Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches Reviews and Pricing

Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Jan 29, 2014

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.

it_user111156Consultant

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May 6, 2014

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

Engineer with 501-1,000 employees

Apr 4, 2013

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.

it_user88422Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Feb 13, 2014

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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it_user2589

IT Administrator at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

Oct 27, 2012

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Impressive features but switches are facing tough competition

Valuable Features:

From the technology point of view quality, design, and look-and-feel is good. Network administrators can easily manage and configure these network switches. I have easily configured an L3 switch to create a network campus backbone. Low maintenance required. No certification (CCNA, CCIE) is required to become a network administrator to set up a Juniper network.

Room for Improvement:

During price negotiation we found that price is high compared to other switches. High price is obstructing sales in market. I felt that on-site and telephone support is not satisfactory.

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

Sachitha Wimalaratne

Senior Presales Consultant at Thakral One (Pvt) Ltd

Jul 11, 2023

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An interesting and helpful tool for troubleshooting and debugging

Pros and Cons

"The product is very helpful in troubleshooting."

"The solution is a bit costly compared to other products."

What is our primary use case?

We have done big projects with the solution. We use the solution for the data center and the access layer features.

What is most valuable?

The product is very helpful in troubleshooting. Debugging is quite interesting and very helpful.

What needs improvement?

The solution is a bit costly compared to other products.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the last three to four years.

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

The tool is more expensive than its competitors.

What other advice do I have?

Technically, I do not see any drawbacks in the tool compared to its competitors. I would recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

reviewer1488462

Vice President, Network Engineering at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Oct 10, 2021

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Very good with MLPS

Pros and Cons

"Juniper switches are very good with MPLS."

"The Virtual Chassis Fabric is kind of complicated to troubleshoot sometimes. On the MPLS side, they're good — they're fine for the pseudo-wires and stuff—but they need more work on the LAN. It is difficult to troubleshoot their LAN technologies like Virtual Chassis."

What is most valuable?

Whether a feature is valuable really depends on what you need. The features you enable depends on the requirement. Juniper switches are very good with MPLS. I haven't tried EVPN on them. They've got Virtual Chassis Fabric, which seems okay.

What needs improvement?

The Virtual Chassis Fabric is kind of complicated to troubleshoot sometimes. On the MPLS side, they're good — they're fine for the pseudo-wires and stuff—but they need more work on the LAN. It is difficult to troubleshoot their LAN technologies like Virtual Chassis.

I'm not sure whether EVPN-VXLAN DCI is supported today on these switches. If it's not, then that's something Juniper could add. They support EVPN, but I'm still not sure about the DCI part. I probably need to understand how that is implemented to figure out if it's supported.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Juniper Ethernet Switches for about six years.

How are customer service and support?

I think Juniper support is good. They're responsive, so I can't really complain.

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

I believe Juniper is a lot cheaper than Cisco. Their price isn't that high if I recall correctly. I believe it's reasonable compared to Cisco, so I think they are good on the price end.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Juniper Ethernet Switches Seven out of 10.

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

reviewer1435281

IT at a construction company with 201-500 employees

Mar 29, 2021

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Ethernet switches that are fairly easy to implement, but stability could be better

Pros and Cons

"I like that it's fairly easy to implement these ethernet switches."

"Stability could be better, especially during a reboot. We have had some issues recently with the software getting corrupt on reboot, which causes a lot of downtime."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for switching.

What is most valuable?

I like that it's fairly easy to implement these ethernet switches.

What needs improvement?

Stability could be better, especially during a reboot. We have had some issues recently with the software getting corrupt on reboot, which causes a lot of downtime.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Juniper Ethernet Switches for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability could be improved, especially during a reboot. It seems like the firmware gets corrupted pretty easily.

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

We used HPE Switches before using Juniper Ethernet Switches.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and installation are fairly straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

A small team of in-house technicians implemented Juniper Ethernet Switches.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Juniper Ethernet Switches a six.

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

reviewer1057566

Owner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Feb 28, 2021

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Effortless, stable, scalable, and easy to install

Pros and Cons

"I like the simplicity of it."

"The upgrading of the system should be simplified and made faster."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for the firewall and switching.

What is most valuable?

I like the simplicity of it.

What needs improvement?

The upgrade procedures could be better.

The upgrading of the system should be simplified and made faster.

In the next release, I would like to see them maintain the stability.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Juniper Ethernet Switches for seven years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is absolutely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution. We have approximately 200 users in our organization.

We plan to continue using Juniper Ethernet Switches.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not contacted technical support directly. We always go through the supplier.

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

We have only used Juniper.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

The installation takes an hour per switch.

It takes a team of three admins to maintain this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We did not use an integrator or vendor. I completed the implementation myself.

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

We only pay for support.

It's not expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would totally recommend Juniper Ethernet Switches to others who are interested in using them.

I would rate Juniper Ethernet Switches a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

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

Ahmed Mondher

Network And Security Engineer at TechProTn

Nov 25, 2023

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A stable product that needs improvement in UI

Pros and Cons

"The tool's most valuable feature is stability."

"Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is not cheap. The tool needs improvement in UI."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product in data centers.

What is most valuable?

The tool's most valuable feature is stability.

What needs improvement?

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is not cheap. The tool needs improvement in UI.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches' scalability is high.

How was the initial setup?

I rate the tool's deployment a ten out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

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Buyer's Guide

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Buyer's Guide

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches

September 2025

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