Cisco Catalyst Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches compete in the network switches category. Cisco has the upper hand in features and support, while Juniper offers better pricing and flexibility.
Features: Cisco Catalyst Switches provide extensive security features, VLAN capabilities, and the ability to create stacks and port channels for enhanced reliability and data transfer. They support PoE and RSPAN for monitoring. Juniper EX Series offers robust network functionality with ease of use, flexible command-line interface, high throughput, and a compact design.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Catalyst Switches could improve by reducing costs, simplifying licensing, and enhancing cloud integration. Users also suggest improvements in software-defined capabilities and open networking. Juniper EX Series could improve its firmware stability, simplify the initial setup, enhance security features, and update the GUI to resolve stability issues during updates.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Catalyst Switches are praised for easy deployment, especially in On-premises and Cloud environments, with comprehensive customer service at a cost. Juniper EX Series provides flexible deployment models, with customer service being reliable yet requiring streamlining.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Catalyst Switches are high-cost with complex licensing, but users appreciate the long-term ROI due to stability and features. Juniper EX Series is viewed as cost-effective, offering competitive pricing and good ROI, appealing to budget-conscious organizations.
From an investment standpoint, deploying Cisco Catalyst Switches offers tangible benefits, including cost reductions.
Compared to other low-end switches with similar features, these are more robust and offer better scalability, which justifies the higher cost.
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Cisco at 10 out of 10.
Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.
Cisco support is very good and responsive.
I have not faced any hardware issues requiring support due to the stable nature of their products.
I find them very competent.
Local partners and local distributors cannot open direct tickets, but any level of partner with other OEMs such as Cisco can open a ticket directly, which is a connectivity advantage that Juniper lacks.
The scalability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is very much scalable, as it supports the stacking feature and growth; for instance, with 94K modular switches, based on the requirement, we can even increase modules for more bandwidth.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and I would rate them eight to nine out of ten for scalability.
Adding another switch to an existing setup turns them into a single virtual switch.
The EX series supports scalability well, with newer series like EX4100 offering stacking of up to eight switches.
I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a seven in terms of scalability as it could be more scalable and requires some improvement.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
They have separate control and forwarding planes, which enhance scalability and stability.
During peak time at nine, the traffic passes through the switches perfectly.
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches proves to be an equally good switch.
Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement.
Cisco Catalyst Switches could be a little bit cheaper as they are very costly.
There could be improvements in the repeat configuration with some file integration that is currently missing.
One area that can be improved is the handling of power interruption, as it can cause the platform to crash.
Some integration with AI could be a good idea since I heard that Juniper already has systems to deploy AI within the EX device, but I haven't had the opportunity to try that.
With other OEMs, customers or partners can directly open tech tickets.
Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.
Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors.
The switches have become more expensive than before.
It is rated high on the scale, and I would say it is definitely on the high side, confirming a rating of one, which means it is very expensive.
In terms of pricing, the Juniper EX Series is cost-effective compared to competitors like Cisco.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.
The most beneficial features for our network management are their stability and good customer support.
Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization.
We are using the Juniper MX 104 L3 switches and SRX 1500 firewall since 2019, and we have not faced a single failure.
Juniper EX series switches offer great technology, particularly their Virtual Chassis technology, which is an excellent feature for stacking switches and functions like a single virtual switch.
They feature a separate control and forwarding plane, which enhances performance during heavy traffic and attacks.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Catalyst Switches | 2.8% |
| Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches | 2.9% |
| Other | 94.3% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 78 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 29 |
| Large Enterprise | 78 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 38 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 17 |
| Large Enterprise | 24 |
Cisco Catalyst Switches are a reliable and scalable network switching and routing solution, focusing on VLANs and VLAN switching. They are used as access switches, distribution switches, and core switches in various environments, deployed on-premises, and used for long connections. The switches are easy to configure, install, and upgrade and offer good pricing.
The most valuable features include warranty and firmware support, stability, security, good performance, flexibility, etc. The Cisco Catalyst Switches have provided a stable solution for the organizations and are widely used, trusted, and well-known in the networking industry.
Juniper Ethernet Switches are made up of the EX Series product line. These EX Series Ethernet Switches provide branch, campus and data center networks with access, aggregation and core layer switching solutions. The end result is secure, fast and efficient application and data delivery.
Today's enterprise networks increasingly demand mobile access, optimal availability, virtualization, and unified communications. The Juniper Ethernet Switches EX Series caters for all of these requirements, ensuring business continuity, network flexibility and maximum productivity.
Juniper EX Series switches are AI-driven, operated and managed using the Mist AI cloud from Juniper. This gives EX customers simplified operations with insights, anomaly detection and automated troubleshooting, empowering IT teams to deliver the best user experience across the wired network.
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