 servers. The specific software package represents a release from the 17.1 development cycle. This archive contains all the necessary image files, orchestration scripts, and configuration binaries required to deploy a fully functional virtual routing instance in a Linux KVM or Ubuntu environment.
At least 1 Virtual CPU (vCPU) and 2 GB of RAM.