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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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers cost-effective integration and ease of use, with Cisco providing better long-term returns for higher budgets.
Sentiment score
7.5
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches offer reliability, durability, and scalability, justifying high initial costs with long-term performance benefits.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Compared to other low-end switches with similar features, these are more robust and offer better scalability, which justifies the higher cost.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiSwitch support is highly rated for responsiveness and reliability, though some users suggest better speed and consistency.
Sentiment score
8.3
Juniper EX Series switches receive mixed reviews on support, praised for expertise but criticized for contact issues in certain regions.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Fortinet an eight.
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.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is scalable and cost-effective, ideal for enterprises, with some fiber port limitations noted.
Sentiment score
7.4
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches offer scalability and adaptability, though some models face configuration complexities and occasional bugs.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
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.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is highly stable and reliable, with minor issues mainly due to vendor integration challenges.
Sentiment score
8.3
Juniper EX Series Switches are consistently stable, offering robust performance and reliability, outperforming similar Cisco models in user confidence.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
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.
 

Room For Improvement

Pricing is high; improvements needed in automation, integration, user interfaces, management, certifications, features, support, and performance.
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches face challenges with pricing, usability, stability, integration, security, and require better support and documentation.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
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.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiSwitch is competitively priced, sometimes seen as expensive, offers no extra licensing with FortiGate, and occasional discounts.
Juniper EX Series Switches provide competitive pricing, being 20-33% cheaper, with valued affordability and attractive entry cost.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
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.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiSwitch offers centralized management, enhanced security, and efficient integration with FortiGate for flexible, cost-effective network control.
Juniper EX Series Switches are renowned for performance, security, seamless integration, automation, scalability, and cost-effective, user-friendly design.
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
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.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.9%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches2.9%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center1.9%
Other95.2%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Rutul SHah - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless traffic control and secure connectivity while minimizing downtime and optimizing resource allocation
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular ports. Currently, I am not identifying any weak points of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because it meets the customer's use case. However, the commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
PRADIPJOSHI - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtual chassis technology enhances connectivity and simplifies management
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. The EX series provides a separation of control, management, and data planes, reducing the attack surface area, ensuring a lesser extent of vulnerability. The PoE budget is commendable, and they manage connectivity effectively.
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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
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
9%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise24
 

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 always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular po...
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: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.