Junos OS

Hi All,

I apologise if this information is already there  in the forum.

I am new to Juniper platform ,and  would like to get my hands on junos and screenos.

I have bought an SSG20 from ebay to to start with a home lab and trying to get an SRX series router , but none of them were cheap in ebay so I  checked with a reseller.Surprisingly the price of a new SRX 100 was nearly equal to the ebay price. I have got few doubts which I would like to get cleared  befor making any purchase.

1) Can I learn Junos with an SRX 100 ? In some forums I read like its not running real Junos and its like a combination of Junos and ScreenOS . I have plans to buy just one more device (I already bought an SSG 20 to have screenOS ) . So do you think its worth to buy SRX 100 or  should I go for any used J series or M series  ?

2) 55$ is the cost  for1 Year Juniper care ? Do I really need  the juniper care support  to download the image or updates ?

My target is to acquire the knowledge in an associate level only . I decided to limit with 2 junipers as I already have few cisco devices  which can be used in the lab along with junipers. Let me know if you think that more Juniper devices are needed to acquire a decent knowledge of Junos/Screenos.

Regards,

Tom

The SRX100 runs real Junos - there is no difference from an operating system between any of the branch SRX devices. The 100 is very limited in terms of interfaces - IE - it only has 8 10/100 ports on it with no ability to add in a PIM card.

But if you get the high memory version it will run UTM, IDP, AppSecure and you can get 30 day trial licenses for them. 

I would not buy a J series. As for an M, well do you want to focus more on routing or security? If you want general knowledge (broad based) buy an SRX.

You can also run the SRX in packet mode and in L2 mode for some switching capability. 

Juniper care is required for a login to the Juniper support site for downloading of software images. You are not legally able to get new code without a valid maintenance agreement.

Hope this helps you.

Thank you Kevin .

I prefer to buildup a beginner-intremediate level  knowledge on routing as well as security in Juniper platform . I am interested in routing, firewall features and vpns . I hope that I can reach there  using SRX and SSG20.

I will go for the SRX100 as you suggested. 

I have found a used M7i for less than 1000$  and thought of buying it. But if SRX is good enough to meet my needs I prefer to buy a new SRX rather than a used M7.

I will purchase the Juniper care as its important to have the updated images. 

Once again thank you for your  guidance.

Regards,

Tom