Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.6, while Juniper is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 7.2% mindshare in SDW, compared to Juniper’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform and Juniper Contrail SD-WAN compete in the SD-WAN network solutions category. Users generally prefer Aruba EdgeConnect for its pricing and support, while Juniper Contrail is favored for its superior features justifying its higher price.

Features: Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers advanced WAN optimization, easy cloud integration, and straightforward deployment processes. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN provides granular control, extensive security options, and sophisticated features addressing varied enterprise needs.

Room for Improvement: Users note that Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform could benefit from improved reporting tools, deeper analytics capabilities, and enhanced scalability options. For Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, users express the need for a more streamlined integration process with third-party services, simpler user interface, and reduced deployment time.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is often highlighted for its straightforward deployment and highly responsive customer service. Conversely, Juniper Contrail SD-WAN deployment is more complex but offers extensive documentation and support resources.

Pricing and ROI: Users find Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform to offer more competitive setup costs, leading to faster ROI. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, while more expensive, is often viewed as delivering substantial long-term value through its expansive features.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

April 2025

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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 May 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 20.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is 7.2%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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JOHN UNAMBA

Lead Regional Engineer at Weco Systems Group

Integrated security features and robust support improve network management

The solution was installed across two branches for a financial institution. One location had a data center, and the other was a branch office. For SaaS applications, traffic broke out from EdgeConnect directly to the cloud. Applications using the data center were channeled through the MPLS link…

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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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."

"The customization potential is quite impressive."

"The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with."

"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."

"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."

"Fortinet FortiGate's ease of management is the most valuable feature."

"The payment function for applications is good."

"We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"I really love the auto-tunnel creation feature."

"First and foremost, it enables the customer to deploy high availability connections. This kind of solution enables them to deploy these HA connections for policies mostly automatically. It's a more automated approach than with other vendors."

"At the moment, for us, it is a very good solution because it has all the features we need and it is not so expensive."

"The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization."

"Aruba EdgeConnect has an inbuilt next-generation firewall, advanced routing capabilities, and one compression capacity."

"The most valuable feature of Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect is the boost."

"The most valuable feature is the support for asymmetric lines."

"The most valuable features of Silver Peak VX are we can register our customers and they can receive free training and all the solutions features."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pros

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

Cons

"FortiGate is really good. We have been using it for quite some time. Initially, when we started off, we had around 70 plus devices of FortiGate, but then Check Point and Palo Alto took over the place. From the product perspective, there are no issues, but from the account perspective, we have had issues. Fortinet's presence in our company is very less. I don't see any Fortinet account managers talking to us, and that presence has diluted in the last two and a half or three years. We have close to 1,500 firewalls. Out of these, 60% of firewalls are from Palo Alto, and a few firewalls are from Check Point. FortiGate firewalls are very less now. It is not because of the product; it is because of the relationship. I don't think they had a good relationship with us, and there was some kind of disconnect for a very long time. The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate."

"The stability could be a bit better."

"It needs more available central management."

"The integration with third-party tools may be something that they should work on."

"Monitoring and reporting could be better."

"The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces."

"Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."

"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The license features should improve in the solution. For example, when you purchase VMware, it starts at a low level that has some functionality. When you want to expand, the difference in the price is substantial. I purchased the lower functional version for $4,000, and now if I want to upgrade, they ask me for $80,000. This is a $76,000 difference, there's no logic, but this is VMware."

"I expect automation in the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform's next release."

"More technical sessions should be offered for deploying the solution."

"I would like to have a physical appliance to use with the orchestrator for managing all EdgeConnect appliances."

"The security can be improved, with the firewall for example, because they supply a basic one but not a UTM."

"I would like to have a physical appliance to use with the orchestrator for managing all EdgeConnect appliances. Currently, it's a virtual appliance."

"I guess the tool should give you a little more flexibility on what you can show on the main window, which can be an area of improvement."

"There are some functional limitations that could improve."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform cons

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

"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."

"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."

"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 is expensive. Its support can be better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"It has a competitive price."

"Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive. In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license."

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."

"It is cost-effective, and provides a good value for your money. The pricing, and license renewal, is very reasonable for us."

"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high, I rate the pricing around five to six."

"The pricing for this product is good."

"The license could improve for Silver Peak VX."

"You can get both yearly and monthly options in licensing. It is not expensive."

"The license for Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect is paid annually."

"Compared to other solutions, I think it is a cheap product in the market."

"You have to negotiate when it comes to pricing and licensing."

"The licensing would be cheap if we compare it with the others, like Cisco."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

"The licensing structure is very flexible."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

33%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

See all answers

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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about Silver Peak NX?

The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak NX?

It is an affordable product and yet still a bit expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Silver Peak NX?

One area for improvement is the Intel support integration. The security could also improve.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?

Implementing new branches or changing existing ones in Juniper Contrail SD-WAN wasn't as straightforward as with othe...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 20% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 10% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 6% of the time

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform Competitors

Juniper Mist Edge vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Compared 16% of the time

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Compared 14% of the time

More Juniper Contrail SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

May 2025

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform report

Download Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

May 2025

Download Juniper Contrail SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect

Contrail SD-WAN

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform secures and powers a self-driving wide area network for cloud-first enterprises.

In today’s edge-to-cloud enterprise, user experience and security are not optional

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN provides a secure network foundation for Zero Trust and SASE. It includes a first-class SD-WAN paired with a next-generation firewall delivering unmatched quality of experience and advanced security.

Best-of-breed SASE with no compromise

EdgeConnect SD-WAN enables a best-of-breed SASE architecture that meets the security requirements of today’s digital organizations. It provides comprehensive SD-WAN and security services including next-generation firewall, fine-grained segmentation, IDS/IPS, and tightly integrates with many SSE (Security Service Edge) solutions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

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

Group Dekko, Kingston Technology, American Student Assistance, Ares Management, Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Colonial Savings, Community Bank, Denali Credit Union, Bed Bath & Beyond, Breweries of Cameroon, Carnival Australia, Coastal Beverages, Toshiba Electronics, Tru Blu Beverages, WAXIE Sanitary Supply, Charleston Area Medical Center, Community Health Plan, Healthcare Company, Mercy Health, Linklaters, Miles & Stockbridge, Thomson Snell & Passmore

Allied Pinnacle

Buyer's Guide

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

April 2025

Free Report: Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

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