IT teams need routed edge capacity that fits tight sites without losing control as services grow, and the ACX Series gives them a Cloud Metro platform for access, aggregation and service edge routing. It supports compact branch and metro deployments, and the range adds room to scale from lower-speed access links to denser 100GbE and 400GbE handoff where required.

It is used in access nodes, regional hubs and data-centre edge sites where space, power and resilience matter. That helps keep traffic separated, maintain service continuity and support growth without redesigning the network each time demand changes.

Juniper ACX Quick Specs & Key Features

  • Compact Metro Routing: A fixed 1U cloud metro edge design combines routed access and pre-aggregation in a small footprint, helping telecoms, utilities, finance, manufacturing and logistics sites consolidate services where space and power are limited, so deployment is simpler.
  • Flexible Service Mix: Native 1/10/25GbE access ports with 100GbE uplink options support mixed service handoff from branch, plant and cell-site environments, letting teams align port speed to local demand and reduce excess infrastructure.
  • Carrier-Grade Automation: Junos OS Evolved and automation support provide standardised orchestration for metro service expansion, reducing manual configuration effort and lowering operational overhead.
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  • High-Capacity Throughput: 360Gbps system capacity supports aggregation of growing routed traffic at the edge, giving network teams more headroom for broadband, operational and private connectivity flows with lower latency.
  • Secure Connectivity: MACsec support protects data in transit across metro fibre links, helping enterprises maintain confidentiality between sites and strengthen resilience.
  • Hardened Deployment: An environmentally rated platform is suited to utility, industrial and distributed site installations, allowing dependable operation in tougher locations and improving availability.

Find your ideal Juniper ACX

Full technical specifications are available on each product page.

Model Popularity Deployment Primary Use Case Form Factor Maximum Port Speed Routing Throughput (Gbps) FIB / Forwarding Table Size SD-WAN Support High Availability Support
Juniper ACX7024 24-Port Cloud Metro Edge Router Juniper ACX7024 24-Port Cloud Metro Edge Router ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge 1U 25G — 2M No — View
Juniper ACX7100-32C 32-Port 100GbE Cloud Metro Router Juniper ACX7100-32C 32-Port 100GbE Cloud Metro Router ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge 1U 100G — 4M No — View
Juniper ACX7100-48L 48-Port 10/25GbE Cloud Metro Router Juniper ACX7100-48L 48-Port 10/25GbE Cloud Metro Router ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge 1U 25G — 4M No — View
Juniper ACX7332 32-Port 400GbE Edge Router Juniper ACX7332 32-Port 400GbE Edge Router ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge 1U 100G — 4M No — View
Juniper ACX7348 48-Port 100GbE Edge Router Juniper ACX7348 48-Port 100GbE Edge Router ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge 1U 25G — 4M No — View
Juniper ACX7509 Modular Edge Router Chassis Juniper ACX7509 Modular Edge Router Chassis ★ ★ ★ Service Provider Edge Modular 100G — 8M No — View
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Juniper ACX Deployment Scenarios and Industries

Data Centres

Data centre teams need routed links between facilities, clouds and metro networks that can grow without reworking the edge. ACX Series platforms support compact access sites, dense 100GbE aggregation and higher-capacity 400GbE edge roles where different handoff requirements meet in one metro design.

Media & Entertainment

Broadcast and content teams need dependable transport for contribution, distribution and facility interconnect. ACX Series routers support high-capacity routed paths for live workflows, studio sites and media hubs where traffic must move across metro links with clear service separation.

Finance

Financial organisations need resilient connectivity for branches, market data, replication and private WAN links. ACX Series platforms support compact edge handoff, dense 100GbE transport and modular growth where routed services must stay predictable across metro and data centre sites.

Energy & Utilities

Utilities need secure, deterministic links between substations, control sites and operations centres. ACX Series routers support compact and hardened metro deployments, giving regional networks a way to carry operational traffic, timing and control services across constrained sites.

Logistics

Logistics teams need dependable routing between depots, hubs and data platforms as services spread across many sites. ACX Series platforms support compact edge aggregation, denser access links and scalable metro capacity for distributed WAN and operational networks.

Juniper ACX Management and Licensing Options

Control Distributed Connectivity with Juniper SD-WAN

Juniper SD-WAN centralises policy and connectivity management across distributed branch and WAN environments. It helps teams apply consistent policies, improve the use of available connections and direct application traffic across suitable paths while simplifying day-to-day operation across multiple locations.

Explore Juniper SD-WAN

Investigate WAN Performance with Juniper Marvis

Juniper Marvis uses AI-driven telemetry analysis and natural-language queries to help teams investigate WAN connectivity and performance issues. It can highlight likely causes, identify affected locations and recommend actions, helping engineers resolve recurring problems across distributed network environments.

Explore Juniper Marvis

Design and Modernise Your Juniper Routing Estate

As a UK Juniper partner, Steel City Consulting assesses, designs, deploys and supports ACX, MX and PTX routing environments. We help with platform selection, capacity planning, migration, resilience, optimisation, maintenance and phased lifecycle planning across edge, WAN and high-performance network infrastructure.

Book a Juniper Routing Assessment

Why Work With Steel City Consulting

We’re trusted by IT teams in enterprise environments, data centres and complex multi-vendor estates. Our consultants can help you select, deploy and manage Juniper ACX routing, with practical support across sourcing, licensing, migration and lifecycle planning.

  • Official multi-vendor partner Pricing, licensing and upgrade routes across leading infrastructure technology vendors.
  • Decades of IT expertise Hands-on consultancy across networking, compute, storage and security.
  • UK-wide support network Certified engineers and technicians for on-site projects, SLAs and break/fix cover.

Juniper ACX Series

Book a consultation with our specialists

Tell us about your current routing estate and project requirements. We’ll review compatibility, integration and support needs, then identify the most suitable route forward.

Juniper ACX Procurement & Vendor Support

We can help you compare Juniper ACX routers, balancing performance, scalability, licensing and operational fit.

Right-sized solution selection

We can help you choose the right ACX platform for your environment and growth plans, so you invest in the capacity you need without paying for capacity you won’t use.

Certified licensing & support routes

As an official Juniper partner, we can source hardware, licences, subscriptions and vendor support through authorised channels, so warranties stay valid and support entitlements are clear.

Procurement timing & budget planning

We can help you time purchases around budget cycles, refresh deadlines and project milestones, with financing options available to spread the investment.

Deployment & lifecycle planning

We can help you plan implementation, migration, support renewals and future upgrades, so your team is prepared well before equipment reaches end of support.

Need help selecting Juniper ACX routers?

Speak to our experts about selecting, deploying or migrating Juniper ACX routing for metro and edge networks.

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Designing & Supporting Juniper ACX Solutions

Backed by decades of expertise in the IT sector, our specialists support every stage of your deployment — from initial selection through to long-term lifecycle management.

  • Network Assessment & Router Selection: We assess your locations, applications, interfaces, bandwidth, routing requirements and plans for growth before recommending Juniper routing infrastructure. ACX, MX and PTX platforms are evaluated according to their intended edge, aggregation, service provider or high-capacity core role.
  • WAN & Routing Architecture: We design routing environments around connectivity, traffic flow, segmentation, resilience and future capacity. Routing protocols, MPLS, segment routing, uplinks and redundant paths are considered where appropriate, creating an architecture aligned with the services the network must carry.
  • Configuration, Deployment & Router Migration: Our engineers configure, stage and deploy Juniper routers before migrating circuits, interfaces, routing protocols and network services. Dependencies, change windows and rollback options are carefully planned to reduce disruption to users, connected locations and business-critical applications.
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  • Performance, Resilience & SD-WAN: We configure path selection, quality of service, circuit failover and routing policies around application and availability requirements. Where suitable, Juniper SD-WAN can provide centralised control and application-aware connectivity across branches and distributed environments.
  • Optimisation, J-Care & Lifecycle Planning: Steel City Consulting reviews routing performance, configuration consistency, interface utilisation and platform capacity to identify risks and opportunities for improvement. We also provide firmware guidance, phased refresh planning and help arranging suitable J-Care support coverage.

Juniper ACX FAQ

What Is Juniper Cloud Metro?

Juniper Cloud Metro is Juniper’s approach to metro networks, using ACX routers to carry broadband, business, mobile and cloud services over one shared network.

Instead of separate networks for each service, Cloud Metro runs them side by side, with automation and service testing built into the router software. Juniper says Paragon Automation cuts device onboarding from hours to minutes.

Should I Choose the ACX7100-32C or ACX7100-48L?

Choose the ACX7100-32C to aggregate 100GbE links or where links need MACsec encryption, and the ACX7100-48L to gather many 10GbE to 50GbE links.

Every port on the 32C supports MACsec (encryption of traffic between routers), which the 48L doesn’t offer. The 48L lets each port’s speed be set individually, suiting sites where access links run at mixed speeds.

Should I Choose a Fixed ACX7100 or an Expandable ACX7300?

Choose a 1U ACX7100 where port needs are clear and space is tight, and a 3U ACX7332 or ACX7348 where capacity must grow through expansion modules.

The ACX7300 models have three expansion bays for 400GbE, 100GbE or 50GbE modules. The ACX7100 offers more capacity, 4.8 Tbps against 2.4 Tbps, in a third of the rack space.

When Is the ACX7509 the Right Choice?

The ACX7509 suits large aggregation hubs and central offices that need many connections, room to grow, and redundancy in both control and forwarding.

The 5U chassis takes up to eight line cards from 1GbE to 400GbE, and the premium configuration adds a second control board and forwarding board, so one failure doesn’t take the hub offline.

Which ACX Router Suits Harsh Locations?

The industrial-rated ACX7024 suits small access sites in tough conditions, while the temperature-hardened ACX7332 and ACX7348 suit larger aggregation sites in similar locations.

The ACX7024 is rated from -40°C to +65°C in a compact 1U router. The ACX7300 models add 2.4 Tbps and expansion bays, so hardened sites can handle more traffic as they grow.

Should I Choose a Juniper ACX or MX Router?

Choose an ACX router for compact metro access and aggregation sites, and an MX router where a site delivers richer edge services such as business VPNs.

ACX routers are built for power-efficient metro transport, while Juniper MX routers add deeper service features. Many providers use both, with ACX routers feeding traffic to MX routers at the service edge.

Can Juniper ACX Routers Be Used in Enterprise Networks?

Yes, Juniper positions ACX7000 routers for enterprises as well as service providers, connecting branch sites, campuses and data centres over metro links.

Enterprises with their own fibre or metro links can use ACX routers at the WAN edge for regional sites. The ACX7100 and ACX7509 also suit data centre roles such as top-of-rack and spine-leaf designs.

How Can Steel City Consulting Help Me Choose a Juniper ACX Router?

We can match the right Juniper ACX router to each site’s role, space, conditions and growth, from the compact ACX7024 to the modular ACX7509.

We review your network layout, link speeds and timing needs, then plan optics, expansion modules and licences so each site is ready to grow. Talk to our specialists about your Cloud Metro project.

Need a different solution?

If these options aren’t the right fit for your environment, we provide a wide portfolio of product series and solutions that may better suit your infrastructure. Explore below, or speak to our team and we’ll help you find the right match.

Ready to discuss your requirements?

Whether you know exactly what you need or you’re still evaluating options, our team is available for a no-obligation conversation.

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