Juniper EX2200 Hardware Manual page 25

Table 4: Special Interface Types and Purposes (continued)
Type
Integrated Routing and
Bridging (IRB) Interface or
Routed VLAN Interface (RVI)
Virtual Chassis port (VCP)
interfaces
Virtual management Ethernet
(VME) interface
Copyright © 2015, Juniper Networks, Inc.
Purpose
EX Series switches use an integrated routing and bridging (IRB) interface or Routed VLAN
Interface (RVI) to route traffic from one broadcast domain to another and to perform other
Layer 3 functions such as traffic engineering. These functions are typically performed by a router
interface in a traditional network.
The IRB interface or RVI functions as a logical router, eliminating the need for having both a
switch and a router. These interfaces must be configured as part of a broadcast domain or
virtual private LAN service (VPLS) routing instance for Layer 3 traffic to be routed from.
Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) are used to interconnect switches in a Virtual Chassis:
EX3300 switches—Port 2 and port 3 of the SFP+ uplink ports are preconfigured as VCPs and
can be used to interconnect up to six EX3300 switches in an EX3300 Virtual Chassis. See
Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI Procedure).
EX4200 and EX4500 switches—Each EX4200 switch or each EX4500 switch with a Virtual
Chassis module installed has two dedicated VCPs on its rear panel. These ports can be used
to interconnect up to ten EX4200 switches in an EX4200 Virtual Chassis, up to ten EX4500
switches in an EX4500 Virtual Chassis, and up to ten switches in a mixed EX4200 and
EX4500 Virtual Chassis. When you power on switches that are interconnected in this manner,
the software automatically configures the VCP interfaces for the dedicated ports that have
been interconnected. These VCP interfaces are not configurable or modifiable. See
Understanding the High-Speed Interconnection of the Dedicated Virtual Chassis Ports
Connecting EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 Member Switches.
You can also interconnect EX4200 and EX4500 switches by using uplink module ports.
Using uplink ports allows you to connect switches over longer distances than you can by
using the dedicated VCPs. To use the uplink ports as VCPs, you must explicitly configure the
uplink module ports on the members you want to connect as VCPs. See Setting an Uplink
Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI Procedure) or Setting an Uplink Port
as a Virtual Chassis Port on an EX4500 or EX4550 Switch (CLI Procedure).
EX4300 switches—All QSFP+ ports are configured as VCPs, by default. See Understanding
EX4300 Virtual Chassis
You can also interconnect EX4300 switches into a Virtual Chassis by using SFP+ uplink
module ports as VCPs. Using uplink ports as VCPs allows you to connect switches over longer
distances than you can by using the QSFP+ ports as VCPs. To use the uplink ports as VCPs,
you must explicitly configure the uplink module ports on the members you want to connect
as VCPs. See Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI
Procedure).
EX8200 switches—EX8200 switches can be connected to an XRE200 External Routing
Engine to create an EX8200 Virtual Chassis. The XRE200 External Routing Engine has
dedicated VCPs that connect to ports on the internal Routing Engines of the EX8200 switches
and can connect to another XRE200 External Routing Engine for redundancy. These ports
require no configuration.
You can also connect two members of an EX8200 Virtual Chassis so that they can exchange
Virtual Chassis Control Protocol (VCCP) traffic. To do so, you explicitly configure network
ports on the EX8200 switches as VCPs. See Understanding Virtual Chassis Ports in an EX8200
Virtual Chassis.
EX3300, EX4200, EX4300, and EX4500 switches have a VME interface. This is a logical interface
that is used for Virtual Chassis configurations and allows you to manage all the members of
the Virtual Chassis through the master. For more information about the VME interface, see
Understanding Global Management of a Virtual Chassis.
EX8200 switches do not use a VME interface. An EX8200 Virtual Chassis is managed through
the management Ethernet (
me0
) interface on the XRE200 External Routing Engine.
Chapter 1: Interfaces Overview
5