Juniper Networks’ network virtualization software Contrail can now integrate with Kubernetes. Originally designed for OpenStack, Juniper calls this new version of Contrail “CN2.”
Contrail is a Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform for spinning up, configuring, and managing virtual networks on compute nodes rather than traditional network hardware. Contrail enables virtualized routing, switching, load balancing, and segmentation within and across public and private clouds. It’s designed for multi-tenancy.
“Contrail is for telcos and service providers that want to isolate applications on their infrastructure from each other,” said James Kelly, Senior Director Product Management at Juniper. “Those virtual networks can have workloads anywhere across their nodes.”
Contrail acts as a Container Network Interface, or CNI, in Kubernetes. Contrail’s vRouter runs on worker nodes in a Kubernetes cluster and can enable communication with vRouters on other worker nodes, or with vRouters running in OpenStack or on virtual machines. The vRouters are managed by a Contrail controller.
Source: Juniper Networks Data Sheet
Contrail can set up and manage virtual network functions on x86 CPUs and some SmartNICs. It can take advantage of network acceleration via DPDK to increase throughput on general-purpose CPUs.
Juniper will continue to support Contrail on OpenStack for existing customers, though it’s also offering professional service engagements for customers that want to migrate Contrail to Kubernetes. Note that Juniper is deprecating Contrail Fabric Management, which enabled Contrail to create an overlay fabric in enterprise data centers. Instead, Juniper is focusing its data center fabric efforts on its Apstra business unit.
Contrail Gets A Better Shot At Cloud-Native Deployments
When Juniper acquired Contrail in 2012, Kubernetes was still nearly two years away from being released as an open-source project. At that time, OpenStack was vying for supremacy as the platform for converging compute, networking, and storage infrastructure into automation-friendly resource pools that could be consumed on demand.
In the decade since, the IT industry’s attention has shifted to public cloud and microservices architectures built around containers. And with the rise of containers came Kubernetes for orchestration. While OpenStack is still a viable technology and can be used in private and public clouds, Kubernetes is currently gathering the lion’s share of attention from cloud providers, industry vendors, and developers.
By porting Contrail to Kubernetes, Juniper hopes to make its SDN platform more appealing to service providers and large enterprises that have invested in microservices architectures and embraced operational models built around software-driven automation.
It also makes Contrail more competitive as a virtual network for organizations building cloud-native applications. Contrail can provide uniform network deployment, configuration, and management in multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments, while also tying into NetOps/DevOps tooling and pipelines.
Contrail faces more competition in cloud network virtualization these days. Startups such as Aviatrix, Alkira, and Prosimo target multi-cloud networking with similar value propositions: deploy virtualized network functions or leverage networking capabilities native to the cloud providers, add uniform management and operations across different clouds, integrate features such as load balancing and security, and provide monitoring and visibility.
More details are available in this Juniper data sheet.
