Juniper's SRX firewalls run from a 1U box for a branch office to chassis that take services and interface cards. This guide sets the SRX345, SRX1500 and SRX4600 side by side and covers the SRX3600 and SRX5600 chassis parts. Every figure comes from Juniper's datasheets, hardware guides and end of life pages, listed under Sources.
The short answer
Size an SRX by firewall throughput first. The SRX345 gives 5,000 Mbps of stateful firewall throughput at 1,518 byte packets and 1,500 Mbps with IMIX, enough for a branch. The SRX1500 gives 9.0 Gbps at 1,518 byte packets. The SRX4600 gives 400 Gbps with IMIX and with 1518 byte packets, with 100GbE ports. The SRX3600 and SRX5600 are older chassis systems built from cards, and Juniper has ended the sale of the SRX3600 and its cards.
The models side by side
| Model | Size | Throughput | Ports or slots | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRX345 | 1U | 5,000 Mbps stateful firewall (1,518 B), 1,500 Mbps (IMIX) | 8 x 1GbE RJ-45, 8 x 1GbE SFP, 4 Mini-PIM slots | Internal AC, dual AC on the 2AC bundle |
| SRX1500 | 1 U | 9.0 Gbps firewall (1,518 byte packets) | 16 x 1GbE and 4 x 10GbE in the bundles | 2 supplies, 1+1 |
| SRX4600 | 1U | 400 Gbps firewall (IMIX and 1518 B) | 8 x 1/10GbE SFP+, 4 x 40/100GbE QSFP28 | 2 x 1600 W AC or 2 x 1100 W DC |
| SRX3600 | 5U | Up to 30 Gbps full duplex | 12 CFM slots | 2 to 4 AC supplies |
| SRX5600 | 8U | Up to 75 Gbps per slot (SRX5K-SCB) | 2 control board slots, 6 card slots | Not stated |
SRX345: the branch firewall
The SRX345 is 1U, in Juniper's SRX300 line for the branch. It has 8 1GbE RJ-45 ports, 8 1GbE SFP ports, a 1GbE out-of-band management port and 4 Mini-PIM slots for more interfaces. It carries 4 GB of memory and 8 GB of flash and draws 122 W on average. The standard model has an internal AC supply; the SRX345-SYS-JB-2AC has two AC supplies, which makes it 18.7 in deep against 14.57 in for the single supply model. That bundle carries Junos Software Base for firewall, NAT, IPSec, routing, MPLS and switching. Air moves front to back.
SRX1500 and SRX4600: the data center edge
The SRX1500 is 1 U, 1.74 x 17.28 x 18.2 in, with an 8-core 2.5 GHz Intel Xeon CPU and 16 GB of memory. It runs on 2 power supplies, 1+1, hot-removable and hot-insertable, and moves air front to back. It weighs 15 lb (6.8 kg) as shipped and 16.1 lb (7.3 kg) fully loaded. Juniper sold it in bundles with Junos Software Base or Junos Software Enhanced; the JE bundle adds application security.
The SRX4600 is 1U and 27.29 in deep with handles on its AC model. It has 8 1/10GbE SFP+ ports and 4 40/100GbE QSFP28 ports, up to 24 10GbE ports with breakout, plus HA and management ports. It carries 256 GB of DRAM and 2 1 TB M.2 SSDs and runs on 2 power supplies in 1+1 redundancy: 1600 W AC on the SRX4600-AC or 1100 W DC on the SRX4600-DC. It has 5 fan modules (4+1), draws 650 W on average and moves air front to back.
SRX3600 and SRX5600: the chassis
The SRX3600BASE-AC is a 5U chassis with up to 30 Gbps full duplex, 12 CFM slots and 2 to 4 AC power supplies, two of them required. Its cards include the SRX3K-16GE-SFP, an interface card with 16 Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports for the SRX3400, SRX3600 and SRX1400, and the SRX3K-SFB-12GE switch fabric board with 8 copper and 4 SFP gigabit ports and 2 HA control ports. Each SRX3K-PWR-AC gives 1000 W at 110 VAC or 1200 W at 220 VAC.
The SRX5600 is 8U with eight slots: two for Switch Control Boards and six for SPC or interface cards. Each SRX5K-SCB gives up to 75 Gbps per slot.
What to check before you buy
- The throughput figure and the packet size it was measured at: Juniper quotes the SRX345 at 1,518 byte packets and with IMIX, and the two differ.
- The software bundle: JB bundles carry Junos Software Base and JE bundles Junos Software Enhanced.
- The power feed: the SRX4600 comes as AC (1600 W supplies) or DC (1100 W supplies).
- The slot an SRX3600 card goes in: the SRX3K-16GE-SFP fits front slots 1 to 6 of an SRX3600.
Lifecycle: what the dates mean
Juniper gives December 1, 2017 as the end of sale date for the SRX3600BASE-AC and its SRX3K cards, and August 30, 2022 for the SRX5600-CRAFT. A chassis past end of sale keeps running; what ends is the ability to order it new, and a tested spare of the same part keeps a failure to a swap.
Where to look
Each model has its own page listing what is in stock: the SRX345, SRX1500, SRX4600 and the SRX3000 and SRX5000 parts, with the whole SRX Series. Pages in stock today include the SRX4600-AC, the SRX1500-SYS-JB-AC, the SRX3K-16GE-SFP and the SRX345-SYS-JB-2AC. For the whole maker, read the Juniper guide. Request a quote for a part that is not listed, or sell the firewalls you retire.
