Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Juniper EX Series Switches

Cisco is a name well known in the IT field. The technology is tried and true and they have built a reputation on a solid platform. Though many people do not like the cost of the devices and the continued fees associated with long term ownership, you get what you pay for. I dont hesitate to recommend Cisco because I know people will get a solid product that will last a long time.

Incentivized

They work great as core switches, data center switches, top of rack switches. They can even serve as routers, their routing capability is great, except for where you need lots of routing processing power. I would not use many of them for branch office switches though, due to noise and slowness of bootup

Incentivized

• Easy setup and configuration. While the web UI has its quirks, setting up VLANs and other tasks which can be exceedingly complicated on other switches, are much easier on Cisco SG switches. You also have the ability to upload an existing configuration to switches, which can speed up the task of deploying many identical switches.
• Features for the price. Getting a 48 port L3 switch with PoE+ for less than $2,000 is a great value.
• Reliability. We have hundreds of the SG switches in dozens of client sites, many in harsh conditions, and they just keep going.

Incentivized

• Very stable.
• Cost efficient
• Easy management
• Great Juniper 24*7 TAC support
• Different variants available for different requirements.
• Easy to replace faulty hardware

Incentivized

• The web UI has taken a turn for the worse with the latest firmware on the SGx50 models -- the bifurcation between basic and advanced modes and the changes to the way VLANs are modified is a step backward in my opinion.
• The power bricks on smaller models are enormous. I'm sure, however, keeping this circuitry external to the switch is what keeps my switches running year after year in hot environments.
• Fans can be a bit loud on larger switches -- this is true of pretty much any 1U device though.

Incentivized

• Virtual chassis new switch has overwritten existing config if not performed in a particular way.
• Applying a configuration to a range of interfaces could be done in a better way.
• Applying firewall rules to multiple security zones could be done a little more efficiently.

Incentivized

for their relialiabilty

The Juniper EX Series Switches are very easy to configure and quick to deploy. The ability to make changes and troubleshoot issues is top-rated. I have never had trouble contacting support. They also have many knowledge articles on use. Always adding new features to the Juniper Mist Dashboard for easy visibility into your network

Incentivized

Many times when contacting Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches support, it seems that it is easiest for support to recommend a straight replacement (RMA) instead of taking time to walk through a solution on the faulty system. We find we get better help from a third-party consulting firm that has Juniper certified technicians or professionals on staff. They take the time to explain processes and workflow, which Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches support seems to shy away from.

Incentivized

Cisco is more enterprise level, more reliable, and generally more feature rich but also very expensive. That being said old or refurbished Cisco switches are much more affordable and in comparison to even new switches from the competitor they are still a great value even though they are used. I like Ubiquiti switches as well but Cisco is usually better overall.

Incentivized

The rollback, commit and confirm are the biggest players in the game. Juniper is the only one who has those features, so I believe they have a leg up in the game. The CLI is one of the easiest to work with.

Incentivized

• Failure on Cisco Switches, from my experience, is rare in the first 5 years the device is up.
• I have see the Cisco 6500 switches go 5 years without a reboot, which is nothing short of amazing.
• The service that you get is top notch and available 24/7, and you really cannot put a price on that.

Incentivized

• From a user's point of view, the ease of configuration and management has been incredible. Much less time is spent maintaining Juniper than previous solutions.
• From a reseller's point of a view, Juniper is excellent. They treat small partners like us very well even if our volume is not huge. Juniper switches are part of our standard solution that has been great for our customers.

Incentivized