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Juniper MX Series Routers vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2025

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 MX Series Routers
Ranking in Routers
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) (1st)
Juniper Session Smart Router
Ranking in Routers
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Juniper MX Series Routers is 13.0%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Juniper MX Series Routers13.0%
Juniper Session Smart Router0.7%
Other86.3%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

Patrick Anaku - PeerSpot reviewer
Performance excels with reliable uptime and robust features
The best features of Juniper MX Series Routers include their performance, which is quite good for us in terms of hardware performance. The Junos OS, the software, is stable, and we don't have many issues with the Juniper system itself. They have numerous features that allow us to deliver services, be it Layer 2 connectivity to customers, Layer 3 connectivity, data center connectivity, or even security features. Hardware performance has been a top-notch reason why we chose Juniper in the beginning, especially the MX series, which performs well in terms of network uptime and we don't encounter many failures. We have had a bad experience here and there with the ACX series, and their network performance is not so great compared to MX, so we have mostly done away with the ACX and only use MX at some of the core sites. I have seen a return on investment from the solution. Initially, we deployed MX80s on the network, and since our company has been in operation since 2006, from that point we used MX80s until around 2016 when we upgraded most of them to MX204s. From our experience, once we buy an MX204, we don't have issues with it; we have never had to replace an MX204 on the network. Once we deploy it, it works until we decide to upgrade the capacity. The return on investment is significant, as once we buy it, we have no worries about performance.
SRI GANESH  PHANIYAPPA - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"On the SRX, the firewall is very easy to configure, especially when you want to filter out traffic."
"For the Juniper MX Series Routers, it plays a crucial role in our network. They offer numerous features, enabling multiple connections and handling various reports. The routers efficiently manage the number of switched fabric codes and process features based on the specific switch requirements. Previously, I utilized them for processing and addressing customer-side concerns. The routers have excellent documentation, making it easy to resolve any issues that may arise. It's excellent for customization, especially in tailoring the Windows configuration environment. Overall, dealing with this solution has been straightforward and efficient."
"The full Internet DGP is a valuable feature."
"In our company, we are integrators who create solutions for our customers. I find Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to be suitable as it allows for easy configuration and offers features like SNMP. Personally, I find it convenient to switch from Cisco to Juniper EX because of my experience with various vendors like Huawei and Cisco. It's easy for me to read configurations from Cisco and transfer them to Juniper. Mainly, we work with customers who want to change or upgrade their network infrastructure, moving from vendors like Cisco, Aruba, or Huawei to Juniper for modernization. Juniper's features are more advanced, and it helps us meet the diverse needs of our customers. My role involves helping with the deployment and configuration of switching, access points, and Wi-Fi, for building robust and modern networks."
"We are able to easily build chassis with Juniper MX Series Routers."
"The solution is quite stable. We've found it to be very good. There aren't bugs, glitches, or crashes."
"Juniper MX Series Routers are easy to configure and easy to back up."
"I would say it is very user-friendly."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."
"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."
"Customer service is very prompt."
"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."
 

Cons

"We'd appreciate it if they had a better GUI. It would be more flexible for the customers that way."
"The setup was a bit complex."
"While it is challenging to pinpoint specific areas for enhancement, there is room for better support and updates for Ansible."
"Enhancing the capacity would be a welcome improvement."
"One thing that the product can do better is clustering. Rather than just having two of them, it would help if there was one cluster to extend to more notes in the cluster itself."
"Finding market expertise is hard."
"The solution could improve reliability and it needs more functions."
"The security features could be better."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"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."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is more expensive compared to other solutions."
"An additional license can be purchased for support of a next-generation firewall."
"The prices for Juniper MX Series Routers are reasonable."
"There is a license for this solution and the price is very competitive. The cost is less expensive than some competitors, such as Cisco. There are additional costs for support licenses."
"The price of this solution is better than other competitors, such as Cisco. We receive a lot of discounts which make the price less expensive and attractive."
"The pricing of Juniper MX Series Routers is okay compared to other technologies."
"$300 to $400 is the hardware cost and for licensing cost, it may be around, for support and all, $100 per year."
"We have to pay for the device and licensing. The support service requires additional costs."
"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."
"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper MX Series Routers?
For the Juniper MX Series Routers, it plays a crucial role in our network. They offer numerous features, enabling multiple connections and handling various reports. The routers efficiently manage ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper MX Series Routers?
I would rate it around a three. While I'm not deeply involved in pricing discussions, I believe it is comparatively more affordable than Cisco.
What needs improvement with Juniper MX Series Routers?
The areas of Juniper MX Series Routers that have room for improvement include the port count; for instance, the MX204 has only four 40G or 100G ports, which is quite limited. While I know there are...
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.
 

Also Known As

Juniper Enterprise Routers, MX Series, Junos Address Aware
128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, Atlantech Online, Availity, Baloise Insurance, Black Lotus, CATV, Blue Box
Revation Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper MX Series Routers vs. Juniper Session Smart Router and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.