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it_user1203708 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Advanced Technologies
MSP
Easy to use and has a feature to rollback to the previous configuration
Pros and Cons
  • "Juniper is the best when it comes to the core layer."
  • "The stability of this solution should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for our network in an on-premises deployment. We also provide this solution to some of our customers.

We have twenty-one switches that control our data center, MPLS, and access points.

What is most valuable?

This solution is easy to use.

There is a rollback feature available after you commit the configuration.

Juniper is the best when it comes to the core layer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

If you are using Juniper as a router then the stability is better.

Buyer's Guide
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches
June 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In the technical team, we have six users. In terms of end-users, we have more than sixty.

We have large, medium, and small customers who use this solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have created only one ticket for technical support. The support was quick. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use HP switches.

I have used Cisco switches, but they do not have a rollback feature after you commit the configuration.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution is easy, although it takes a long time.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This solution is cheaper than Cisco or HP switches.

What other advice do I have?

The stability of this solution should be improved. We have a customer that is using Cisco switches, and they don't need to reconfigure it as often. It is less complicated to update or reconfigure, and we have had problems with needing to do so more than once.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
Compliance, Security & Testing Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Easy to manage and provides a reliable core for our public-facing infrastructure
Pros and Cons
  • "The ease of management through the command line interface is very good."
  • "It would be nice to have a more available list of modules that you can get for this solution."

What is our primary use case?

We are using multiple EX4200 Virtual Chassis Stacks in an on-premises deployment.

The way we have it configured is that it is our core switch model that holds up our entire infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability.

The ease of management through the command line interface is very good.

What needs improvement?

It would be nice to have a more available list of modules that you can get for this solution. One of the hardest things that I've found when I go looking for modules on those switches is actually finding a thorough list of them.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for between five and six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of this solution is rock solid. The only time we've had an issue is when one of the redundant power supplies shorted out. I don't think that this was the fault of the solution. Rather, I think it was due to a failed power line, perhaps a spike in power.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is extremely scalable. We had to add a new line module and we were able to do it while it was hot, so we didn't have any downtime.

This solution makes up the core of our network, so everybody in the company relies on it. We're predominately web-facing, so it supports our public-facing infrastructure. It is difficult to estimate the number of users that it supports.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have been in touch with Professional Services. They are excellent, and they're always on time.

The responses are timely and they're very knowledgeable. If they're unsure then they will quickly consult other team members. The engineers that are dealing with it won't just sit there and try to figure it out themselves. They'll engage other members in their environment as quickly as they can. They get the issue resolved, so it's great.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using a solution from Cisco previously, but we were having issues with those, which is one of the reasons that we switched to Juniper. From what I can remember, the Cisco solution was not able to get the throughput that we required. Also, we required the ability to do hot swap-overs of the devices.

One of the main things with Cisco is that any of the changes that you made were instant, whereas, with Juniper, we can actually stage the changes before we apply them. Also, for the Cisco product, it was a really, really expensive product range. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution is straightforward.

The deployment took one day at each of two different sites.

What about the implementation team?

I was on-site for the deployments, but we had a consultant come in and do it for us.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The maintenance cost is approximately €2,000 ($2,200 USD) per year, including support, for our entire fleet.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated other options including some by Cisco and HP. 

What other advice do I have?

If you're looking at this solution from an ethernet switching point of view, we don't use any of the in-depth features. We selected this solution for its reliability and ease of management on the command line.

My advice to anybody who is implementing this solution is to plan it out in advance. Other than that, they're relatively straightforward. There are no major issues or items that I could call out as a problem. It's just a case of making sure that you plan our your deployment before you start.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer984912 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to Setup Secured Networks, but local technical support is lacking
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like most about this solution is that it is secure."
  • "It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt. There is no local support available."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of this solution is for the internal network, covering our entire office.

The deployment model we are using is on-premises.

What is most valuable?

What I like most about this solution is that it is secure.

What needs improvement?

They need to have more marketing in Egypt.

The technical support in Egypt needs to be improved because I was struggling to get technical support.

Having documentation provided in Arabic would be nice, but not necessary, as most everyone speaks and understands English well enough.

I would like to have customer support on the ground.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable.

We have approximately twenty users, most of them are engineers.

How are customer service and technical support?

It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt.

There is no local support available.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously we used Cisco. From my understanding and from what I was told, it was complex, hard to handle, not customer familiar or customer friendly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and it's easier than Cisco.

What about the implementation team?

We did not implement this solution through a vendor, we had one of the team members do it. It wasn't that difficult.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
External Plant Coordinator with 201-500 employees
User
Supports all our connectivity infrastructure in our datacenter
Pros and Cons
  • "Juniper supports all our connectivity infrastructure in our datacenter, supporting optimal availability and performance for services.​"
  • "The Virtual Chassis, because you have a centralized administration of a set of switches which makes the operation more efficient.​"

    What is our primary use case?

    The primary use is as a datacenter, as aggregation and access switches. They are also used in wireless nodes in the core switch segment receiving all last mile services, as in optical fiber.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Juniper supports all our connectivity infrastructure in our datacenter, supporting optimal availability and performance for services.

    What is most valuable?

    The Virtual Chassis, because you have a centralized administration of a set of switches which makes the operation more efficient.

    What needs improvement?

    Support prices and licensing scheme need to be improved to allow some features to be purchased at lower costs, for example, RPM.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Three to five years.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used Cisco.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated Brocade.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Works at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Vendor
    I'd like to see it's cost go down but it has optimal TCO

    Valuable Features

    Optimal TCO

    Improvements to My Organization

    It's not about improvement, it is more about optimal decision making.

    Room for Improvement

    Stability issues and its cost.

    Use of Solution

    Juniper EX series About 2-3 years

    Deployment Issues

    I haven't seen any issues with deployment.

    Stability Issues

    Seldom

    Scalability Issues

    Standard questions about more clients ports on devices.

    Customer Service and Technical Support

    Customer Service: Good, but not the best.Technical Support: Good.

    Initial Setup

    We had some questions, but that's it.

    Implementation Team

    We did some prep with the vendor team which was very helpful.

    Other Solutions Considered

    Cisco solutions and some others.
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user90057 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Owner at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
    Consultant
    Pros and cons of both Cisco and Juniper configs, but you can see the benefit of why they organized it the way they did

    After being primarily a Cisco user for many years, I find the switch to Juniper refreshing. The CLI is intuitive and I appreciate the hierarchy of the various configuration groups to be much more organized. I also think it is better with regard to config checking, and ensuring that the items entered into the config work with the rest of the config. For example if you happen to forget a line in a policy, or make an error in referencing a particular object, it will not let you commit the config. I know there are pros and cons of both configs, but once you get used to Juniper, you can see the benefit of why they organized it the way they did.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user111924 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user111924VP of Network/Comms/Infra at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
    Real User

    Hi, well to your point about rollbacks, the benefits of this feature are quite obvious in that they provide a fail safe mechanism should your changes inadvertently isolate you from a remote device due to some unforeseen error/mistake (it happens!).
    I often hear people compare this age old Junos feature to Cisco's "reload in|at x" command, however if the difference isn't already obvious, that command results is a device reload, whereas Junos rollbacks do not. Picture a scenario whereby your action isolates you from a remote device yet that device is still carrying production traffic loads. In this scenario, the user of rollback would be able to regain access to the device without impact to traffic through the device, whereas the user of the reload command would see an outage. Consider a worst case scenario whereby the device fails to complete its boot cycle and there my friend you have hell on your hands. May as well pack your stuff into a box and grab your coat at that point.

    See all 2 comments
    it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco

    Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons:

    1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like.

    2) The Hierarchical config design means I can make changes only in areas that concern me without necessarily impacting other areas.

    3) Easier rollback when one makes mistakes

    4) I think there are less bugs/vulnerabilities in Junos vs IOS.

    5) iOS has too many flavors leads to confusion with deployment.

    One more advantage of junos over iOS. Juniper adheres closer to the standards than Cisco. Epigraph is nice, auto rp is cool, but with the less protocols in the standards it's much earlier to configure junos.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user

    Either vendor has a switch that will do the job. However I perferer Juniper due to

    a. rollback is quick and easy in the event of issues arising from chnages
    b. easier fault finding (once you get your head around how its implemented)
    c. no need check the switch to find which OS feature set is installed and if memory / flash upgrade is required - its all in the OS with very few licenses (usually none) required to get full functionality if you have select the correct product in the first place
    d. Hierarchical config is much easier to follow - great concept that most programmers can pickup quickly
    e. don't need to learn different variants of the CLI as is required on IOS (even HP manage to stay relatively consistent there)
    f. decent speed stacking interfaces on enterprise grade switches (particular 4x00 series)
    g. more function for $ (at retail prices)
    h. closer to standards than Cisco - easier interoperability in multi vendor environment
    i. does not have legacy protocols that are not used or so rarely used that they don't matter in the day and age

    Purchase and implementation of Cisco maintenance process is MUCH simpler to the end customer

    Worked on both brands for a number of years.

    it_user5700 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Engineer with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    I found it to be difficult to make the transition from Cisco to Juniper as far as the CLI goes.

    Overall, the equipment is pretty good and more affordable than some other solutions. I found it to be difficult to make the transition from CISCO to Juniper as far as the CLI goes, maybe thats just me. I also had more than one instance where a switch would just stop working and I would have to reload the firmware on it and reconfigure it to get it back up and running. This caused me to purchase backup devices to minimize downtime and really cut into the cost savings over CISCO.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user88422 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user88422Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Vendor

    There's a learning curve for sure but it's definitely a better CLI and it appears Cisco agrees going by the changes in IOS-XR. Once you get your heard round using a tiered structure it just makes more sense. Config tools that JunOS offers like copy, replace and move are really handy if you learn how to use them. These can save you a lot of time. What else...

    Commit check / confirm / comment
    rollback
    traceroute monitor
    monitor interface
    stacking of pipe "|" commands for example: show interface | match xe | match error
    Show configuration | display set

    I strongly advise you start looking at and backing up configs using the later format. Sometimes the standard hierarchical display can be easier to read and spot mistakes but for copy and pasting config it's much easier to use the "set" display format. Avoiding using "load merge terminal" will save you headaches IMHO.

    Once you learn the power of all the show and config command options start looking at JunOS Scripts - then you'll be blown away.

    Also if you have access Juniper offer a IOS to JunOS conversion tool... i2j.juniper.net

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    Updated: June 2025
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    Download our free Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.