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Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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 Nexus 9000 Series
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
16th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (8th)
Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
Has consistently supported high availability with reliable performance and minimal disruption
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series and the routers are good, but the FMC or FTDs still need some improvement. We have Palo Alto firewalls and Next-Generation Firewalls in our environment. In comparison to the main firewall, we moved from Cisco FTDs to Palo Alto. We still have FTDs in our environment, but the majority of the firewalls have been moved to Palo Alto. They are more user-friendly, give more visibility, and are more efficient. The performance is better than Cisco. With the new features, Cisco is having some improvement for the FTD. I am currently evaluating the FTDs. The new version has better features like the encrypted visibility engine and user-based changes in FMCs, and other things are quite useful for us. FTDs do have limitations and other issues. We communicated that limitation and feature support to the Cisco account manager. We do have support for the devices. We currently have a weekly call with Cisco and they are making progress regarding new versions of the FMCs and introducing new features. The performance of deployment has improved quite a bit compared to four or five years ago.
Patrick Anaku - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Roke Telkom
Has provided reliable performance with useful features such as virtual chassis and high port density
The important thing for our use case of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches has been reliability, and there are features such as the Virtual Chassis feature, which is one of the things we use. In our case, we use them as core switches in a network that is not very large, and their reliability and the Virtual Chassis feature work well for us. It was one of the reasons we chose it, along with the port density; we are using the 32 port and the 48 port, which work for our needs. Regarding its security features such as MACsec encryption, they are standard and cover what we want; we do not do a lot as they are just Layer 2 switches, but it has standard security features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very durable and very reliable, and there has never been any issue with it."
"Performance has been great with no abnormal behaviors detected, and the network remains stable even in failover scenarios, supporting vast environments with high availability."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is quite a complex machine, but we are using a very simple configuration with basic Nexus switching, and we don't have many issues with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series at the moment in our present infrastructure."
"We are using the core capabilities of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Ethernet switches, and it is performing well."
"RealPresence works effectively."
"The stability and reliability of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series are robust, and once you put it on, it does not just fail; that takes a long time, maybe even years."
"We have multiple cases of the customers trying to upgrade their network from Cisco, Aruba and Huawei to Juniper. They do this basically because they want to modernise their network and have an increased capacity. This shift improves their functionality because the Juniper Ethernet switches are more advanced. We provide them with assistance to configure switches, access points and Wi-Fi."
"It is a scalable solution."
"We have found the product to be scalable."
"In terms of performance, Juniper switches have a more user-friendly interface and more features than Cisco products."
"It's pretty good as compared to other vendors."
"The ease of management through the command line interface is very good."
"It is stable."
"Juniper is the best when it comes to the core layer."
 

Cons

"For Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches, I think we need to work on the HSRP. Whenever it flaps or something happens, it creates an issue."
"We find that Cisco has been left behind by the other vendors. The other vendors have adopted new technology, and we find Cisco lagging behind."
"The SFP modules we are using have had issues. We have Cisco modules, but they frequently heat up or there are packet error issues."
"I would rate the technical support for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series an eight out of ten. This rating is not because of their lack of expertise, but just the assignment period."
"Cost-wise, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very expensive."
"The Virtual Chassis Fabric is kind of complicated to troubleshoot sometimes."
"The protocols can be tunneled, but on a global basis, not on an interface, and this is a feature that should be added."
"Its distribution channel and the ease of availability should be improved."
"Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches lack to offer the latest management tools."
"Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches can be improved by having more Layer 3 capabilities; it depends on the use case."
"I have found the scalability could be improved in the version I was using."
"The management tools are limited in their abilities, and suffer from upgrade problems."
"Juniper should improve the support services provided to users, as it is one of its areas with certain shortcomings."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We had a leakage in the support process and decided to end the product's life in order to purchase a new product with support. We did not renew product support as a result."
"We don't need to pay for the solution's features."
"We purchased the box for a one-time charge, and we are paying a yearly support fee of several hundred Euros."
"I think the tool's prices are competitive with the vendors."
"This solution is cheaper than Cisco or HP switches."
"Their prices are competitive and not bad. It is cheaper than Cisco. We have a yearly license."
"It's was $100,000 per year."
"The pricing of Juniper Ethernet Switches compared to equivalent switches from Aruba, Cisco, and others, Juniper Ethernet Switches are priced a little higher. They are approximately 20 to 50 percent higher. When we receive a new range of models, the prices can come down. The price can also vary by region."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
25%
Construction Company
16%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
At this point, not much could be improved about Cisco Nexus 9000 Series. Automation GUI based is not the core of the 9000, so this is a different device or a different solution. I do not find anyth...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
My usual use cases for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series involve various companies, particularly when they are in need of a new automation solution or just an upgrade of the data center.
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
I am very satisfied with this solution. However, it is more about whether it is actually possible to do the solutions, and normally people already know what they want. They only need to have the ri...
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 us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
I have been working with Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches for more than a year.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper EX Series?
The pricing of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is a bit high, but it matches what it offers; in terms of capability and reliability, once I put it on the network, we are usually guaranteed a lo...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs. Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.