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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Contrail Networking 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
Juniper Contrail Networking
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.6%, up 0.0% compared to last year.
Juniper Contrail Networking, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), holds 6.2% mindshare, down 6.9% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.
TA
Smart configuration management eliminates the need to worry about managing the network's configurations
Based on my experience in the Indian market, there are four to five areas that need improvement. First, there is a lack of marketing and awareness about Juniper, making it difficult to reach end-users and deliver solutions. Second, Juniper's education and awareness centers are costly and not easily accessible like Cisco's resources and their understanding of users' requirements. The information is not easily available on online channels like Youtube. Third, Juniper needs to promote its Mist integration better, and pricing is also a significant factor. Finally, Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch. In summary, improving marketing and sales, education and awareness, Mist integration, pricing, and catering to specific market requirements are areas that need improvement. I just want a good feature in the SD-WAN. Juniper should consider integrating its firewall experience with its SD-WAN devices to create a complete package. With everything moving to the cloud, companies require intelligence and security solutions for their on-prem infrastructure. Moreover, Juniper should integrate its SOC solution into its Mist portal and SD-WAN devices, including IPs, IDS, web and content filters, and messaging. This would provide a complete product and give Juniper an advantage over competitors such as Cisco. I believe that with a bundle that includes SOC and UTM flavors in their Mist portal, Juniper can make a significant impact in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Installation is easy."
"It is very stable with very good firmware."
"I like the feature that lets you transfer from old devices to new devices without changing the hardware and subscription."
"The most valuable features, application awareness, and failover resilience, stand out as key considerations for users."
"It is very simple to deploy. It's a point-and-click type of deployment, so it's fairly simple."
"It is really easy to deploy and use. It is also easy to use for failovers and designing solutions. The rollout is really quick. It is easy to adjust and roll out."
"Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented."
"You can easily scale the product."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is a stable solution."
"After we finished setting Contrail up, it seemed stable enough. Still, we never tested it in a real environment, so we don't have enough information to say whether it's stable with a given number of users and appliances. We have tested it in a lab environment, but we haven't tested enough to say that the platform is stable."
"It provides proactive alerting in a single dashboard solution."
"Contrail automates the excellent communication between virtual appliances."
 

Cons

"The user interface needs to be more friendly."
"I would like to see a better, web-based interface to make changes to the configuration or to view statistics."
"Customers require features that are secure for endpoints, on-premises, and for the cloud."
"It would be very helpful if we had better access to a knowledge base, or online documentation, to help both us and our customers learn to use this solution."
"We had some issues with Cisco SD-WAN but somehow we troubleshot it and things are going well. The issues have not been a large problem."
"I would like to see features related to security compliance, including a view of compliance with standards. With this, I should be able to do an audit of my network with SDWAN."
"Cisco's router and voice gateway has not been available since the launch of SD-WAN."
"Integration with other OEMs and the API part needs improvement to be more user-friendly, especially in terms of GUI."
"Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is difficult if you do not have a certificate for Juniper. Juniper is a different type of configuration or operation than Cisco."
"Visibility, especially for the top of the platform, is a nightmare. The top was documented incorrectly and really complex to complete. In the end, it worked but only after several weeks of work with the support of a Juniper solution engineer in Holland."
"Concerns were raised about the complexity of involving networking components like MX routers, which often required expertise beyond the scope of software engineers. As a result, users encountered challenges in achieving comprehensive understanding and troubleshooting of networking issues within the Contrail environment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When purchasing, there are so many features available that it's quite confusing deciding which to choose. And some of the devices force you to buy licenses you don't want."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN is expensive. We pay approximately $50 monthly for the use of the solution."
"It is expensive."
"Cloud subscription management must be paid for, although this does not incur a perpetual fee."
"Cost-wise, Cisco SD-WAN is comparatively high."
"SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
"The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
"You have to pay between 3000 and 10,000 euros, or something in that range. The core switches Nexus cost me between 10,000 and 20,000 euros."
"There are many vendors in the wireless market that offer better pricing, solutions, and management skills compared to Juniper."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is low-cost for small and medium-sized businesses. Cisco and Palo Alto solutions are more expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Retailer
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco can improve Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN by simplifying licensing and platform integration with other Cisco products such as Catalyst Center or solutions with Meraki. A license needs to be permanent...
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail Networking?
Juniper Contrail Networking enables the utilization of tier-two appliances and the creation of virtual networks or appliances. This is facilitated through the use of filtering devices. Additionally...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Contrail Networking?
We use the solution to host many services for multiple clients. We aim to transition from hosting Cisco clients to utilizing virtual appliances. Therefore, we intend to virtualize their infrastruct...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Contrail Networking?
Juniper Contrail Networking presents a distinct alternative for those encountering issues with vendor solutions. Consequently, individuals who may have previously hesitated to explore OpenStack sol...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
Contrail Networking
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Lithium Technologies, Orange Business Services, Cloudwatt, Symantec, Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds
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