Cisco 900 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR) vs Juniper Enterprise Routers

Likelihood to Recommend

No problems with any of the Cisco 900 Series [Integrated Services Routers] (ISR) platform features within the enterprise environment. Because these devices are running a version of IOS XE as opposed to traditional IOS, some of the more 'basic' configurations can become more complex. In the end the 900 series is still able to provide the required functionality, but there is a learning curve.

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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As an edge/WAN router that contains internet BGP routes, it handles this work very well. And the devices are robust, able to manage a significant load. However, the interface cost can be somewhat of a hindrance when wanting to use it to interconnect many metro clients.

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Collin Lichtenberger

Lead Network Engineer

University of AlaskaHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees

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Pros

Works great as a full-featured but small router for remote sites
Can handle more traffic than it even advertises!
Well priced option for smaller or less critical sites

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 501-1000 employees

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Very stable, this is the richest feature.
Very straightforward command line. Learn once, deploy many.
There's a wide range of options to choose from, according to your network needs.

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Jean Franco

CTO

Maila NetworksComputer & Network Security, 11-50 employees

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Cons

Pay as you grow model of licensing, but a pain to implement
Service impacting license application
Configuration complexity

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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I would like to able to find more examples of configs. Given the multiple ways to configure the same setting, having a little more documentation would be helpful.
I wish the FPCs and interfaces were cheaper.

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Collin Lichtenberger

Lead Network Engineer

University of AlaskaHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees

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Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

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Juniper Enterprise Routers 7.0

Based on 1 answer

Juniper support is friendly, easy to understand, widely knowledgeable, and easy to get ahold of. I did not give them a higher rating as some of my more complex issues, were solved by myself while under consultation from Juniper TAC.

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Collin Lichtenberger

Lead Network Engineer

University of AlaskaHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees

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Alternatives Considered

Cisco Catalyst Switches are technically faster and easier to deploy, but don't provide the same flexibility when it comes to 10Gbps services or advanced routing. There are corner cases where having IOS XE on the 900 series ISRs provides the functionality required for complex applications where the Catalyst can not. Having the option to scale the number of active ports on the 900 series ISR helps in keeping costs at an appropriate level.

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Telecommunications Company, 11-50 employees

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Both products are great, even the CLI is very alike in both products. We chose Juniper for its reliability and support.

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Jean Franco

CTO

Maila NetworksComputer & Network Security, 11-50 employees

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Return on Investment

Lots of money saved in downgrading from less useful and older full-sized routers at small sites
Time saved having to learn new commands (web GUI works great)
Saves time training staff to manage them

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 501-1000 employees

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We're saved over 35% upgrading the Network to Juniper.
There's a learning curve to get used the command line, so learn it before getting your hands on a Juniper Router. It's worth it, and you'll see your ROI immediately.

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Jean Franco

CTO

Maila NetworksComputer & Network Security, 11-50 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No