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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.0%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Md. Ashraf-Ud-Dowla - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances network security and reliability, but the cost is too high
In Arista Networks Platform, the network building is very good. It is also a wireless network tool, so it can be easily made available for our customers in hours for multiple data centers. For network scaling, it is very easy to adhere to and configure the benefits in the network insights. There is nothing complex since you just add the node and upload the profile, so it is very simplified. Integration process. The integration on a new host is sometimes tricky, but Arista Networks Platform's integration is straightforward.
Myint Aung - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases
I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.
FauzanRahmanto - PeerSpot reviewer
Have achieved lower costs and gained reliability with some room for better scalability
The security capabilities of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches are comparable to other brands, so there are no additional points for Juniper regarding the security systems. I would rate the price of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten. Regarding stability, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a nine out of ten. I would recommend Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to other organizations because it is easy to use, the command is easy to learn, and it is very stable. I chose Juniper as my primary vendor because it is very stable, reliable, and the price is lower than competitors. I am the person who usually does the maintenance alone. In my office, my two colleagues and I are the network engineers directly responsible for the operation of the EX devices. The number of users in my organization who have access to Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is around 17 people. Overall, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"They support open standard features."
"It's an extremely reliable platform for the network switches we use."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."
"The user-friendly policy manager lets us apply different controls for various user groups easily."
"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."
"The most valuable aspect of Arista Networks products is their ease of configuration, especially when compared to Cisco products. When we implement advanced features for data centers such as BGP EVPN and VXLAN, Arista's configuration process is similar to that of Cisco's process, but at the same time it is simply much easier, clearer, and more understandable."
"We find the CloudVision switching feature of this solution really useful."
"Arista Networks offers similar features to Cisco."
"Multicast is a great feature of this product."
"The solution is a high-end router that can handle a huge network with tons of traffic."
"The hardware is rugged. We use it for the basic configuration."
"The queue functionality is the solution's most valuable feature, specifically because we are delivering a lot of Layer 2 services. Layer 2 protocol tunnels work well on Cisco switches."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are more stable than other products."
"I'd rate the solution ten out of ten."
"Technical support is excellent. They are very helpful."
"A stable product that is absolutely dependable."
"It is a highly stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"I find Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to be flexible and desirable."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches' best features are the high packer sorting and throughput, good uplink port capacity, and virtual setup."
"The Virtual Chassis, because you have a centralized administration of a set of switches which makes the operation more efficient.​"
"As far as technology and WAN assurance are concerned, I rate Juniper switch ten out of ten."
"The tool's most valuable feature is stability."
"It is very valuable for SRX devices and we have found it very easy to configure."
"The feature I like the most is the ability to reword changes before committing to the change. We can always reword changes in 10 minutes if they don't work."
 

Cons

"Something that you will often hear about Arista products is that the price is a bit too high and, like with Cisco, we sometimes have problems with our customers because of its pricing."
"The intent-based networking management, together with the provider of these solutions that are already free, would be beneficial."
"They should have a more stable code."
"The solution needs to accommodate new features."
"They need to enhance their code and their EOS. They need to improve some security features, and there are quite a number of bugs in their system. So, they need to work on that piece. In the next release, we need to have a modular feature. Instead of providing an integrated solution, they should go for something modular. They need to come up with modular highly scalable models. Even at the chassis layer, I want to see some improvement."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"Its price can be better."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"You have to be Cisco-certified to work on Cisco products, so we can't get into Cisco to do even basic configurations."
"The price could be better."
"Integration with third-party products could be improved."
"The platform's management features need improvement."
"If Cisco Ethernet Switches can work both on-prem and in the cloud, it would be an advantage."
"I haven't heard from my engineers that they said it's excellent."
"In terms of features, all features are there. I can't find anything new that needs to be added. Its price, however, is a bit higher than other brands and can be improved."
"Cisco has a lot of propriety protocols compared to other products, such as Arista Networks."
"EX switches take too long to boot when we restart them for maintenance. We need to minimize downtime. Another issue is the command line interface. Juniper's commands are different from other switches, so it's hard to remember them."
"Juniper EX Series could improve the process and ease of updating the software. It is a difficult process."
"The technical support from Juniper Ethernet Switches could be better."
"Juniper has a problem: even registered partners cannot open tickets or take support directly with Juniper."
"Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is not cheap. The tool needs improvement in UI."
"We are not very pleased with their performance."
"The management platforms for the network need improvement."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches' operating systems get corrupted when the power fails. They have to improve this issue. I may have to use a newer version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."
"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"I remember that when our customers were offered the Arista Networks Platform, they used a checklist to compare the prices between Arista and Cisco for their requirements, and found that the prices were almost the same."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"We get the SMARTnet and one of the switches has that Cisco ONE licensing. It's probably running about $12,000 a year right now."
"The price is a bit on the high side."
"The price is very high though it is priced right for the level of quality."
"The solution does not require a license. However, it is expensive and the price could improve."
"The cost of Cisco Ethernet Switches is expensive."
"We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
"The solution has different prices depending on the features that you want to have."
"While Cisco's pricing can be a concern, particularly with support fees, its overall features and support community make it a solid choice."
"We had a leakage in the support process and decided to end the product's life in order to purchase a new product with support. We did not renew product support as a result."
"The maintenance cost is approximately €2,000 ($2,200 USD) per year, including support, for our entire fleet."
"The price could be cheaper."
"We purchased the box for a one-time charge, and we are paying a yearly support fee of several hundred Euros."
"For the QFX5000 Juniper switches, the price is about $10,000, but they would probably sell it for $1,000. Nobody can beat Juniper's pricing when it comes to switches. Juniper out-prices everybody, but they get you on the back end, maintenance, service port, and service contract."
"The solution's pricing is cheaper than that of Cisco."
"They offer a more competitive pricing structure compared to one of the competitors."
"We don't need to pay for the solution's features."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers. Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements. However, we...
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing func...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet F...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Ethernet Switches?
Juniper EX model is ok for the campus network as the ex4300 is EOL in a few years and the new ex4400 is the standard....
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
I use Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches for access switch purposes, specifically for switches that face our end dev...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Linz AG
BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: June 2025.
858,435 professionals have used our research since 2012.