Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

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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 FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.3%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 2.8%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.3%
Juniper Session Smart Router	2.8%
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN	1.0%
Other	77.9%

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Luis Corrochano

Presales Manager and Co-founder at Kaizen Networks

A stable and scalable solution that helps to cut cost by reducing MPLs

My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH. The solution is expensive. Its support can be better. The tool is stable. The solution is more…

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SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Delivered tailored features and meets requirements effectively

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The next-generation firewall is great."

"The solution is easy to use and checks the access control as a firewall."

"I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features."

"The configuration possibilities that Fortinet FortiGate provides are extensive, and the task configuration activity is fast and efficient for me."

"The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex."

"The solution’s interface is pretty user-friendly."

"The solution provides good threat intelligence feeds."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a good solution because it has a range of options and a clear ecosystem."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provisioning tool. Unlike solutions from Palo Alto or other SD-WANs orchestrated by a SaaS solution, Juniper Contrail SD-WAN already had the files and built their SaaS to orchestrate the configuration. Initially, you didn't do much, but then it started adding some routing capabilities."

"My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH."

"It supports desktop management, network management, and SD-WAN policies."

"The support is very good from Juniper and from the local distributors."

"It gives you that level of visibility to understand what's going on between layer four and layer seven."

"The solution is more specific about what's happening since it explains where the problem may lie and points out areas where there is a problem. So, we like that it provides more visibility."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."

"Customer service is very prompt."

"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."

"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."

Cons

"Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production. Other issues relate to isolation with Cisco products and your server."

"Its reporting and pricing need improvement."

"The vendors offer models with different levels of productivity of the product to its users, which is not possible in FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW). It lacks integration options."

"The solution's real-time connection with the cloud could be improved."

"One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."

"Application management can be improved."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The only issue was the switch we got, which was a little problematic because it was PoC equipment, and we had a little problem with that."

"The solution is expensive. Its support can be better."

"Implementing new branches or changing existing ones in Juniper Contrail SD-WAN wasn't as straightforward as with other solutions like Meraki SD-WAN, which is almost plug-and-play with its zero-touch provisioning. In Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, it was more challenging."

"The solution installs similarly to competitors. It is not more difficult or easier. However, it could be easier and take less time for the installation."

"The training could be better. When it comes to the demo dashboard capability, I feel like it could be much easier for our customers to use. Our last customer complained about this."

"Areas for improvement in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution include the on-premises deployment process."

"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."

"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."

"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be lower."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is better than Cisco, Check Point, and Palo Alto. In terms of pricing, it's probably a better-priced firewall solution overall."

"Currently, we are paying about $1,500 a month for three sites."

"We pay for the solution annually."

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."

"We just pay a flat monthly fee to the vendor for the support."

"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The licensing structure is very flexible."

"The cost of the solution is a little expensive. The hardware is a one-time purchase fee and the software is purchased on an annual basis. There are additional costs for other software features that are available which are on an annual basis, such as extra capacity."

"They are neither very expensive nor cheap. So, we can consider its pricing somewhere in the middle."

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."

"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Manufacturing Company

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	1

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

What do you like most about Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?

I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provis...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?

My advice regarding setup costs, pricing, and licensing for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN would be to carefully evaluate an...

What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?

There might be additional features that would be beneficial to have in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution, includin...

What do you like most about Juniper Session Smart Router?

The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Session Smart Router?

Juniper Session Smart Router is not significantly cheaper than, for example, Cisco.

What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?

I did not find any problem with Juniper. Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do.

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

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VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Download Juniper Contrail SD-WAN product report

Routers

Download Juniper Session Smart Router product report

Also Known As

No data available

Contrail SD-WAN

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Contrail SD-WAN delivers a simple, automated multicloud SD-WAN. It enables you to create an evolvable architecture to simplify growth, from secure routers to SD-WAN, SD-Branch, and beyond. It automates the WAN edge across Juniper virtual cloud endpoints and on-premises next-generation firewall or universal CPE platforms. And it provisions and enforces multilevel security policy at scale, across multiple clouds and enterprise sites with diverse topologies.

Juniper

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

Juniper

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Allied Pinnacle

Revation Systems

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Juniper Session Smart Router