, which separates the routing engine (Control Plane) from the packet forwarding engine (Forwarding Plane). Key Feature: Separation of Control and Forwarding Planes
When uncompressed (using tar xvf vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz ), the bundle typically reveals the following key image files:
: Bind the vMX internal interfaces to host bridges or physical NICs via SR-IOV. Step 4: Launch the vMX Instance Vmx-bundle-17.1r1.8.tgz
: Specifies the Junos OS release version. In this case, it is Release 17.1, Revision 1, Spin 8.
: Indicates this is a comprehensive software package containing all the necessary images and installation scripts required to run the Juniper vMX virtual router. , which separates the routing engine (Control Plane)
It is widely used in simulation platforms like EVE-NG and GNS3 to test complex topologies without physical hardware.
Typically, this bundle includes:
If you have spent any time in a DevOps-driven network lab or a large-scale NFV environment, you have likely stumbled across a file named something like vmx-bundle-17.1r1.8.tgz . At first glance, it looks like just another tarball. But for those building virtual route reflectors, testing MPLS in the cloud, or emulating a carrier-grade edge router, this specific bundle is a gateway to Juniper’s vMX (Virtual MX Series Router).
You should see two active domains, typically named vcp- and vfp- . In this case, it is Release 17
Requires significant CPU and RAM, especially for the VFP, to maintain high throughput.
To log into your newly deployed vMX console, connect directly to the VCP console port: sudo virsh console vcp- Use code with caution.