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Arista Networks Platform vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access 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 - Secure Access is 4.6%, down from 6.0% 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.
Uri Harf - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration with cloud management simplifies network expansion
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is expensive, and this initial cost can be a barrier, especially for new businesses setting up from scratch. Although the machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues, the initial price can be high. Sometimes, I have to offer alternatives like Aruba or HP, which might be cheaper.
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

"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."
"The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products."
"Arista Networks offers similar features to Cisco."
"I like the spine as a leaf model and low latency. The hardware is robust and meets expected latency in all environments, mainly if you belong to the media or trading industry. For multicast-based solutions, Arista is number one."
"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."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."
"The integration with the whole platform, so there's one dashboard for everything. It is one of the most valuable features."
"The tool provides a firewall and good performance."
"It is very user-friendly. There is no need to use command lines to configure it or to do anything in it. You hardly use command lines, which makes it different from Cisco. In Cisco, the CLI is your best friend. Fortinet has the lowest TCO, so you can use its integrated components without having to buy additional licenses. They provide centralized management without needing to buy or acquire additional licenses. You have an integral or complete vision through a single pane of glass, and you can see everything from one single console without having to buy additional licenses, which is a plus. It works the same way when you add wireless. You can see everything from FortiGate. It has a security processor, which is another plus. It does not have a standard desktop processor. It has a multi-threat security processor, and it is built by Fortinet. So, all the components that you include in a Fortinet solution are proprietary and work in an integral way. It has one single solution, whereas other brands, such as Palo Alto and Check Point, have been acquiring certain solutions, and they're not fully integrated. With Fortinet, everything is integrated. If you start building on Fortinet, everything that you expand to the local LAN or WAN is integrated. You don't have to pay for professional services and other things to do that. Their technical information is also very good. Most of their information is based on how-to, and it can be found online, which is something my clients like."
"I can say that the product is easy to use...The initial setup of the product was easy."
"What I really love in FortiSwitch: its usability, the graphical user interface, and the ability to be managed by FortiGate."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the MAC feature."
"One of the most feature-packed switching solutions you can implement."
"The solution is easy to scale."
"The ease of management through the command line interface is very good."
"Juniper supports all our connectivity infrastructure in our datacenter, supporting optimal availability and performance for services.​"
"This is a lower cost product with better features than the competition."
"The performance is very good."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches' most valuable feature is the Juniper-Mist cloud, which facilitates management of the switches and access points."
"The solution is certainly scalable."
"I like the VLAN capabilities, and the Junos interface is easy to use."
"The Juniper EX Series's most valuable feature is its robustness. Additionally, it is easy to use and great GUI."
 

Cons

"A weakness would be that in our company, we don't have many people within our team who support the product because there are different vendors, and most of them are not tier-one vendors, so the skills required sometimes are just not there."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"An area for improvement in Arista Networks Platform is its integration, e.g. it needs to have more integration with its new products. Incorporating more security and cloud is also another area for improvement in the platform."
"The solution needs to improve their product range."
"Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers."
"I want the solution to include a unified controller."
"From VMware, I think the cost of the tools is very high."
"The solution needs to accommodate new features."
"The pricing is considered high due to the currency exchange changes in our region."
"The solution has SD-WAN but it doesn't have SDN. This should be added."
"FortiSwitch offers eight and 24-port models. They don't have a 16-port model, which can be an issue for some clients."
"In the next release, I would like to see more outdoor products."
"The range of products could improve from Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access."
"The security of the solution could be a bit better."
"More integration would be helpful, especially since we sometimes have devices from other companies. Improved interoperability would be very beneficial."
"When we started using the solution, it was quite complex but then it became easier to use. It takes a while to get used to the interface."
"Their web GUI interface needs to be a lot better, especially when compared to HP. The command line is good, but you have to know how to get around it. The GUI is clunky and very slow."
"We are undergoing a migration to software-defined networking. Different vendors have to integrate with each other and we are not seeing this type of capability within Juniper. We are getting left behind in this technology trend by staying with this solution. Juniper is also losing a bit of market share because of this."
"I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a seven in terms of scalability as it could be more scalable and requires some improvement."
"The interface could be better. It needs improvement."
"Juniper's support could be much better and faster."
"The only issue that we have with Juniper Ethernet Switches is the firmware because it is not stable."
"Juniper should improve the support services provided to users, as it is one of its areas with certain shortcomings."
"The upgrading of the system should be simplified and made faster."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Specific tools definitely require a license for the subscription. But we are not using these tools in our environment. In terms of licensing, you need to spend approximately $10,000 per month."
"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."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"The price of the Arista Networks Platform could be less expensive for the hardware and license."
"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch is a pricey solution."
"The pricing for Fortinet FortiSwitch is not expensive."
"The tool's pricing is fine."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
"Licensing is billed annually and contracts are either one or three years in length."
"The pricing is quite high."
"Licensing is easy: FortiCare and that's it."
"The product's pricing is less compared to other enterprise solutions."
"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."
"The product's pricing is less and almost half of Cisco's."
"You require the Junos Management Platform in order to manage the switches and you need to purchase the Juniper Ethernet Switches."
"Relatively affordable per switch."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches are cheaper than Cisco or HP."
"It is an inexpensive product."
"Juniper costs less than the competition. As a comparison, Cisco is 33% more."
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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
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
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...
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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve confi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options. Although robust and rarel...
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.