HPE touts new networking products ahead of MWC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has unveiled a series of new solutions aimed at streamlining AI infrastructure networking at the edge.

Announced ahead of MWC 2026, the new networking products mark the latest milestone in the company’s efforts to better align in-house infrastructure options with Juniper Networks solutions.

“This integration builds on the combined strengths in large-scale service provider infrastructure of both HPE and Juniper Networks, along with deep expertise across networking, compute, security, and cloud,” the company said in a statement.

Part of the update will include three new additions to the Juniper PTX router range, which HPE said will deliver a 49% improvement in power efficiency compared to previous generations.

Rami Rahim, executive vice president, president, and general manager for networking at HPE, said the new PTX routers will enable customers to meet surging data traffic demands as a result of AI workloads.

“AI infrastructure is a critical growth driver for service providers. More than ever, HPE is committed to helping these customers lead in the AI era by building intelligent, next-generation networks that can support complex operations, rising data traffic, and the transformative capabilities of AI,” he said in a statement.

Here’s what customers can expect with the new updates

Under the hood of Juniper PTX

The first of the new product launches includes the Juniper PTX12000, a line of modular routers which HPE said will allow network operators to “scale AI and cloud traffic without repeated infrastructure redesigns”.

The new router features an “ultra-dense” 800G port density - on 1.6T-ready platforms, according to HPE. The firm noted this will allow users to sustain “predictable” low-latency performance that can scale based on growing demands.

“The platform scales to 345.6T with the 8-slot PTX12008 and 518.4T with the 12-slot PTX12012, enabling seamless capacity expansion while preserving architectural consistency and reducing latency, power consumption, and costs,” the company said in an announcement.

Meanwhile, new Juniper PTX10002 fixed form routers also aim to match growing traffic demands. This line offers high-density routing designed specifically for AI network fabrics, HPE noted.

The PTX10002 offers 28.8T or 14.4T of throughput in addition to flexible multi-rate port options beginning at 100G through to 800G.

“The expanded portfolio enables efficient scaling of AI clusters and WAN connectivity, while giving customers the flexibility to optimize space, power, and port density as AI and cloud traffic grows,” HPE noted.

HPE teases an “agentic-ready” Routing Director

Juniper Routing Director, a tool used to automate network traffic, is also set for a big “agentic” update as of HPE’s upgrade plans.

This will allow enterprises to connect their own AI assistants, or “copilots”, to the service in a bid to automate WAN routing issues, for example.

HPE said the update will give customers the “flexibility to use agentic AI to automate workflows, optimize WAN routing performance, and simplify AI-native, post-deployment operations”.

Elsewhere, HPE announced plans to integrate the Juniper Cloud Native Router (JCNR), the networking giant’s container orchestration software.

This is now available on 1U HPE ProLiant DL110 servers, as well as the new 2U HPE ProLiant EL140 Gen12 server range.

“This enables service provider operators [to] eliminate routing hardware at cell site locations, reducing hardware purchase expenses and ongoing energy costs,” the company said.

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