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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 1.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Vishwajeet Pandey - PeerSpot reviewer
Management and monitoring efficiencies from a single platform increase network control and flexibility
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center ( /products/fortinet-fortiswitch-data-center-reviews ) offers flexibility and control over the entire network from a single pane of management. It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool. These features make the solution accurate, flexible, and valuable for network management.
FauzanRahmanto - PeerSpot reviewer
Have achieved lower costs and gained reliability with some room for better scalability
The security capabilities of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches are comparable to other brands, so there are no additional points for Juniper regarding the security systems. I would rate the price of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten. Regarding stability, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a nine out of ten. I would recommend Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to other organizations because it is easy to use, the command is easy to learn, and it is very stable. I chose Juniper as my primary vendor because it is very stable, reliable, and the price is lower than competitors. I am the person who usually does the maintenance alone. In my office, my two colleagues and I are the network engineers directly responsible for the operation of the EX devices. The number of users in my organization who have access to Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is around 17 people. Overall, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like about the solution is that it can be accessed anywhere."
"The single pane of glass that helps us manage everything through FortiManager is the most important feature."
"When configuring FortiSwitch with a FortiGate firewall, I can consider all FortiSwitch's ports as a part of the FortiGate firewall."
"SD-WAN and the security fabric are essential features of the product."
"An affordable and stable solution for small-medium companies."
"Using Fortinet's whole range, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco and beneficial for network security."
"The most valuable feature is the port analytics."
"It integrates well."
"The most valuable feature is the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)."
"The Virtual Chassis, because you have a centralized administration of a set of switches which makes the operation more efficient.​"
"I chose Juniper as my primary vendor because it is very stable, reliable, and the price is lower than competitors."
"It's easy to use."
"The solution is certainly scalable."
"The feature I like the most is the ability to reword changes before committing to the change. We can always reword changes in 10 minutes if they don't work."
"The product is flexible and easy to set up."
"The scalability is excellent. It's one of the aspects of the solution that is quite good."
 

Cons

"With IT products, there is always room for improvement."
"Compatibility with infrastructure from other vendors like Cisco and Sophos can be further improved."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center needs to improve its UI and stability."
"Fortinet could have the ability to authenticate users like Aruba offers because managing ten or twelve SSIDs for different clients is complicated."
"Cisco is better in terms of price, scalability, and ease of management. Regarding resources, they are available in Pakistan to manage these systems."
"Does not have as many features as other solutions, such as segmentation and analytics engines."
"The product must improve the latency in the management center."
"Routing is an area in Fortinet FortiSwitch with certain shortcomings where improvements are needed."
"Some areas of technical support could be better."
"The management platforms for the network need improvement."
"It would be nice to have a more available list of modules that you can get for this solution."
"There are multiple areas of improvement in Juniper EX series switches. In terms of speed and pricing, while Juniper provides good quality services, some clients still find the price very high compared to other competitors. Also there is a need for certain features to be enhanced like clear our configuration process which will help to make Juniper switches more stronger. However, there are also multiple challenges including understanding and configuration of certain aspects difficult without assistance. Despite these kinds of challenges, there have been multiple solutions and huge potential of improvement in Juniper."
"The initial setup for Juniper switches is complex. Juniper has a new program that solves that problem a little bit, but it is expensive, so I don't use it. It is Juniper Mesh, Juniper Wire, or something like that where you plug in a switch, and it goes out to their cloud, finds a config, and brings it down. So, you can do everything cloud-based, but there is a fee for that. It is expensive, so I've never used it. If we were starting, we would try to do something like that. It is more for a large enterprise for managing hundreds of switches versus what we're doing. They should make its price more cost-effective or include it for new or smaller companies."
"They could provide better security tools."
"It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt. There is no local support available."
"The pricing for the Juniper product is expensive. 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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is expensive but it does not require a license."
"The product is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"The tool's pricing is lower than Cisco's."
"It is reasonably priced."
"Cost-wise, Fortinet solutions are cheaper than those offered by Cisco."
"The solution's pricing is a little high. The solution deserves the current price it receives from its users."
"The product has a mid-range price."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution, which is expensive."
"It's was $100,000 per year."
"We don't need to pay for the solution's features."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches are a less expensive solution than Cisco Ethernet Switches. There is only a one-time purchase for Juniper Ethernet Switches."
"The price could be cheaper."
"The price of the Juniper EX Series is reasonable. Cisco is a lot more expensive."
"They offer a more competitive pricing structure compared to one of the competitors."
"The solution does not require a license to use it."
"There is a subscription payment model or you can purchase licenses on a one, two, and five-year basis. If you want decent support, the solution is not expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
There is room for improvement in customer support and device speed. Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging. Additionally, improving the speed of th...
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 advice do you have for others considering Juniper Ethernet Switches?
Juniper EX model is ok for the campus network as the ex4300 is EOL in a few years and the new ex4400 is the standard. Now for the QFX model, 5k/10k in CRB mode IP fabric Ethernet switching is horri...
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
We deal mostly with Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches products, as we are partners with Juniper products. We work with Juniper wireless. We deal with all the Juniper products and also Cisco and H...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs. Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
860,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.