Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service Datasheet

Service overview

Challenges may arise during a software upgrade. As a network operations decision-maker, you want to proceed cautiously. If you don’t move forward, functionality suffers, missing features develop, or product issues can cause downtime. If a problem occurs during the upgrade, network performance is compromised significantly.

With the Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service, the effort and risk associated with Data Center Director software upgrades is greatly reduced with access to Data Center Director experts, Juniper test engineers in Juniper test labs, and best practice methodologies.

Service description

Apstra^® Data Center Director, a turnkey, multivendor automation solution, enables you to design, build, deploy, and operate data center networks from a single pane of glass. The solution simplifies automated data center operations across vast infrastructure such as controllers, routers, and switches. By focusing on reliability, Data Center Director enables network teams to manage their data center operations with confidence. Businesses that leverage Data Center Director to manage their data center networks typically upgrade on a regular basis to ensure compliance and the latest features.

The upgrade process has both rewards and risks. When all goes well, the day-to-day operations continue to move forward seamlessly. Failing to upgrade can have disastrous consequences. Resolving and restoring the network can be not only time consuming, but extremely costly.

Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service supports enterprises in managing upgrade cycles for Data Center Director software by carefully planning, validating, and assisting with execution. The service helps ensure upgrades are successful with minimized adverse impacts. Benefits of the service include:

Seamless delivery is prepackaged and remote
Expert review of your Data Center Director software requirements, assessment of upgrade risk, analysis of potential impacts on your network, and recommendations on a target Data Center Director software release for your requirements
Thorough testing of Data Center Director software from the current deployed release to a recommended target Data Center Director software release in our Juniper Customer Certification Lab (CCL) environment
Remote engineering assistance is provided for upgrading Data Center Director software during the change implementation window

Our service gives your organization access to:

Data Center Director data center experts
Juniper test engineers in Juniper test labs with extensive knowledge of Juniper products and technologies
Proven best practice upgrade test methodology and tools that provide a high degree of upgrade assurance
Faster completion speed, deterministic timelines, and reduced upgrade risks

Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service begins with an assigned Juniper technical resource as your single point of contact for the duration of service. Juniper resource will set up a virtual kickoff meeting with you and project stakeholders to review your upgrade requirements, the service engagement scope, milestones, and customer responsibilities.

After the kickoff meeting, Juniper creates a recommendation for a targeted Data Center Director software release, including an assessment of your current Data Center Director software version, per provided feature requirements, problem history, and your infrastructure. This is followed by an analysis of the target Data Center Director software release to determine the potential impact on your network. The analysis includes a review of additional software features and software defects and advises the best course of action for you. A recommendation for the target Data Center Director software version for the upgrade is provided with a consolidated report containing an upgrade requirements assessment, target software analysis, and any identified improvements.

Once the recommended release for the Data Center Director software upgrade is available, the service provides you with Juniper expertise and resources to perform the Data Center Director software upgrade validation, including a test of the upgrade procedure in Juniper labs prior to implementation in a production network. It qualifies one software release upgrade test cycle for Data Center Director from current deployed release to the recommended targeted release. A final Test Exit Report with the upgrade Method of Procedure (MOP) will be delivered to you. The MOP will outline steps for upgrading Data Center Director, as well as a plan for restoring the old (current) Data Center Director software in case issues occur.

Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service closes with the Juniper engineer assisting you with any questions, concerns, or problems during one maintenance window for one software release upgrade of the Data Center Director server . The Juniper engineer will transition any outstanding issues following the change control maintenance window to your point of contact for follow up and escalations to Juniper technical support teams. During a post-upgrade review, a Juniper engineer will discuss the software upgrade to assess accuracy and actions.

Table 1. Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service features and benefits

Feature	Description	Benefits
Single point of contact	Juniper assigns a resource to manage the engagement	Accelerate upgrade planning and implementation with well-defined communication path between you and Juniper
Kickoff meeting	Juniper reviews your upgrade requirements, service engagement scope, milestones, responsibilities, data collection requirements, and delivery process	Alignment on upgrade engagement scope, responsibilities, and expectations
Software upgrade requirements assessment	Juniper engineer reviews the current conditions, problem history, and feature requirements of your Apstra Data Center Director-managed data center network	Accurate assessment of the risk and probability of your network’s exposure to known defects Potential issues avoided or their impact minimized with proactive upgrade requirement analysis Careful and informed preemptive operation of your network
Software release analysis	Juniper engineer analyzes the targeted software release to determine potential impact on your network	Impact from issues in upgrade release minimized through expert analysis
Software upgrade recommendation	Juniper engineer provides software upgrade recommendations based on the target software release analysis	Cost normally incurred with software upgrades minimized by implementing recommended software release optimal for your network
Upgrade test plan creation and review	Juniper test engineer writes upgrade test plan to cover multiple pre- and post-upgrade scenarios and reviews the test plan with you	Upgrade risk for production environment minimized by developing a comprehensive validation plan using Juniper engineering experience and expertise in collaboration with you
Test execution and defect management	Test cases executed per plan by Juniper engineer(s) in our Customer Certification Lab on a fixed reference test setup Juniper validates software defects, allowing issues to be addressed	MOP effectiveness validated for the software and configuration Identified issues addressed (or managed) prior to production implementation
Test exit report and MOP delivery	Juniper delivers a final test exit report and MOP for upgrading Data Center Director (and connected devices, when applicable)	Reduced upgrade risk because MOP includes steps to revert to original Data Center Director release Expected timeline for upgrade identified in reported test experience
Upgrade maintenance window technical consultation	Juniper engineer assists you with any questions, concerns, or problems during the upgrade implementation	Reduced upgrade time and expense with Juniper’s award-winning network support expertise
Post-upgrade maintenance window review	Juniper engineers assess software upgrade success with you and discuss possible areas of improvement, if applicable, focusing on follow-up changes	Clear assessment and identification of next steps after the software upgrade

Additional Juniper Global Services

As leaders in data center networking, Juniper Global Services consultants and engineers are uniquely qualified to assist you in designing, implementing, and optimizing network solutions. Please contact your Juniper Account Manager regarding other services for your next-generation data centers.

Training

Network engineers automating data center deployments and migrations with Data Center Director should consider attending the associated training course. Engineers will learn the foundational knowledge required to work with Data Center Director and to manage data center networks with it. Alternatively, the All-Access Training Pass provides access to every Juniper instructor-led or on-demand (self-paced) training course for a full year for one low price.

Juniper service and support

Juniper ensures operational excellence by optimizing the network to maintain required levels of performance, reliability, and availability. For more details, please visit https://www.juniper.net/us/en/services.html.

Ordering information

To order the Juniper Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service, or for additional information, contact your Juniper Account Manager. The lead time to start service delivery is four to eight weeks from time of purchase. For additional details such as scope, deliverables, eligibility, and exclusions, please refer to corresponding Service Description https://support.juniper.net/support/guidelines/.

Exclusion

The scope of this service is for Apstra Data Center Director Upgrade Assistance Service only and does not include separately sold assessment, design, migration, or deployment services. If you require additional services from Juniper Global Services, please contact your Juniper Account Manager.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is leading the convergence of AI and networking. Mist^™, Juniper’s AI-native networking platform, is purpose-built to run AI workloads and simplify IT operations, assuring exceptional and secure user and application experiences—from the edge to the data center to the cloud. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net, X, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

1000786 - 002 - EN JULY 2025