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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Junos Space Network Director 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
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
94
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
Junos Space Network Director
Ranking in Network Management Applications
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Ibrahim Reda - PeerSpot reviewer
High scalability network management with centralized control and an intuitive interface that provides efficient monitoring and configuration capabilities
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges. This unified dashboard simplifies tasks like simultaneous switch upgrades, streamlining the process. It enables us to create reports that monitor site statuses, including uptime and downtime, which helps us evaluate each site's monthly uptime and assess its revenue potential based on operational time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand more-so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition."
"The scalability is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable features are zero-disk provisioning and link load balancing on an application basis."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a highly stable solution."
"So far, the feature that I like best is the policy configuration manager."
"When we have had power outages for a few hours we have had no issue with Cisco SD-WAN coming back online and functioning."
"The best feature of this technology that is available to us is the ability to do better load-balancing."
"The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include the DIA and its integration with Cisco Umbrella for DNS security."
"It allows me to do more of the basic firewall features, like traffic management and others, in a single pane of glass."
"A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges."
"The most valuable feature is the technical support, as it is better than others."
"The most valuable feature is the management from a single pane of glass."
 

Cons

"When it comes to adding more security features, you need to add more RAM."
"Integration with other OEMs and the API part needs improvement to be more user-friendly, especially in terms of GUI."
"The durability of the switches could be improved. In the past, Cisco devices had a longer lifespan."
"The solution could be more secure. Security is always a priority for us."
"They have taken away our ability to do what we are good at, which is working on the CLI, the interface right on the router. They have limited the commands so much that troubleshooting is nearly impossible."
"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."
"I would like to see a better, web-based interface to make changes to the configuration or to view statistics."
"The user interface needs improvement. Users should be able to find various features faster without much tweaking."
"Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing"
"The upgrades are very time-consuming and difficult, and they often have to rebuild the product."
"I would like to them include network real-time performance and come up with a dashboard report."
"I would like to see Space created to fully functional, where it's got multiple modules, particularly SD-WAN working on Corporate, or maybe become part of the Orchestrator portion."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"This is not a cheap option but if you move from Capex to Opex, I expect you should have lower costs."
"The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization."
"Licensing is on a subscription basis."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"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."
"The product is not too expensive."
"The costs are a bit on the high side."
"Typically, Juniper is more expensive than Cisco in initial costs, but overall, the long-term licensing fees that you're going to pay for Juniper versus Cisco is going to be less."
"This product is set at a good price point."
"We would like the price to be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
42%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
21%
Government
9%
University
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

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?
The durability of the switches could be improved. In the past, Cisco devices had a longer lifespan. Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
What do you like most about Junos Space Network Director?
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges.
What needs improvement with Junos Space Network Director?
Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing. It should provide the ability to modify interfaces, enabling actions like shutting them down, adding...
What is your primary use case for Junos Space Network Director?
It served as my main point of contact for banking and the central tool for managing a large network of switches across multiple locations. The network consisted of about 3,300 switches, with roughl...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
St. Catherine's University, OneNet, University of New Haven, Frederick County Public Schools (Maryland), America's Test Kitchen
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Junos Space Network Director and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.