Juniper Networks Going after SDN with $176 Million Acquisition of Contrail

Juniper this week announced its intention to acquire venture backed SDN startup Contrail Systems. The deal is expected by Juniper to close before the end of the year. Juniper is paying a total of approximately $176 million for the SDN startup.

“With this acquisition, Juniper gains SDN technology that augments our portfolio of products and services,” Bob Muglia, Executive Vice President of Juniper’s Software Solutions division stated. ” As a strategic investor earlier this year, we recognized the inherent advantages of Contrail Systems’ architectural approach and we are excited to take this next step to acquire and combine Contrail Systems into our team.”

Contrail and Juniper aren’t entirely strangers in terms of staffing either. Kireeti Kompell CTO of Contrail was formerly the CTO and Chief Architect for Junos at Juniper. Junos is the core network operating system that underpins all of Juniper’s networking gear.

Contrail raised $10 million in funding earlier this year in a Series A funding round led by Kholsa Ventures.

Read the full story at EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet:
Juniper Acquires Contrail in SDN Play Valued at $176 Million

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.