Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] vs Juniper QFabric comparison

Dell Technologies and Juniper are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Additionally, 90% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Read 34 Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Juniper QFabric

Read 10 Juniper QFabric reviews

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363 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Juniper QFabric

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] and Juniper QFabric based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE Aruba Networking and others in LAN Switching.

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LAN Switching

August 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Juniper QFabric

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

LAN Switching (8th)

Featured Reviews

MOHAMEDELSHERIF

Senior Technical Consultant at International Turnkey Systems - ITS

Mar 12, 2024

You can cluster two switches together to increase redundancy in the environment

You can carry on a project without any consultation. Since the VxRail solution is experiencing significant growth and demand, integrating Dell PowerConnect switches becomes crucial. This integration enhances the VxRail server by offering three distinct solutions. Thus, this gives Dell PowerConnect an edge over Cisco. If you want to connect your virtualized environment and networks to your physical environment and users. In that case, Dell PowerConnect Switches, with VxRail, is the best choice for integrating such features into the hypervisor environment. This product is mainly targeted to virtualization environments. Therefore, Dell has considered this product's scalability, reliability, and robustness. If someone wants the server with VxRail as a free solution, I recommend going with the Dell PowerConnect. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at Inmac

Mar 29, 2024

Ensures reliable operation and consistent performance but lifecycle management need improvement

QFabric simplified our data center network architecture by reducing configuration complexity compared to Cisco devices. It required fewer CLI commands, making configuration quicker and easier, especially for scalable deployments. QFabric improved scalability in our data center by simplifying the addition of new switches to existing configurations. The process was straightforward to manage. Implementing QFabric can affect overall IT infrastructure costs differently based on configuration needs. For small businesses with stable configurations, costs remain unchanged. However, for scalability and expansion, additional configuration and time may increase costs. My advice for those using Juniper is to ensure staff are well-trained and certified in Juniper technologies, such as JNCIA, JNCIS, JNCIP, or JNCIE. With these skills, you can effectively manage and troubleshoot Juniper solutions, minimizing potential issues and maximizing performance. Overall, I would rate Juniper QFabric as a seven out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The functionality is very good."

"The solution’s technical support is good."

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerConnect Switches for me is the throughput. I also like that the product has more compatibility with Dell infrastructure, especially with EMC and new generation Dell servers. Dell PowerConnect Switches can also easily integrate with Dell servers, and this is another pro."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

"Dell PowerConnect Switches are very easy to configure with the GUI. Dell supports the solution even though it has been discontinued."

"The technology is good and the interface is simple. We haven't had any bugs, disconnections or delays."

"There is high reliability since we have used them for close to twenty years and only had possibly one failure."

"The platform's most valuable features are network switch functionality and fiber switch capabilities."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

"The most valuable feature of QFabric for network performance is its stability."

"It is known for being agile, flexible, and cost-effective when working with various vendors."

"The 40 gig backbone InterConneX was valuable for our use case. It is even faster now. QFabric has spine-leaf technology or topology, which basically makes every single hop only one hop away in terms of connecting from one device to another. It is a pretty good and robust solution. It works pretty well in terms of scalability, and their technical support is amazing."

"The vendor maintains the product well."

"QFabric supports redundancy and includes all of the enterprise and service provider features that customers would want in data center or service provider network."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the fabric backplane having upwards of 160 GB of communication. It is a top-of-the-rack solution where you have your directors sitting in the main area and then you have your nodes expanded out to your multiple cabinets. It has a very good design and could be your server backbone."

"It's user-friendly."

"The solution is stable."

More Juniper QFabric pros

Cons

"The solution's ROI for generic networking is not extraordinary."

"The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches."

"The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups."

"Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware."

"It would be great to have modules that integrate with SDN solutions such as Cisco ACI, Arista SDN, Huawei Agile, and IBM."

"The pricing could always be a bit lower."

"There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work. The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell."

"An area for improvement would be that it's very hard to configure if you're not familiar with the UI or CLI of the product. The UI itself could also be improved."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

"It works too much on rebooting and there is some memory leakage."

"It would be nice if Juniper provided the system integrator with training, similar to that of Cisco."

"The disruptive upgrade was an issue for us."

"They are working on the virtualization of the actual fabric layer. They are moving away from the original spine-leaf design to a different infrastructure. Instead of having three tiers, which was the director of the interconnected nodes, they cut them back, and they still have that kind of structure."

"The pricing structure could be more budget-friendly."

"Having support for all OpenFlow versions would be beneficial."

"I do not use GUI's very much for switch stacks. I am always in the CLI. However, I do know that Juniper in the past has lacked on their GUI's, but they have been working on it."

"The stability needs to be improved."

More Juniper QFabric cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell PowerConnect switches are cheaper than Cisco switches. Cisco's higher capacity switches (100 or 200 gigs) are super-expensive. With the higher capacity, the price of the switches and the price of the architecture go high. Dell is cheaper and modular. So, I don't need to invest 100% upfront. I can invest as I progress. That is an option because the chassis will not be populated with all the pluggables. I have a choice because it is modular. I can go for 25 gigs today, and after four months, I can go for 100 gigs, and after that, I can go for 200 gigs. I have a choice when it is not a fixed switch."

"The price of these switches is okay."

"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."

"I would rate the pricing as a seven or eight."

"Inexpensive"

"PowerConnect Switches are priced well."

"The initial cost was high but since they have lasted for over ten or twenty years they are worth it."

"The product has a low price for the features it provides."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"Juniper QFabric is a high-level solution but it could be less expensive."

"In terms of price, the QFabric solution is going to be probably in the middle of the road for a fabric solution."

"The price is relatively high, but it offers an advantage over its competitors by providing better performance and functionality."

"The price for Juniper QFabric could improve. There are subscription, maintenance, and add-on feature fees."

"The pricing is high."

"The pricing is high and it is possible to find better pricing option solutions on the market, but the licensing model is quite flexible."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Dell PowerConnect Switches have a VTL feature similar to Cisco's VSS. With VTL, using this technology, you can cluster two switches together to increase redundancy in the environment.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerConnect Switches?

The solution is cheaper than Cisco.

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What needs improvement with Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Some proprietary commands available in Cisco are preferred by users accustomed to Cisco systems. These users might hesitate to switch because they want to continue using familiar commands and see t...

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What do you like most about Juniper QFabric?

The most valuable feature of QFabric for network performance is its stability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper QFabric?

Juniper QFabric is not overly expensive. Licensing is required for certain features like vRRP, but setting up a virtual chassis does not necessitate a separate license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper QFabric?

Improvements could be made to QFabric's lifecycle management, particularly in maintaining stable versions and extending product support. The rapid release cycle and short life span compared to comp...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 54% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 12% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Competitors

Cisco FabricPath vs Juniper QFabric

Compared 51% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Juniper QFabric

Compared 49% of the time

More Juniper QFabric Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

September 2024

Download Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

August 2024

Download Juniper QFabric product report

Also Known As

PowerConnect Switches

QFabric

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Dell Technologies

Juniper

Overview

PowerConnect Switches family offers a set of flexible, manageable and comprehensive switch solutions supporting up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and optimized Internet iSCSI (iSCSI) performance with Dell Storage solutions, ideal for enterprise and campus LAN environments alike.

Juniper QFabric System is composed of multiple components working together as a single switch to provide high-performance, any-to-any connectivity and management simplicity in the data center. The QFabric System flattens the entire data center network to a single tier where all access points are equal, eliminating the effects of network locality and making it the ideal network foundation for cloud-ready, virtualized data centers.The highly scalable QFabric System improves application performance with low latency and converged services in a nonblocking, lossless architecture that supports Layer 2, Layer 3, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) capabilities.

Sample Customers

Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University

MCB Bank

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE Aruba Networking and others in LAN Switching. Updated: August 2024.

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