Juniper Networks has announced its IP networking solutions have been validated for interoperability with Microsoft Lync Server 2010. This validation assures customers that Juniper products meet the designated performance requirements needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences through easy and secure delivery of rich media business communications including presence, instant messaging, video, conferencing and voice.

Juniper solutions enhance the quality of the unified communications (UC) experience and increase IT efficiencies for Microsoft Lync by providing high Quality of Service, high availability and secure delivery of UC and VoIP traffic. Juniper has developed high-performance networking solutions that offer superior security, operational simplicity, scalability and flexibility at a low total cost of ownership allowing customers to realize the benefits of deploying next-generation applications. Juniper IP networking solutions are designed to ensure optimal performance of enterprise unified communications applications.

"Microsoft Corp. is committed to offering a new connected user experience that transforms communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, engaging and accessible from anywhere," said Kirk Gregersen, senior director of product management, Microsoft Lync. "This can be achieved through a single, easily managed and unified platform. Juniper's products help customers take full advantage of Lync's delivery of presence, instant messaging, conferencing and enterprise voice capabilities through a single, easy-to-use interface for end users."

The Juniper solutions that received certification include the M and MX Series Routers, SRX Series Services Gateways (Branch and Data Center), and EX Series Ethernet Switches. These Juniper solutions are certified compatible with Lync Server 2010 and offer a rich set of features to help ensure a high-quality UC deployment, including:

--  Quality of Experience (QoE) voice, video and messaging take priority on the network as needed by the customer. By processing media using customized ASICs and dedicated packet forwarding cores, Juniper provides ultra-high performance with minimized delay and jitter. The    ability to enforce bandwidth utilization assures proper resources and eliminates loss of priority packets.

--  High-availability of Lync Server 2010 services through multi-homing and redundancy of network switches, routers and services gateways.

--  Optimized for Efficiency including auto discovery of Lync devices which enables automatic assignment of voice Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) and Quality of Service (QoS) settings; and the capability to optimize media routing in support of STUN/TURN as implemented by Lync Server 2010.

--  Superior security from branch firewalls that allow the direct connection of media traffic to roaming telecommuters for best QoE and efficiency; and 802.1x for authenticating devices connected to the network.

"As enterprises continue to adopt VoIP and UC to reduce costs and improve productivity, they need a networking infrastructure that can provide high Quality of Service, high availability and secure delivery of UC and VoIP traffic," said Karim Toubba, vice president of product marketing of Services Layer Technologies Business Group at Juniper Networks. "Today's announcement is a significant milestone for Juniper Networks and enterprise customers as it signals that the combination of Juniper's network infrastructure and Microsoft's UC architecture provide best in class networking infrastructure to customers requiring a reliable delivery of business communications such as voice, video and data capabilities."