Aggregated Ethernet interfaces

All EX Series switches allow you to group Ethernet interfaces at the physical layer to form a single link layer interface, also known as a link aggregation group (LAG) or bundle. These aggregated Ethernet interfaces help to balance traffic and increase the uplink bandwidth.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) interfaces

EX Series switches provide PoE network ports with various switch models. These ports can be used to connect voice over IP (VoIP) telephones, wireless access points, video cameras, and point-of-sale devices to safely receive power from the same access ports that are used to connect personal computers to the network. PoE interfaces are enabled by default in the factory configuration.

Console port

Each EX Series switch has a serial port, labeled CON or CONSOLE, for connecting tty-type terminals to the switch using standard PC-type tty cables. The console port does not have a physical address or IP address associated with it. However, it is an interface in the sense that it provides access to the switch. On an EX3300 Virtual Chassis, an EX4200 Virtual Chassis, or an EX4500 Virtual Chassis, you can access the master and configure all members of the Virtual Chassis through any member's console port. For more information about the console port in a Virtual Chassis, see Understanding Global Management of a Virtual Chassis.

Management interface

The Juniper Networks Junos operating system (Junos OS) for EX Series switches automatically creates the switch's management Ethernet interface, me0. The management Ethernet interface provides an out-of-band method for connecting to the switch. To use me0 as a management port, you must configure its logical port, me0.0, with a valid IP address. You can connect to the management interface over the network using utilities such as SSH or Telnet. SNMP can use the management interface to gather statistics from the switch. (The management interface me0 is analogous to the fxp0 interfaces on routers running Junos OS.)

Virtual Chassis port (VCP) interfaces

Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) are used to interconnect switches in a Virtual Chassis:

• EX3300 switches—Port 2 and port 3 of the SFP+ uplink ports are preconfigured as VCPs and can be used to interconnect up to six EX3300 switches in an EX3300 Virtual Chassis. See Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI Procedure).
• EX4200 and EX4500 switches—Each EX4200 switch or each EX4500 switch with a Virtual Chassis module installed has two dedicated VCPs on its rear panel. These ports can be used to interconnect up to ten EX4200 switches in an EX4200 Virtual Chassis, up to ten EX4500 switches in an EX4500 Virtual Chassis, and up to ten switches in a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis. When you power on switches that are interconnected in this manner, the software automatically configures the VCP interfaces for the dedicated ports that have been interconnected. These VCP interfaces are not configurable or modifiable. See Understanding the High-Speed Interconnection of the Dedicated Virtual Chassis Ports Connecting EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 Member Switches.

  You can also interconnect EX4200 and EX4500 switches by using uplink module ports. Using uplink ports allows you to connect switches over longer distances than you can by using the dedicated VCPs. To use the uplink ports as VCPs, you must explicitly configure the uplink module ports on the members you want to connect as VCPs. See Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI Procedure) or Setting an Uplink Port as a Virtual Chassis Port on an EX4500 or EX4550 Switch (CLI Procedure).

• EX4300 switches—All QSFP+ ports are configured as VCPs, by default. See Understanding EX4300 Virtual Chassis

  You can also interconnect EX4300 switches into a Virtual Chassis by using SFP+ uplink module ports as VCPs. Using uplink ports as VCPs allows you to connect switches over longer distances than you can by using the QSFP+ ports as VCPs. To use the uplink ports as VCPs, you must explicitly configure the uplink module ports on the members you want to connect as VCPs. See Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port (CLI Procedure).

• EX8200 switches—EX8200 switches can be connected to an XRE200 External Routing Engine to create an EX8200 Virtual Chassis. The XRE200 External Routing Engine has dedicated VCPs that connect to ports on the internal Routing Engines of the EX8200 switches and can connect to another XRE200 External Routing Engine for redundancy. These ports require no configuration.

  You can also connect two members of an EX8200 Virtual Chassis so that they can exchange Virtual Chassis Control Protocol (VCCP) traffic. To do so, you explicitly configure network ports on the EX8200 switches as VCPs. See Understanding Virtual Chassis Ports in an EX8200 Virtual Chassis.