Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

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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 Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is 10.3%, up from 8.8% 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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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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Sami-Isoaho

Principal Cloud Architect at Loihe

To fully utilize cloud vendors' hardware networking, Microsoft and VMware support everything

To improve the product, the company, alone or with a good partner, should manufacture their own hardware brand with boxes to make the product more shippable. Implementing VMware is much more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive than implementing Fortinet or Check Point. With Fortinet, you pay a couple of hundred dollars for hosting and a low-cost firewall, there's only one box to ship to each site, and it's much easier to manage. Moreover, it would be easy for the large telecom operators and system integrators to sell the solution. It would also be a good fit for customers with multiple small offices, who I currently advise to choose hardware-vendor SD-WAN solutions over VMware.

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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 most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."

"Fortinet FortiGate is used to prevent security failures. Since implementing the solution, we have seen improvements in security and in the distribution of our network."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."

"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."

"The initial setup is very straightforward and easy, with wizards helping to configure the device efficiently."

"It's very easy to configure."

"One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface. I don't have to log into one interface for the firewall, another one for the access points, and another one for the switches. These firewalls have access point controller functionality built right into the system, so I don't even have to purchase additional devices to manage them."

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"They have a lot of built-ins. There are so many applications defined inside the solution. It makes it so that we don't have to create some policies. Each and every application is already defined in it."

"SD-WAN is cloud-based and you can manage multiple sites within one single pane of glass."

"It is fairly similar to other solutions. It has the capability for testing link connectivity, which is its unique feature from a control perspective."

"One of the standout features is its ability to dynamically manage enterprise networks based on applications."

"The most valuable features of VMware SD-WAN are the overall capabilities and ease of use."

"The most valuable feature is the Dynamic Multipath Optimization (DMPO), which allows the customer to maintain and monitor their link quality in real-time."

"I have found the dynamic multipoint protocol(DNPO) most useful because it can tell you which is the best circuit to use for different types of traffic."

"The setup is very straightforward."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN pros

Cons

"To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."

"There are problems with the custom reporting of the unique traffic. The data is there, but it is too difficult for us to extract."

"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."

"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."

"I would suggest that Fortinet add sandboxing to their solution."

"The sniffing packets or packet captures, can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing."

"We would like to see an upgrade to the VPN feature, we are using the VPN from outside of our office and there is a limitation to 10 connections, more connections would be suitable."

"At this moment, we believe that Fortinet FortiGate should be improved by injecting more AI because the kind of threats we are seeing are more ransomware threats."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"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."

"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 cost of VeloCloud could be lowered."

"They need more gateways"

"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."

"VMware SD-WAN could improve by having more partnerships with other vendors."

"I would like to see more features added to increase visibility."

"The security of the firewall should be improved. It would be a good idea to have a standalone product with better security."

"Can't execute commands quickly when troubleshooting. The graphic user interface is slow."

"There is no security included, which is something that should be improved."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"The price is fine."

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"It is quite affordable for our customers. There is a separate cost for IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and other features. They have a great choice of licenses. You can go for the license that you want, which is quite useful."

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

"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."

More Fortinet FortiGate 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."

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

"The licensing structure is very flexible."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

"The price of this solution should be lower."

"We pay about $500 USD, or 700,000 Korean won."

"You need to pay for a license to use this product."

"We make monthly payments toward the licensing costs of the solution."

"The price of this solution is higher than that of other SD-WAN vendors."

"VMware SD-WAN provides competitive pricing."

"My understanding is that the pricing is in the same range as other solutions."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.

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849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

21%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

32%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

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...

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?

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

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 ...

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...

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

The pricing is high, making the margin thin, which limits mark-up opportunities from the wholesale price.

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

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

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Juniper Mist Edge vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Compared 16% 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 15% of the time

More Juniper Contrail SD-WAN Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 18% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 12% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 6% of the time

Peplink SpeedFusion vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 5% of the time

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN

Download Juniper Contrail SD-WAN product report

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Download VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

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

Contrail SD-WAN

VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud

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

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

VMware Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a secure access service edge (SASE) platform that combines many types of software-based network technologies in an attempt to enable users to virtualize their wide area networks and reduce their reliance on hardware. In essence, this solution makes it possible for users to reliably access their applications from anywhere in the world by leveraging cloud technologies. Users can simply, efficiently, and completely control their network devices and traffic. It ensures that organizations are always able to use the best possible connection to their data centers. VMware SD-WAN steers traffic so that it is always using the most reliable connections and at the same time takes steps to remediate any problems that it detects in other network links. This guarantees that organizations can access high-priority applications at all times.

VMware SD-WAN Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by deploying VMware SD-WAN include:

Reduced cost of network management. Organizations that choose to employ VMware SD-WAN can manage their network at a cost that is 2.5 times less expensive than what it costs to use traditional WAN architectures. Its ability to both augment existing hardware and replace said hardware if the user chooses to do so is part of what enables users to reduce their overhead costs.

Ease of deployment. VMware SD-WAN makes it possible for organizations to deploy it without having to rely on the assistance of technical experts. When the device - whether virtual or otherwise - is connected to the internet, it integrates with a central orchestrator that pushes the correct integrations to the device in question. This automates the installation process and makes it so that anybody can initiate and follow the deployment through to the end of the process.

Easily segment networks to improve environmental performance. Users can divide their networks into multiple segments that share a single IP address. These networks can be incorporated into an organization’s IT infrastructure and enable it to run more reliably. One way it does this is by providing multiple potential channels for data to use to travel in the event that one of the data pathways is suffering from some kind of issue.

VMware SD-WAN Features

Centralized monitoring. VMware SD-WAN is monitored at all times by a centralized orchestrator. From one place, an organization can watch every part of its network. Instead of having to search for the data they need, it can all be found in one location.

Integration capabilities. VMware SD-WAN offers users the capability to integrate their network with the environment of their choosing. This enables them to connect their network to the IT environment that best meets their needs. It makes it easy for them to work with multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

Real-time data analytics. VMware SD-WAN can analyze network data in real time. This makes it easy for users to monitor their network’s performance. It also allows them to take steps to quickly remediate any issues that arise before they can become worse.

Reviews from Real Users

VMware SD-WAN is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its ability to automate the process of creating and maintaining a virtual local area network and its intuitive user dashboard.

Sami I., principal cloud architect at Loihe, writes, “One of the solution's most valuable features is the VMware core automation stack at an SDDC. It includes NSX, the VMware virtualization layer for the networks (the LAN virtualization), which works extremely well with the VMware SD-WAN solution and is the primary advantage over all the others. None of the other vendors could integrate with the virtual LAN, making it quite complicated and virtualized to be fully automated.”

Chih S., senior technical consultant at a tech services company, says, “The product has a very good user dashboard that is simple to navigate.”

VMware

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

Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction, The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM

Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN