Juniper Networks M160 manual System Overview, System Description

Chapter 1

System Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the Juniper Networks M160 Internet router, discussing the following topics:

System Description on page 3

Field-Replaceable Units (FRUs) on page 4

System Redundancy on page 4

Safety Requirements, Warnings, and Guidelines on page 5

System Description

The M160 Internet router is a complete routing system that provides SONET/SDH, ATM, Ethernet, and channelized interfaces for large networks and network applications, such as those supported by Internet service providers (ISPs). Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a definitive part of the router design, enable the router to forward data at the high speeds demanded by current network media.

The router accommodates up to eight Flexible PIC Concentrators (FPCs), which can each be configured with a variety of network media types, altogether providing up to

32OC-12/STM-4, 32 OC-48/STM-16, or eight OC-192/STM-64 ports per system. The router height of 35 in. (89 cm) enables stacked installation of two M160 systems in a single floor-to-ceiling rack, for increased port density per unit of floor space.

The router’s maximum aggregate throughput is 160 gigabits per second (Gbps) simplex or 80 Gbps full duplex. The router provides very high throughput for any combination of Physical Interface Cards (PICs) that does not exceed 3 Gbps on an FPC1 or 10 Gbps on an FPC2. A combination that exceeds these numbers is supported, but constitutes oversubscription.

The router architecture cleanly separates control operations from packet forwarding operations, which helps to eliminate processing and traffic bottlenecks. Control operations in the router are performed by the Routing Engine, which runs JUNOS Internet software to handle routing protocols, traffic engineering, policy, policing, monitoring, and configuration management. Forwarding operations

in the router are performed by the Packet Forwarding Engine, which consists of hardware, including ASICs, designed by Juniper Networks.

System Description 3