Juniper Core Data Center

This opening module transitions learners from Enterprise Networking to Data Center Engineering, establishing the architectural mindset and design principles required for modern Data Center fabrics. Learners explore Clos architecture, Leaf–Spine design, traffic patterns, failure domains, redundancy, and foundational planning before beginning fabric implementation.

Core Topics:

• Traditional Three-Tier vs. Leaf–Spine Architecture
• Clos Fabric Architecture
• East–West & North–South Traffic
• Scale-Out Design Principles
• Spine, Leaf, Border Leaf & Service Leaf Roles
• Failure Domains & Redundancy
• Oversubscription & Capacity Planning
• IP Addressing & Loopback Planning
• ASN Planning
• VLAN, VNI & VRF Planning
• HLD & LLD Fundamentals
• Fabric Source of Truth

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners analyze Data Center requirements, design a reference Leaf–Spine topology, build the Device Inventory and Interface Matrix, develop the IP/ASN/Loopback Plan, and standardize the Fabric Source of Truth that will serve as the engineering baseline for the entire JCDC-72 program.

Checkpoint:

• Fabric Architecture, HLD/LLD, addressing plans, and Fabric Source of Truth are completed and validated.

This module establishes the operational foundation for Juniper Data Center Switching, focusing on QFX platform architecture, system state, forwarding components, interface operations, and device standardization. Learners build the baseline operational knowledge required to prepare Spine and Leaf nodes before deploying the Data Center Fabric.

Core Topics:

• Juniper QFX Architecture
• Control Plane & Forwarding Plane
• Packet Forwarding Engine
• Interface, FPC/PIC & Port Architecture
• Interface Speed, Optics & Breakout Concepts
• VLAN, IRB & LAG Operational State
• Chassis & System Health
• Alarm & Interface Diagnostics
• LLDP
• Management & System Services
• SSH, NTP & Syslog
• NETCONF
• Commit, Rollback & Configuration Backup
• Configuration Diff & Baseline Management

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners standardize the Junos baseline configuration for Spine and Leaf nodes, configure Management Services, LLDP, Logging, NETCONF, validate chassis and interface health, and build a reusable Fabric Node Health Check process before beginning Data Center Fabric deployment.

Checkpoint:

• Spine and Leaf baseline configurations are standardized, validated, and confirmed to meet Fabric Node Health requirements.

This module establishes the physical and logical foundation of the Data Center Fabric using a 3-Stage Clos architecture, preparing the environment for routed underlay deployment, server connectivity, and future VXLAN services. Learners focus on Leaf–Spine connectivity, interface consistency, MTU planning, server attachment, and failure-domain design before introducing routing protocols into the Fabric.

Core Topics:

• 3-Stage Clos Architecture
• Leaf-to-Spine Full-Mesh Connectivity
• Layer 3 Fabric
• Routed Fabric Interfaces
• Point-to-Point Addressing
• Unnumbered Design Overview
• Interface & Cabling Consistency
• End-to-End MTU Planning
• VXLAN Encapsulation Overhead
• Server Single-Homing
• Server Dual-Homing
• LACP & Link Aggregation
• Data Center Failure Domains
• MC-LAG vs. EVPN Multihoming

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners deploy routed Leaf–Spine connectivity, validate LLDP and interface mapping, standardize end-to-end MTU, configure server attachment, and verify LACP operation before introducing the routing protocol into the Fabric.

Checkpoint:

• Physical and logical Fabric connectivity, MTU consistency, interface mapping, and server attachment are validated and confirmed to meet deployment requirements.

This module builds a scalable IP Fabric Underlay using eBGP, ECMP, Routing Policy, and BFD to provide resilient VTEP reachability and fast convergence across the Leaf–Spine Fabric. Learners focus on underlay routing design, controlled route advertisement, multipath forwarding, failure detection, and operational validation.

Core Topics:

• IP Fabric Underlay Architecture
• eBGP Underlay Design
• ASN Design Models
• BGP Peering
• VTEP Loopback Advertisement
• Routing Policy
• Prefix Filtering
• Route Leak Prevention
• BGP Next-Hop & Route Resolution
• Equal-Cost Multi-Path – ECMP
• BGP Multipath
• BFD Integration
• Fast Failure Detection
• Fast Convergence
• Underlay Acceptance Criteria
• Underlay Troubleshooting Workflow

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners deploy eBGP across the Leaf–Spine Fabric, advertise VTEP loopbacks with controlled policy, enable ECMP and BFD, perform link and Spine failure testing, and validate underlay convergence and reachability under failure conditions.

Checkpoint:

• eBGP Underlay, ECMP, BFD, VTEP reachability, and convergence behavior are validated and confirmed to meet underlay acceptance criteria.

This module extends the Fabric from the Layer 3 Underlay into the VXLAN Data Plane, enabling learners to understand how overlay traffic is encapsulated, transported, and forwarded across the Data Center Fabric. The focus is on VTEP behavior, VNI mapping, packet forwarding, encapsulation overhead, and MTU validation.

Core Topics:

• VLAN Scalability Limitations
• VXLAN Architecture
• VXLAN Header
• UDP Encapsulation
• Virtual Tunnel Endpoint – VTEP
• Virtual Network Identifier – VNI
• VLAN-to-VNI Mapping
• Underlay vs. Overlay
• Remote VTEP Reachability
• BUM Traffic
• MAC Learning
• VXLAN Packet Walk
• Encapsulation Overhead
• MTU Troubleshooting

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners build the first VXLAN segment, validate VTEP and VNI operation, capture traffic across the Fabric, analyze inner and outer headers, and troubleshoot issues related to MTU, VTEP reachability, and overlay forwarding.

Checkpoint:

• VXLAN Data Plane operation, VTEP reachability, VNI mapping, encapsulation behavior, and MTU consistency are validated and confirmed to operate correctly.

This module is one of the core technical pillars of JCDC-72, introducing BGP EVPN as the control plane for the VXLAN Fabric. Learners move MAC/IP learning from the data plane into a scalable control-plane model, gaining deep understanding of EVPN route types, MP-BGP signaling, RD/RT policy, tenant isolation, and operational verification.

Core Topics:

• BGP EVPN Architecture
• EVPN Address Family
• MP-BGP EVPN Signaling
• Underlay vs. Overlay BGP
• Overlay Peering
• Route Reflector Architecture
• EVPN Route Type 1
• EVPN Route Type 2
• EVPN Route Type 3
• EVPN Route Type 4
• EVPN Route Type 5
• MAC/IP Advertisement
• Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag
• Route Distinguisher – RD
• Route Target – RT
• Import/Export Control
• Tenant Isolation
• Control-Plane MAC Learning
• MAC Mobility
• EVPN Policy
• EVPN Database & Operational Verification
• EVPN Troubleshooting

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners deploy the EVPN Overlay, build the Route Reflector architecture, migrate VXLAN from manually defined remote VTEPs to EVPN-based signaling, analyze EVPN route types, validate MAC/IP advertisements, RD/RT import-export behavior, and tenant isolation, and troubleshoot control-plane issues across the Fabric.

Checkpoint:

• EVPN peering, route-type propagation, RD/RT policy, MAC/IP learning, tenant isolation, and control-plane operation are validated and confirmed to meet Fabric design requirements.

This module evolves the EVPN-VXLAN Fabric into a service-delivery platform for Layer 2 and Layer 3 tenant services, while introducing distributed gateway functionality at the Fabric edge. Learners focus on IRB, tenant VRFs, L2/L3 VNIs, Distributed Anycast Gateway, Symmetric IRB, Border Leaf design, and external connectivity.

Core Topics:

• Layer 2 Overlay Services
• Layer 2 VNI
• Controlled VLAN Stretching
• Integrated Routing and Bridging – IRB
• Tenant VRF
• Centrally Routed Bridging
• Edge-Routed Bridging
• Gateway Placement
• Distributed Anycast Gateway
• Layer 3 VNI
• Symmetric IRB
• Inter-Subnet Routing
• EVPN Type 2 Route
• EVPN Type 5 Route
• East–West Packet Flow
• North–South Packet Flow
• Border Leaf Architecture
• External Network Connectivity
• Tenant Route Policy

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners build Layer 2 overlay services, deploy IRB, migrate gateway functionality from a centralized model to a Distributed Anycast Gateway, implement Layer 3 VNIs and Symmetric IRB, and extend tenant connectivity toward Enterprise/WAN networks through the Border Leaf.

Checkpoint:

• Layer 2/Layer 3 overlay services, Distributed Anycast Gateway, Layer 3 VNIs, Symmetric IRB, and Border Leaf connectivity are validated and confirmed to meet tenant service and Fabric design requirements.

This module develops active-active resiliency at the Fabric edge using EVPN Multihoming, while examining how the Fabric converges during server, access-link, Leaf, and broader Fabric failures. Learners focus on Ethernet Segments, ESI-LAG, DF election, aliasing, split-horizon, mass MAC withdrawal, and service recovery behavior.

Core Topics:

• Ethernet Segment
• Ethernet Segment Identifier – ESI
• ESI-LAG
• LACP Integration
• All-Active Multihoming
• EVPN Route Type 1
• EVPN Route Type 4
• Aliasing
• Designated Forwarder Election
• DF / Non-DF Behavior
• BUM Traffic Handling
• Split-Horizon
• Loop Prevention
• Mass MAC Withdrawal
• MAC Mobility
• EVPN Multihoming vs. MC-LAG
• Link Failure
• Leaf Failure
• Fabric Failure
• Convergence Measurement

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners dual-home a Server/CE across two Leaf switches, deploy ESI-LAG, analyze EVPN Route Type 1/4 and DF election behavior, and perform fault injection across access links, Leaf nodes, and Fabric paths to measure route withdrawal, packet loss, convergence, and service recovery. Hardware-dependent behaviors are validated on Juniper QFX or through a dedicated Hardware Validation Lab when required.

Checkpoint:

• EVPN Multihoming, ESI-LAG, DF/Non-DF behavior, route withdrawal, convergence, and Fabric resiliency are validated and confirmed to meet failure-test criteria.

This module extends the Data Center Fabric from a single site into a Multi-Site architecture, while integrating automation, validation, monitoring, and operational assurance into the Fabric lifecycle. Learners focus on DCI design, service control, failure-domain isolation, automation workflows, configuration consistency, monitoring, compliance, and change management.

Core Topics:

• Data Center Interconnect Architecture
• Layer 2 Extension vs. Layer 3 Interconnect
• Border Leaf / Gateway
• EVPN-VXLAN DCI
• Multi-Site Architecture
• Failure-Domain Isolation
• Site-Specific RD/RT/VNI Planning
• DCI Route & Service Policy
• Prefix Filtering & Loop Prevention
• DCI MTU & Convergence
• Fabric Source of Truth
• Configuration Templates
• Jinja
• Junos PyEZ / Ansible
• Automated Backup
• Pre-Check & Post-Check
• Fabric Consistency Validation
• Syslog
• SNMP / Telemetry
• Fabric Health Monitoring
• Configuration Drift
• Compliance Checking
• Change Management
• Upgrade Planning
• Rollback Strategy

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners interconnect two EVPN-VXLAN Fabrics/Sites at lab scale, control which tenants and services are permitted across the DCI, and automate backup, configuration generation, state collection, and validation. They also build a reusable Fabric Health & Compliance Report to support operational assurance, consistency checking, and day-to-day Fabric management.

Checkpoint:

• DCI policy, Multi-Site service control, automation workflows, Fabric validation, monitoring, and operational processes are validated and confirmed to operate according to design.

This capstone integrates the full JCDC-72 learning journey into a complete Juniper Data Center IP Fabric, bringing together architecture, implementation, automation, operations, validation, and advanced troubleshooting. Learners receive a set of technical requirements and must execute the complete Data Center Engineering lifecycle from design through final acceptance.

Core Topics:

• Requirements Analysis
• Leaf–Spine Architecture
• Failure Domain Design
• IP / ASN / Loopback Planning
• VLAN / VNI / VRF Design
• RD / RT Planning
• HLD & LLD Review
• Routed Leaf–Spine Fabric
• eBGP Underlay
• ECMP
• BFD
• VTEP Reachability
• VXLAN Data Plane
• BGP EVPN Control Plane
• Layer 2 Overlay
• Layer 3 Overlay
• Distributed Anycast Gateway
• Symmetric IRB
• EVPN Multihoming
• Border Leaf
• Data Center Interconnect
• Configuration Backup
• Automated Validation
• Fabric Health Check
• Configuration Compliance
• Change Validation
• Operational State Collection
• Multi-Layer Fault Injection
• Impact & Scope Analysis
• Failure Domain Identification
• Underlay vs. Overlay Failure Analysis
• Control Plane vs. Data Plane Failure Analysis
• Service vs. Endpoint Failure Analysis
• Root Cause Analysis
• Corrective Action
• Preventive Action
• Acceptance Testing

Hands-on Engineering:

• Learners design, build, validate, automate, and operate a complete Juniper Data Center Fabric based on defined technical requirements. During the capstone, the instructor performs Multi-Layer Fault Injection, requiring learners to isolate the failure domain, identify the root cause, restore service, and document corrective and preventive actions. After recovery, learners rerun the complete acceptance test and prove Fabric health using operational state, routing tables, EVPN databases, MAC tables, logs, counters, packet captures, and end-to-end traffic tests.

Checkpoint:

• The complete Juniper Data Center Fabric is designed, implemented, validated, recovered from injected faults, and confirmed to meet final architecture, service, resiliency, automation, operational, and acceptance criteria.