Cisco catalyst Switches VSS (Virtual Switching System) and Juniper VC (Virtual Chassis) have been earned acceptance by customers and are in market for quite some time now. With both cisco VSS and Juniper Virtual Chassis having single control and single management plane, both vendors boast of their technological edge over other.VSS and VC are pretty more than just stacking technologies. While Stacking requires built in ports and can span meters only, Cisco VSS and Juniper VC members can expand upto 70 KMs – members may be physically scattered across geographical locations. While Cisco catalyst services switches support VSS (Cisco 4500, 6500, 6800 catalyst Switches) Juniper EX and QFX (EX2200, EX3300, EX4200, EX4500 and EX4550, EX4600, EX8200, QFX Series) support VC technology.
Some of benefits garnered through Cisco VSS and Juniper VC technology are as under –
- Single management view for all boxes in VSS/VC
- HA with GRES/GR/NSR (Juniper VC)
- No single point failure.
- One common CLI for all platforms
- Common SPF+ adapter support
- Higher throughput and performance
- No ports blockage due to Spanning Tree
- Scalability
Juniper VC has some additional benefits like –
- Scalability (number of switches in a virtual chassis) being upto 10 members
- One Line execution for upgrading ALL VC members
- Support for Multiple Switch models in VC
Comparison Table : Cisco VSS vs Juniper VC
Below table enumerates the difference between Cisco Virtual Switching System and Juniper Virtual Chassis technology –
| PARAMETER | CISCO VSS | JUNIPER VC |
|---|---|---|
| Abbreviation for | Virtual Switching system | Virtual Chassis |
| Upgrade software version | Both the members supervisor engines need to be issued iOS upgrade and rebooted | Whole VC can be upgraded by issuing command on master chassis (RE) |
| Scalability (number of switches in a virtual chassis/VSS) | 2 | 4 upto 10 based on the model type |
| Multiple Switch models in VSS/VC | No | Yes |
| Supported models | Cisco 4500,6500,6800 catalyst Switches | EX2200, EX3300, EX4200, EX4500 and EX4550 ,EX4600,EX8200,QFX Series |
| License | 4500 – IP Base or higher No License requirement for Cisco 6500 with sup2T | No License required |
Download the comparison table here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am here to share my knowledge and experience in the field of networking with the goal being – “The more you share, the more you learn.”
I am a biotechnologist by qualification and a Network Enthusiast by interest. I developed interest in networking being in the company of a passionate Network Professional, my husband.
I am a strong believer of the fact that “learning is a constant process of discovering yourself.”
– Rashmi Bhardwaj (Author/Editor)
