Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs Steelhead comparison

Juniper and Riverbed are both solutions in the WAN Edge category. Juniper is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.5, while Riverbed is ranked #13 with an average rating of 9.0. Juniper holds a 1.1% mindshare in WE, compared to Riverbed’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Juniper users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Read 6 Juniper Contrail SD-WAN reviews

672 Views
339 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Steelhead

Read 25 Steelhead reviews

729 Views
377 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Steelhead

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Steelhead and Juniper Contrail SD-WAN are both SD-WAN solutions. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN seems to have the upper hand due to its robust features.

Features:Users highlight Steelhead's WAN optimization, ease of use, and strong pricing. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN stands out with advanced routing capabilities, cloud integration, and a comprehensive feature set.

Room for Improvement:Users suggest Steelhead could improve reporting capabilities, third-party tool integration, and configuration complexity. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN users seek enhancements in configuration simplicity, a more intuitive dashboard, and streamlined processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Steelhead is praised for straightforward deployment and excellent customer service. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN's deployment can be complex, but users commend its customer support. Steelhead is easier to deploy.

Pricing and ROI:Steelhead is noted for competitive pricing and satisfactory ROI. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, despite higher costs, is seen as delivering good ROI due to its extensive capabilities and performance.

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

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead

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

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Ranking in WAN Edge

14th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (14th)

Steelhead

Ranking in WAN Edge

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

WAN Optimization (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the WAN Edge category, the mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Steelhead is 1.2%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

WAN Edge

Featured Reviews

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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Raj Metkar

Director, Head of Networks at MUFG, EMEA

Auto-optimization mode enhance efficiency & bandwidth saving, best layer 7 QoS shaping policy can be achieved with ease

There are several features specific to branches, like keeping data hot and active on Steelhead devices. These features prevent unnecessary data travel across the international MPLS. Additionally, functions like acting as an NTP server, DNS, DHCP for branches and auto-optimization mode enhance efficiency along with really good QoS for bandwidth shaping.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

"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 compression of Riverbed is very powerful. It can also handle large quantities of traffic."

"TCP optimization... caches a particular TCP connection and the next time a user uses that connection he will reach the destination easily."

"Steelhead is stable, and it can even help you avoid service interruption in the event of a power outage. If your hardware fails, technical support will replace your device quickly."

"SteelHead works from the application. I use it to optimize traffic from Amazon. It is mainly used for customers who need to increase the traffic to 33K. For other users, it has been more of an operation."

"It is very easy to install the solution."

"One of our most valuable features is Steelhead's cloud migration optimization. Moving to the cloud helped optimize our workflow, improving performance for end-users."

"The most valuable feature of Steelhead is its optimization capabilities."

"There are several features specific to branches, like keeping data hot and active on Steelhead devices. These features prevent unnecessary data travel across the international LAN."

More Steelhead pros

Cons

"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."

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

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

"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 product needs improvement in its integration with SDN."

"The application response time of the solution can be improved."

"They should include a network switch in a future release."

"The product should offer more integration capabilities."

"I would like to see improvement in the solution’s configuration and protocol aspects. We have got some configurations that are not set. I would also like to simplify the call detection of some protocols."

"If we load a primary firewall, the secondary firewall usually handles all the active connections, but in Riverbed, this isn't the case. We lose all the active connections at the moment of failure."

"The solution needs to have alert notifications."

"Steelhead is considered an expensive solution in our country. On a scale of one to ten for expense, it would be rated an eight."

More Steelhead cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"Across our 12 data centers, we spend around $150k annually."

"The solution is expensive and the service contacts are costly too. The cost of the device makes the value proposition borderline acceptable for us. The service contract fees we pay is approximately $30,000 annually."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

32%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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 provisioning tool. Unlike solutions from Palo Alto or other SD-WANs orchestrated by a ...

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 and position the solution in line with competitive offerings, especially consideri...

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 other solutions like Meraki SD-WAN, which is almost plug-and-play with its zero-touc...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

We just did an assessment for our 47 datacenters around North America. The top two enterprise-level network monitoring solutions were ExtraHop first, Riverbed SteelCenter second. Their negotiated c...

See all answers

What do you like most about Riverbed Steelhead?

One of our most valuable features is Steelhead's cloud migration optimization. Moving to the cloud helped optimize our workflow, improving performance for end-users.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Riverbed Steelhead?

In the past, we have sold a lot of Steelhead ( /products/steelhead-reviews ) for retail companies, insurance companies, some finance companies, and some engineering companies. Steelhead ( /products...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 28% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Steelhead

Compared 17% of the time

Noction IRP vs Steelhead

Compared 17% of the time

WAAS vs Steelhead

Compared 15% of the time

More Steelhead Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

April 2025

Download Juniper Contrail SD-WAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Steelhead

April 2025

Download Steelhead product report

Also Known As

Contrail SD-WAN

RIverbed Steelhead

Overview

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

Steelhead is the leading network optimization and application performance solution chosen by over 30,000 organizations worldwide. The performance of networks and applications directly impacts business productivity. Riverbed draws from nearly two decades of experience in driving network and application performance over Wide Area Networks with its flagship offering, SteelHead. SteelHead delivers the underlying technology that helps enterprises of all sizes maximize the efficiency and performance of the networks and applications used to run modern business.

SteelHead is proven to dramatically speed up the performance of applications anywhere in the organization while delivering the best end-user experience even under sub optimal network conditions. Reduce bandwidth utilization by up to 95%, deferring costly network bandwidth upgrades. Increase performance by up to 100x for on-premises applications.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

Allied Pinnacle

ElAraby, SFK Leblanc, Bobst Group, Northwest Pipe Company, Halkbank, Tradebridge, EFG Hermes

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead

April 2025

Free Report: Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead

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