Vmx-bundle-17.1r1.8.tgz May 2026

Metadata files required for initializing the Routing Engine (RE). Supported Use Cases and Hardware Requirements

The vMX is designed to run on industry-standard x86 servers using either (Ubuntu/CentOS) or VMware ESXi hypervisors.

For production-level throughput (up to 80 Gbps), the system requires specialized hardware features like SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) and DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit) to bypass the hypervisor stack for faster packet processing. Key Features in Junos 17.1R1 Vmx-bundle-17.1r1.8.tgz

This VM runs the Junos OS software and manages the "brains" of the router, including the routing protocols (BGP, OSPF), CLI, and management interfaces.

Upon uncompressing the bundle with the command tar xvf vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz , several key files are generated in the /images/ directory: Description junos-vmx-x86-64-17.1R1.8.qcow2 The primary image for the Virtual Control Plane (VCP). vFPC-20170216.img The image for the Virtual Forwarding Plane (VFP). vmxhdd.img Metadata files required for initializing the Routing Engine

The 17.1 release brought several advancements to the MX and vMX platforms, including: Juniper vMX 16.X, 17.X - - EVE-NG

This VM runs the packet forwarding engine. It uses a virtualized version of Juniper’s Trio chipset microcode, optimized for x86 environments. Core Package Contents Key Features in Junos 17

For testing and learning, a "Lite" mode exists that requires roughly 4 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM .

A virtual hard drive image used for persistent storage by the VCP. metadata-usb-re.img