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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Mist Wired Assurance comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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
Ranking in Network Management Applications
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
Juniper Mist Wired Assurance
Ranking in Network Management Applications
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is 2.6%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Mist Wired Assurance is 6.5%, up from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

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.
IhorShtanko - PeerSpot reviewer
Reduces the number of trouble tickets and is easy to deploy and troubleshoot
Deployment is straightforward and quick. This solution uses templates that simplify configuring for many devices simultaneously. If some network devices miscontribute or have a problem in configuration, I can solve this problem without an administrator. It collects many parameters from each device, and after that, we can get good reports about working equipment and the network. With this installation process, you must first prepare configuration templates in the cloud. After that, you can easily add new devices without further configuration. Once the devices connect to the cloud, they automatically receive the configuration. It doesn't take more than one hour, depending on the network. I rate the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The user experience is pretty good."
"It is very simple to deploy. It's a point-and-click type of deployment, so it's fairly simple."
"The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN are reliability and scalability."
"SD-WAN is very stable - once it's deployed, you can just forget about it, it runs by itself."
"Initial setup is easy."
"When we have had power outages for a few hours we have had no issue with Cisco SD-WAN coming back online and functioning."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a very good product."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Mist Wired Assurance is zero-touch provisioning for query edge switches. You can connect the switch directly to your edge locations and then directly onboard, similar to the Cisco Meraki solutions."
"The customer chose this solution because it helped reduce the number of trouble tickets. It’s easy to deploy and troubleshoot, as the solution uses AI to identify root issues."
"The product greatly improved our organization in terms of making configuration, deployment, and firmware upgrades easy for multiple automated devices."
 

Cons

"If you don't have an in-house design team or outsource to a third party with expertise, the setup will be difficult."
"Its license model needs to be improved. They always make the license model too complex. There are too many license models and too many options. They should have a flexible license model. They can improve a lot of things in terms of scalability, templates, and automation, mainly automation for onboarding a number of sites. If you want some new features, it can take quite a long time. If you want a feature and it is not yet developed, you need to have the support of the business units to have the feature developed. If the feature is not on their roadmap, it can take quite some time before you get the feature."
"The solution is very costly."
"There should be more security features in the hybrid and on-premise deployments of Cisco SD-WAN. The cloud has most of the security features."
"The initial setup was not very straightforward, but it gets easier the more deployments you complete."
"Customers require features that are secure for endpoints, on-premises, and for the cloud."
"The inexpensive Viptela hardware may be replaced with overpriced Cisco routers. This would be a tragic mistake for Cisco as the lightweight commodity platform built by Viptela is the reason to own this solution."
"Some competitors are much faster in providing out-of-the-box solutions, more innovative solutions. In terms of innovation, in many cases, they're lagging behind."
"The platform’s monitoring tool is not up to the mark. It is not proactive enough and lacks some capabilities. Additionally, they should work on providing integration with other vendors."
"This cloud solution is built on microservices, and Juniper continuously adds new ones to enhance performance or introduce additional services."
"The configuration aspect of the solutions is relatively new, but I have had positive experiences. However, for more advanced tasks, such as VXLANs on the EX platform, Juniper Mist Wired Assurance may not be the best option due to certain limitations. Nonetheless, it does have a CLI override feature for specialized configurations that cannot be done through the GUI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"Cisco SD-WAN is more expensive than its competitors."
"We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
"Cisco is more expensive than FortiGate."
"It's expensive. If you compare Cisco with Fortinet and Juniper, you'll find that Cisco is more expensive than other vendors."
"The pricing is fair, and it's on par with the market vendors. But based on the competition, Cisco could work on the pricing, go deep on discounts and provide more commercially viable solutions to customers."
"You can get subscriptions for three or five years."
Information not available
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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
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
University
7%
 

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 do you like most about Juniper Mist Wired Assurance?
The product greatly improved our organization in terms of making configuration, deployment, and firmware upgrades easy for multiple automated devices.
What needs improvement with Juniper Mist Wired Assurance?
This cloud solution is built on microservices, and Juniper continuously adds new ones to enhance performance or introduce additional services. These updates often include new features for routers, ...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Mist Wired Assurance?
I was involved in providing various solutions, including a Wi-Fi solution for a large warehouse and retail company for their stores and headquarters. We provided some integration services for local...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Juniper Mist Wired Assurance and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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