Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are competitors in the network management sector. Juniper holds a slight edge with its advanced features and scalability, while Ubiquiti offers a user-friendly and cost-effective solution.
Features: Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches are known for their advanced virtualization options, cloud readiness, and the reliable Junos OS. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches provide centralized management, a simple interface, and affordability. Juniper shines in complex networking environments, whereas Ubiquiti serves small to medium-sized networks effectively.
Room for Improvement: Juniper's areas of improvement include high pricing, Junos OS stability issues, and complex configurations that can deter users unfamiliar with its command line. Ubiquiti needs to address VPN management, enhance security features, and resolve supply chain issues, while its support options can be limited with occasional firmware stability concerns.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both companies offer on-premises deployment with Ubiquiti also supporting Hybrid Cloud scenarios. Juniper's customer service is generally well-regarded but experiences regional support gaps. Ubiquiti's support is inconsistent, relying heavily on community forums.
Pricing and ROI: Juniper EX Series Switches are typically more expensive with higher maintenance costs but promise a strong ROI over time due to their stability and extensive features. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are budget-friendly with no extra licensing costs and follow a pay-as-you-go model, offering significant value to small and medium-sized businesses.
Compared to other low-end switches with similar features, these are more robust and offer better scalability, which justifies the higher cost.
Another solution offered to us was more than double the price, making UniFi a cost-effective choice.
We saw a return on investment within a year, although I believe there's more potential to be leveraged.
I have not faced any hardware issues requiring support due to the stable nature of their products.
I find them very competent.
Local partners and local distributors cannot open direct tickets, but any level of partner with other OEMs such as Cisco can open a ticket directly, which is a connectivity advantage that Juniper lacks.
The team is knowledgeable and efficient.
the manuals, installation videos, and resources on the website are very good and straightforward.
They have a large customer base that sometimes faces issues due to a lack of know-how in managing the devices.
Adding another switch to an existing setup turns them into a single virtual switch.
The EX series supports scalability well, with newer series like EX4100 offering stacking of up to eight switches.
I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a seven in terms of scalability as it could be more scalable and requires some improvement.
I rate the scalability as nine out of ten.
If planning for future scalability, choosing switches that support extra modules for fiber optics is advisable.
While we are satisfied with its use in small environments, other products may be needed in very large companies with more than 30 users.
They have separate control and forwarding planes, which enhance scalability and stability.
During peak time at nine, the traffic passes through the switches perfectly.
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches proves to be an equally good switch.
I did not experience any problems the whole year.
The switches are stable and there have been no outages.
If the system is installed, it runs well, with no issues.
One area that can be improved is the handling of power interruption, as it can cause the platform to crash.
Some integration with AI could be a good idea since I heard that Juniper already has systems to deploy AI within the EX device, but I haven't had the opportunity to try that.
With other OEMs, customers or partners can directly open tech tickets.
The current setup is closed and does not allow for integration with non-Ubiquiti VoIP devices or providers outside their ecosystem.
Recent updates have removed many options available in earlier versions, simplifying the interface but limiting control.
The choice depends on the network architecture and planning for the future scalability requirements.
The switches have become more expensive than before.
It is rated high on the scale, and I would say it is definitely on the high side, confirming a rating of one, which means it is very expensive.
In terms of pricing, the Juniper EX Series is cost-effective compared to competitors like Cisco.
Many vendors mark up prices significantly.
Pricing is very favorable, with minimal licensing involved.
Our investment in Ubiquiti is about £30,000, and it's a cost-effective solution since there is no subscription fee.
We are using the Juniper MX 104 L3 switches and SRX 1500 firewall since 2019, and we have not faced a single failure.
Juniper EX series switches offer great technology, particularly their Virtual Chassis technology, which is an excellent feature for stacking switches and functions like a single virtual switch.
They feature a separate control and forwarding plane, which enhances performance during heavy traffic and attacks.
I can manage user connectivity, limit bandwidth, apply MAC address filtering, and it offers POE capabilities.
The switches enable management from anywhere using the cloud controller, making configuration changes and management easier.
One of the most valuable features of Ubiquiti UniFi switches is their graphical interface and plug-and-play capability.
Product | Market Share (%) |
---|---|
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches | 7.5% |
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches | 2.9% |
Other | 89.6% |
Company Size | Count |
---|---|
Small Business | 38 |
Midsize Enterprise | 17 |
Large Enterprise | 24 |
Company Size | Count |
---|---|
Small Business | 44 |
Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
Large Enterprise | 1 |
Juniper Ethernet Switches are made up of the EX Series product line. These EX Series Ethernet Switches provide branch, campus and data center networks with access, aggregation and core layer switching solutions. The end result is secure, fast and efficient application and data delivery.
Today's enterprise networks increasingly demand mobile access, optimal availability, virtualization, and unified communications. The Juniper Ethernet Switches EX Series caters for all of these requirements, ensuring business continuity, network flexibility and maximum productivity.
Juniper EX Series switches are AI-driven, operated and managed using the Mist AI cloud from Juniper. This gives EX customers simplified operations with insights, anomaly detection and automated troubleshooting, empowering IT teams to deliver the best user experience across the wired network.
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are managed Gigabit switches (Available with 24 or 48 RJ45 Gigabit ports) designed to meet all your network needs while delivering excellent performance. The switches’ excellent network performance is combined with fiber connectivity that includes two SFP ports and the ability to process traffic without putting packet loss at risk.
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Are:
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Support These Three Output Modes:
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Support These Three Input Modes:
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Features:
Benefits of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches:
Reviews from Real Users
A PeerSpot user who is a Director of Technical Operations/CTO at a consultancy says "The ability to deploy quickly and then having one central location for all the settings are its most valuable aspects."
"The integration with the controller is one of the most valuable features of these switches. They are also very stable. For example, we have some equipment that we haven't touched for four years that is still reliable," says Doru I., Senior solutions architect at Aplix Technologies
Murali S., Management Consultant at a consultancy, explains that “For the world where you have to balance traffic and traffic loads and bandwidth, their GUI makes it really easy because the switches, though they are enterprise grade level two or level three switches, the GUI is designed so that it's easy to set up VLANs where you need to control your traffic so that your phones don't break up and get choppy because of other people loading the network down too heavily."
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