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Juniper Contrail Networking vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Juniper Contrail Networking
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (5th)
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (4th), WAN Edge (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Juniper Contrail Networking is designed for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and holds a mindshare of 7.2%, up 6.3% compared to last year.
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions, holds 8.0% mindshare, down 10.1% since last year.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Juniper Contrail Networking7.2%
Meraki SD-WAN15.8%
Cisco ACI11.7%
Other65.3%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN8.0%
Fortinet FortiGate13.9%
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN11.2%
Other66.9%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

TA
Solution Architect at ConnX Inc.
Smart configuration management eliminates the need to worry about managing the network's configurations
Based on my experience in the Indian market, there are four to five areas that need improvement. First, there is a lack of marketing and awareness about Juniper, making it difficult to reach end-users and deliver solutions. Second, Juniper's education and awareness centers are costly and not easily accessible like Cisco's resources and their understanding of users' requirements. The information is not easily available on online channels like Youtube. Third, Juniper needs to promote its Mist integration better, and pricing is also a significant factor. Finally, Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch. In summary, improving marketing and sales, education and awareness, Mist integration, pricing, and catering to specific market requirements are areas that need improvement. I just want a good feature in the SD-WAN. Juniper should consider integrating its firewall experience with its SD-WAN devices to create a complete package. With everything moving to the cloud, companies require intelligence and security solutions for their on-prem infrastructure. Moreover, Juniper should integrate its SOC solution into its Mist portal and SD-WAN devices, including IPs, IDS, web and content filters, and messaging. This would provide a complete product and give Juniper an advantage over competitors such as Cisco. I believe that with a bundle that includes SOC and UTM flavors in their Mist portal, Juniper can make a significant impact in the market.
KH
Senior Manager at NOVA Global
User-friendly deployment optimizes network infrastructure for global carriers
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is recognized as an SD-WAN leader, offering user-friendly solutions that help end customers and enterprises solve network optimization issues efficiently. Its proprietary Dynamic Multipath Optimization (DMP) technology is regarded as the most powerful and valuable function by VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN. I see customer transformation to VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN networks showing a 30 to 40 percent increment per year.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Contrail automates the excellent communication between virtual appliances."
"It provides proactive alerting in a single dashboard solution."
"After we finished setting Contrail up, it seemed stable enough. Still, we never tested it in a real environment, so we don't have enough information to say whether it's stable with a given number of users and appliances. We have tested it in a lab environment, but we haven't tested enough to say that the platform is stable."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is a stable solution."
"Initially, we had a scattered environment, but VMware SD-WAN helped us achieve centralization, which was beneficial."
"It's scalable."
"The most valuable features of VMware SD-WAN are the overall capabilities and ease of use."
"VeloCloud developed DMPO to increase performance and connectivity."
"VMware is the only SD-WAN solution that integrates with Azure Virtual WAN."
"I would absolutely recommend VeloCloud because it's user-friendly and because the integration is easier than with other solutions."
"The most valuable feature is load balancing."
"SD-WAN is cloud-based and you can manage multiple sites within one single pane of glass."
 

Cons

"Juniper Contrail Networking is difficult if you do not have a certificate for Juniper. Juniper is a different type of configuration or operation than Cisco."
"Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch."
"Visibility, especially for the top of the platform, is a nightmare. The top was documented incorrectly and really complex to complete. In the end, it worked but only after several weeks of work with the support of a Juniper solution engineer in Holland."
"Concerns were raised about the complexity of involving networking components like MX routers, which often required expertise beyond the scope of software engineers. As a result, users encountered challenges in achieving comprehensive understanding and troubleshooting of networking issues within the Contrail environment."
"I would like to improve the tool’s cloud security features. I would like to see high-throughput hardware requests in the product’s next release. The solution should also support multiple gigs which could be around ten."
"They should provide us with the flexibility to scale up."
"If you don't have an Internet connection, you can’t control it."
"The firewall can be more advanced."
"Can't execute commands quickly when troubleshooting. The graphic user interface is slow."
"I would like for them to upgrade to 5G integration. Our customers have 4G now and the connectivity isn't good. It should be much faster."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. Unlike the comprehensive reports we receive from Palo Alto for our firewalls, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN doesn't offer detailed reports that effectively convey the solution's benefits to management."
"It needs better security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Juniper Contrail Networking is low-cost for small and medium-sized businesses. Cisco and Palo Alto solutions are more expensive."
"There are many vendors in the wireless market that offer better pricing, solutions, and management skills compared to Juniper."
"The cost of VMware SD-WAN is high, but I think you can still get better pricing if your volume is high."
"I would rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten since the license is costly."
"The price is reasonable for this solution, but the only challenge for us is that the Rand currency fluctuates to the dollar and provides some complexities. The price might go up just because the Rand has actually lost value."
"You need to pay for a license to use this product."
"Overall pricing could be lower. It is much more expensive than traditional hardware vendor pricing."
"VMware SD-WAN provides competitive pricing."
"We pay about $500 USD, or 700,000 Korean won."
"The pricing is very comparable to Fortinet."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Retailer
11%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail Networking?
Juniper Contrail Networking enables the utilization of tier-two appliances and the creation of virtual networks or appliances. This is facilitated through the use of filtering devices. Additionally...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Contrail Networking?
We use the solution to host many services for multiple clients. We aim to transition from hosting Cisco clients to utilizing virtual appliances. Therefore, we intend to virtualize their infrastruct...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Contrail Networking?
Juniper Contrail Networking presents a distinct alternative for those encountering issues with vendor solutions. Consequently, individuals who may have previously hesitated to explore OpenStack sol...
What are the biggest differences between Fortinet Fortigate and VMware SD-WAN?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. It is a very stable, reliable, and consistent solution. We like that we can manage the entire...
What do you like most about VMware SD-WAN?
One of the key use cases for VMware SD-WAN was assisting a customer in the industrial zone. They required virtualized servers and wanted to enable VMware SD-WAN to connect their sites in Japan or C...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware SD-WAN?
When it comes to setup cost and licensing cost for VMware, it is on the expensive side relative to the market. We are struggling to sell VMware as Fortinet offers SD-WAN with no additional costs. T...
 

Also Known As

Contrail Networking
VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lithium Technologies, Orange Business Services, Cloudwatt, Symantec, Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds
Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction,  The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, TP-Link, Aviatrix and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: January 2026.
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