The Dutch Internet connectivity provider A2B Internet selected Juniper Networks’ vMX virtual routers as the first virtual network function (VNF) in its network.

A2B Internet provides connectivity to Internet service providers as well as to cloud, hosting, and enterprise customers. Its previous routing solution was no longer able to handle the scale of A2B Internet’s data connections. And the company also wanted to speed the “convergence time” between a link failure or change and the time it took to recompute its routing tables.

Juniper’s vMX was selected for its improved convergence times and its automation capabilities. The vMX is a virtualized MX Series 3D Universal Edge Router. It runs on x86-based servers and is offered via licensed software.

The vMX control plane is powered by Juniper’s Junos operating system, the same OS that powers the entire MX Series portfolio. The vMX forwarding plane is powered by vTrio, Juniper’s programmable Trio chipset microcode optimized for execution in x86 environments.

With the vMX, A2B Internet can spin up new routing instances on-demand. A2B can also support non-disruptive service introductions in parallel with current services, automating provisioning in the network using application program interfaces (APIs).

In November 2016, Juniper said it was making its virtual router and virtual security appliances available in Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace.