Computing, IT & AI
Juniper's high-speed internet routers
1996-1998 CEPradeep SindhuJuniper Networks (1996); M40 router (1998)Diaspora (work abroad)
1996
Routers that forwarded internet traffic in custom silicon, built for the internet backbone.
- Dated
- 1996–1998
- As scholars put it
- 1996-1998 CE
- Originator
- Pradeep Sindhu
- Source text
- Juniper Networks (1996); M40 router (1998)
- Region
- Diaspora (work abroad)
- Discipline
- Computing, IT & AI
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Verified-web
Background
Pradeep Sindhu, an IIT Kanpur graduate working at Xerox PARC, founded Juniper Networks in 1996. Its first product, the M40 router (1998), separated packet forwarding into purpose-built chips from the control software, so it could keep up with fast-growing internet traffic.
Significance
Juniper held 37% of the core router market by 2001. Separating the control plane from the forwarding plane became standard practice and influenced software-defined networking.
Path to modern innovation
Backbone routers carry the internet's traffic between networks.
Global impact
- Scaled the internet backbone through the dot-com era.
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-400 on GitHub.