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Arista Networks Platform vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center 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 August 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable for enterprise-sized companies
Speaking about whether the product enhanced our company's data center scalability, I would say that it was a solution that was used in a banking company, where it served as a replacement for Cisco. Though Arista Networks Platform is similar to Cisco IOS CLI, I feel that the former product offers better prices compared to the latter tool. Arista Networks Platform office is more efficient at a lower cost. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The tool is stable and cheaper than Cisco. I would say that Arista Networks Platform is 100 percent compatible with the existing infrastructure in my company. The impact of the tool's network telemetry on our company's troubleshooting practices was just good for the scope for which I need the product. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Vishwajeet Pandey - PeerSpot reviewer
Management and monitoring efficiencies from a single platform increase network control and flexibility
I use Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center as it is a more flexible switch compared to normal switches. It allows me to manage and monitor all switches through a single pane of management Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center offers flexibility and control over the entire network from a single pane of…
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

"Arista Networks Platform is comfortable, easy to deploy, and easy to manage, with non-blocking technology. Additionally, it has a useful CloudVision platform and automation capabilities."
"If someone uses Arista Networks Platform, I believe they are secured."
"The configuration capabilities were good."
"We find the CloudVision switching feature of this solution really useful."
"The most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN. It has comprehensive features."
"It is very stable. It has good hardware and very stable code. It provides good value for its price. They are a very lean type of organization, so they are very responsive, and they're able to focus more on their platform versus having multiple products out there."
"Arista Networks Platform has a feature that helps with monitoring and management."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"An affordable and stable solution for small-medium companies."
"The product is stable."
"When configuring FortiSwitch with a FortiGate firewall, I can consider all FortiSwitch's ports as a part of the FortiGate firewall."
"What I like about the solution is that it can be accessed anywhere."
"FortiSwitch Data Center allows for centralized management of both Fortinet switches and firewalls from a single interface."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"The interface is very straightforward."
"The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"It is stable."
"I like the VLAN capabilities, and the Junos interface is easy to use."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches are high-end solutions."
"Juniper switches are very good with MPLS."
"The GUI interface distinguishes it from other vendors and makes it easy to operate."
"It is easy to configure, and there are three routing switches."
"The most valuable features of Juniper Ethernet Switches are the simple configuration and ruggedness."
 

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be better."
"My company does face issues in terms of interoperability when it comes to the product, making it an area that needs to be fixed."
"A smoother transition between ISPs during failover would improve the user experience by reducing unnecessary notifications and interruptions."
"In my opinion, the solution for network monitoring is quite expensive."
"The community is good but is not good enough. It still needs to grow more."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"The CVP management platform needs to be improved."
"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."
"Compatibility with infrastructure from other vendors like Cisco and Sophos can be further improved."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center needs to improve its UI and stability."
"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"The FortiSwitch product was initially quite complex."
"FortiSwitch should improve the FortiGate map. The diagram cannot move automatically to show the switch. The map does not map the physical location. It cannot move or touch the diagram."
"With IT products, there is always room for improvement."
"Cisco is better in terms of price, scalability, and ease of management. Regarding resources, they are available in Pakistan to manage these systems."
"There could be more porting software options for easy deployment in the product."
"The initial setup for Juniper switches is complex. Juniper has a new program that solves that problem a little bit, but it is expensive, so I don't use it. It is Juniper Mesh, Juniper Wire, or something like that where you plug in a switch, and it goes out to their cloud, finds a config, and brings it down. So, you can do everything cloud-based, but there is a fee for that. It is expensive, so I've never used it. If we were starting, we would try to do something like that. It is more for a large enterprise for managing hundreds of switches versus what we're doing. They should make its price more cost-effective or include it for new or smaller companies."
"The only issue that we have with Juniper Ethernet Switches is the firmware because it is not stable."
"Its distribution channel and the ease of availability should be improved."
"The interface could be better. It needs improvement."
"We would like it if there was more security added in future releases."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches' tech support is hard to reach and slow."
"The tool should improve its fabric."
"In an upcoming release, Juniper Ethernet Switches could improve by having more microservices."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"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."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"It is reasonably priced."
"The product is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution, which is expensive."
"Cost-wise, Fortinet solutions are cheaper than those offered by Cisco."
"The solution's pricing is a little high. The solution deserves the current price it receives from its users."
"The solution is not expensive."
"The tool's pricing is lower than Cisco's."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is expensive."
"The solution does not require a license to use it."
"We only pay for support."
"The maintenance cost is approximately €2,000 ($2,200 USD) per year, including support, for our entire fleet."
"The pricing is very aggressive."
"This solution is cheaper than Cisco or HP switches."
"It is an inexpensive product."
"The initial cost of the solution can be expensive."
"There is a need to make a payment towards the perpetual licensing model offered by the product and also towards the subscription-based model for hardware replacement."
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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
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Educational Organization
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
There is room for improvement in customer support and device speed. Sometimes, customer support does not provide prom...
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?
We deal mostly with Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches products, as we are partners with Juniper products. We work w...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
No data available
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
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: August 2025.
865,576 professionals have used our research since 2012.