Legacy firewalls can’t keep up with today’s rapidly evolving cyber threats and the increasing demand for secure, scalable cloud networks. In this case study, you’ll see how Wanclouds helped a global company successfully replace its outdated Vyatta and FortiGate firewalls with Juniper vSRX, a modern virtual firewall solution.
What is Juniper vSRX?
Juniper vSRX is Juniper Networks’ next-generation virtual firewall designed for cloud and virtualized environments. It delivers the same robust security and networking capabilities as Juniper’s physical SRX Series firewalls, but with the flexibility and scalability of virtualization.
Key Features of Juniper vSRX
- Full NGFW Capabilities: Intrusion prevention, application visibility, advanced threat protection.
- High Scalability: Easily scale up or down to meet workload needs.
- Automation-Ready: Works with cloud orchestration tools like OpenStack, VMware, IBM, AWS, and Azure.
- Consistent Policy Enforcement: Same policy framework across physical and virtual firewalls.
- Cost Efficiency: Eliminate hardware refresh cycles and maintenance overhead.
By upgrading to Juniper vSRX, the company improved its network security, reduced the risks linked to unsupported hardware, and gained the flexibility to scale in the cloud, all with zero downtime. This real-world example shows why more businesses are replacing legacy firewalls with virtual firewall solutions to protect data, meet compliance needs, and future-proof their networks. To see the benefits in action, consider this real case study.
Company Background:
A global leader in technology, with operations in energy, industrial automation, and semiconductor solutions, needed to modernize its network security across the Asia-Pacific region. They operate in markets around the world and provide reliable solutions that help businesses and infrastructure keep up with changing demands.
The company focuses on improving how it uses technology and keeping its operations running smoothly. This helps them stay up to date in areas like network security, cloud services, and modern IT systems. To keep their connections secure and avoid problems with outdated equipment, they needed a strong firewall upgrade to replace old hardware and improve how their network performs.
Challenges with Outdated Firewalls
Like many enterprises, this company relied on legacy firewalls that had reached end-of-life. Specific challenges included:
- End-of-Life Devices: Four Vyatta 5400/5600 and two FortiGate appliances were no longer supported, leaving security gaps.
- Hybrid Cloud Demands: Existing hardware couldn’t handle increasing bandwidth and cloud workloads.
- Complex Multi-Vendor Environment: Different rule sets, VPNs, and security policies made standardization difficult.
- Compliance Risks: Security controls had to remain intact during migration to meet strict industry requirements.
- Downtime Sensitivity: Any extended downtime would disrupt operations and customer services.
The Solution: Juniper vSRX Virtual Firewall
After evaluating options, the company selected Juniper vSRX, Juniper Networks’ next-generation virtual firewall. This software-based firewall provides robust security, flexible deployment, and seamless scalability across on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud environments.
Key Benefits of Juniper vSRX
- Full NGFW Capabilities: Advanced threat prevention, application visibility, and intrusion detection.
- High Scalability: Easily scale up or down as workloads grow or shift.
- Automation-Ready: Integrates with orchestration tools like OpenStack, VMware, IBM Cloud, AWS, and Azure.
- Consistent Policy Enforcement: Unified policy framework across physical and virtual firewalls.
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Eliminates hardware refresh cycles and reduces maintenance costs.
How Wanclouds Delivered a Seamless Migration
The company partnered with Wanclouds, a cloud migration expert, to plan and execute a smooth, risk-free cutover. The migration approach included:
1️. Environment Assessment: Full audit of existing firewall configurations, rules, VPNs, and policies.
2️. Automated Migration Tools: Custom configuration translators reduced manual errors and saved time.
3️. Sandbox Testing: All configurations were validated in a test environment to ensure policy consistency.
4️. Phased Cutover: Firewalls were transitioned in phases, minimizing downtime risk.
5️. Ongoing Monitoring: Post-migration, the new virtual firewalls were continuously monitored and optimized.
Results
With Juniper vSRX, the company achieved measurable improvements:
- Zero Major Downtime: Services stayed online throughout migration.
- Improved Security Posture: Real-time threat prevention with up-to-date signatures.
- Better Performance: Virtual firewalls easily handled cloud workloads and high-bandwidth traffic.
- Future Scalability: New firewalls can be deployed on demand without new hardware.
- Lower Costs: Reduced physical hardware footprint, power usage, and maintenance overhead.
Customer Quote: “With Juniper vSRX and Wanclouds’ expertise, we transformed our legacy security into a modern, scalable solution without any service disruption.”
Why This Matters
For many global enterprises, migrating from outdated hardware to a virtual firewall like Juniper vSRX is a critical step toward modern network security. This case study proves that it’s possible to replace legacy firewalls without compromising uptime or compliance.
How Does a Virtual Firewall Like Juniper vSRX Work?
A virtual firewall runs as a software appliance on standard x86 servers or in your cloud. It inspects and filters traffic just like a physical firewall, but provides extra flexibility for modern workloads and distributed environments.
Key Benefits of Virtual Firewalls
- Deploy in Minutes: Spin up new firewalls when and where you need them.
- Flexible Licensing: Pay-as-you-go or subscription models.
- Cloud-Native Integration: Orchestrate via APIs and automation tools.
- Unified Security Management: One console for all your virtual and physical firewalls.
Best Practices for Firewall Migration
Businesses planning to replace legacy firewalls with virtual solutions like Juniper vSRX should:
- Assess the Environment: Inventory all existing configurations, VPNs, and rules.
- Use Automation: Automated tools reduce human error during translation.
- Test Thoroughly: Validate new configurations in a sandbox before deployment.
- Plan for Compliance: Maintain consistent security controls and audit trails.
- Monitor and Optimize: Continuously monitor performance and update policies as needed.
Additional Resources
- Juniper Networks Official Site
- Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls
- Wanclouds: Cloud Migration Experts
- Click Here for PDF Download
For More Info
Do you have any queries or need more information? Please contact our experts today.
