Day 1: Managing your AI data center at scale with Juniper Networks

This presentation by Kyle Baxter focuses on how Juniper Networks’ Apstra solution can manage AI data centers at scale. Apstra simplifies network configuration for AI/ML workloads by providing tools to assign virtual networks across numerous ports, an essential capability in environments with potentially millions of ports. The core of the presentation highlights the ability to provision virtual networks and configure load balancing with ease, using an intent-based approach that simplifies complex network tasks. This reduces the burden of manual configuration and allows users to quickly deploy and manage their AI data centers, regardless of the number of GPUs.

Through its continuous validation features, Baxter demonstrates how Apstra allows users to pre-emptively catch configuration issues, such as missing VLAN assignments. This prevents errors before they impact operations. Furthermore, the system enables bulk operations to streamline the assignment of virtual networks and subnets across the entire infrastructure. The solution includes options for selecting load balancing policies, with clear explanations through built-in help text. Juniper focuses on simplifying tasks through an intuitive interface to minimize the need for command-line configuration and facilitate a faster and more efficient deployment process for AI data centers.

Finally, Baxter mentions the delivery of Apstra as a virtual machine, with the solution available for download on the Juniper website. It can be deployed on-premise to manage a network and integrated with MIST AI for AI-driven network operations. The upcoming release of version 6.0 and support for advanced features like RDMA load balancing were also discussed. The key message is that Juniper’s Apstra enables efficient deployment and management of AI infrastructure at scale, regardless of the deployment size, simplifying complex tasks with its user-friendly interface and automated features.