Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Nexus vs Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

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

Cisco Nexus
Ranking in Data Center Networking
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (2nd)
Juniper MX Series Universal...
Ranking in Data Center Networking
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 19.1%, up from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms is 3.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking
 

Featured Reviews

Joe Benítez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing
Before Nexus, I used to have Catalyst 6500 switches. Those 6500 series chassis gave us a lot of problems. Too many problems, actually. And we had a Cisco ASA firewall blade within those chassis. And they were running outdated software. So, in fact, it was the firewall blade that caused us too many problems instead of the chassis. The chassis itself was working well and performing fine, but the firewall card was not suitable for our needs. That was one aspect. Additionally, those chassis had been in operation for more than five years. As we are a local government, we have a policy to renew hardware every five years. That's because we need to maintain all the hardware and software in the latest versions and keep up with the technology lifecycle of the technology we use.
Rommy Kuntoro - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to save time and has no issues with integration
We use the solution for our browser router.  We haven't faced any issues with the tool's integration.  Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms should incorporate gen AI features. I have been working with the product for five years. I rate Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms'…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This is a very stable solution."
"Cisco Nexus has improved the way our organization functions through the troubleshooting. We had issues where we've seen our links saturated. We were able to determine what was being processed on the link."
"The most valuable features are the solution is robust, you are able to use it for fabric architecture as well as SPAN on exit with the controller."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature is that it is high-density, ten-gig."
"When it comes to data centers, Cisco Nexus is the best."
"It speeds up the network data transfer time."
"The most valuable feature is the Bluetooth console."
"I recommend Juniper because it is a code router that is easy to configure and manage."
"We haven't faced any issues with the tool's integration."
"This solution is easy to manage and the resiliency of the hardware is excellent."
"The product is highly scalable."
"It's a stable product."
"The most valuable Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platform is its ability to do routing in any way that I need. It's more than capable of handling the load I'm currently sending."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms is its robustness."
 

Cons

"Areas in which the solution have room for improvement are the interface, management, and reporting."
"The solution has room for improvement in terms of the learning curve."
"The operating system needs to be improved. There should be stability in the operating system, and it should not have as many vulnerabilities."
"The licensing is very complicated. They should work to simplify it."
"I would like to see the integration of the products into something where it's seamless where an engineer never touches the switch again, never does CLI and you move to an application based network organization."
"They need to understand that when we call them and have an issue, it's our production and sometimes they want us to do repairs that would cause other issues. That's the biggest problem."
"There are limitations on some of the lower level 9K solutions where you can't do the same things that you would normally be able to do, like for instance the number of static maps that you can configure on it."
"In terms of improvement, the stacking between the two switches in the higher availability model should be similar to Catalyst. It's better to have one interface for configuration."
"I want support to improve in terms of quality."
"The product licensing process needs improvement."
"Although the support for this solution is good, there is still room for improvement."
"Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms should incorporate gen AI features."
"It needs to be more multifunctional for enterprises."
"Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms could improve by having a graphical interface. A lot of the younger generation tend to be used to graphical interfaces, command line tends to scare them."
"Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms should improve by being more agile with new technology that sits on top of the router."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"If you compare Cisco hardware to any other vendors, such as HPE, they are more expensive. There is a license to use the solution. If my customer's licenses are about to expire I receive notification from Cisco, this is very helpful."
"Cisco Nexus is not a cheaply priced product."
"We have three hundred to four hundred data centers of Nexus. So the coverage associated with Smart Net is 27 by 4, is basically what we spend each year. If the incentives get better, which I know they're working on, it would be great but right now we're buying year to year."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
"This is a very expensive product."
"The Nexus 9000 is very competitively priced."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $200 USD per month."
"The tool's pricing is in the middle."
"The price of Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms is reasonable. We are on a perpetual license. I do not have any maintenance service as part of the license."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Center Networking solutions are best for your needs.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
25%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco pricing is at the same level as many competitors, however, due to competition, they sometimes lower prices and offer large discounts.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
Cisco's security features are in line with other OEMs, however, for data center security in terms of layer seven security, we prefer to have different OEMs rather than relying solely on Cisco.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Vocus New Zealand, Beeline, Iron Mountain
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.