Downloading and setting up the Juniper vMX bundle (version 17.1R1.8)
is a common task for network engineers building virtual labs. This specific bundle is a
archive that contains the images needed to run both the Virtual Control Plane (VCP) and the Virtual Forwarding Plane (VFP). 1. Acquiring the Bundle To download the official vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz
file, you typically need an active Juniper support contract. Official Portal: You can find software downloads on the Juniper Support Portal Free Trial:
If you are a current customer looking to evaluate the software, Juniper offers a 60-day vMX Trial Download 2. Extracting the Images download juniper vmxbundle 171r18tgz work top
Once downloaded, you must uncompress the archive to access the specific disk images (
). On a Linux-based system or a virtual lab server (like EVE-NG or GNS3), use the following command: tar xvf vmx-bundle- Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard This creates a directory (e.g., vmx-17.1R1.8/ ) containing essential files like junos-vmx-x86-64-17.1R1.8.qcow2 vmxhdd.img 3. Setting Up in Lab Environments (EVE-NG/GNS3)
Most users aim to get this bundle working on top of an emulation platform. Create Directories:
You must create separate folders for the Control Plane (VCP) and Forwarding Plane (VFP). Rename & Move: Platforms like EVE-NG require specific filenames (e.g., virtioa.qcow2 ) for the images to boot correctly. Permissions: After moving the files, run a permissions fix (e.g., /opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions ) to ensure the hypervisor can access them. 4. Alternative: Containerized vMX For lighter deployments, provides the OpenJNPR-Container-vMX on GitHub. This allows you to run the vMX VCP on top of Downloading and setting up the Juniper vMX bundle
, which is often faster for automated testing and CI/CD pipelines. Docker Hub
Detailed step-by-step integration guides are available on the EVE-NG Documentation Are you planning to run this on , or a standard hypervisor? juniper/openjnpr-container-vmx - Docker Image
Download and extract Junos-vmx-x86-*. ... No other file is required from the bundle, hence it is ok to remove the extracted files. Docker Hub vMX - Juniper Support Portal
Important Disclaimer: Juniper software is proprietary. You must have a valid Juniper account and an active support contract (or an evaluation license) to download this software legally. This guide does not provide unauthorized download links. Step-by-Step Guide: Download and Work with Juniper vMX
Here is a draft guide on how to retrieve and install this specific image.
tar -xzvf vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz
cd vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8
Check the MD5/SHA256 checksum (available on the download page):
md5sum juniper-vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz
# Compare output with official hash
# Install libvirt & KVM if missing
sudo apt install libvirt-daemon-system qemu-kvm virt-manager # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install libvirt qemu-kvm virt-manager # CentOS/RHEL
Step 1: Secure the File
Assuming you have legal access, download using wget or curl:
wget --user=YOUR_JUNIPER_USERNAME --ask-password \
https://support.juniper.net/software/downloads/vmx/vmx-bundle-17.1R1.8.tgz