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Juniper Contrail Networking vs Meraki SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Juniper Contrail Networking
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
4th
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Meraki SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Juniper Contrail Networking is 6.4%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki SD-WAN is 25.0%, up from 22.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

TA
Smart configuration management eliminates the need to worry about managing the network's configurations
Based on my experience in the Indian market, there are four to five areas that need improvement. First, there is a lack of marketing and awareness about Juniper, making it difficult to reach end-users and deliver solutions. Second, Juniper's education and awareness centers are costly and not easily accessible like Cisco's resources and their understanding of users' requirements. The information is not easily available on online channels like Youtube. Third, Juniper needs to promote its Mist integration better, and pricing is also a significant factor. Finally, Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch. In summary, improving marketing and sales, education and awareness, Mist integration, pricing, and catering to specific market requirements are areas that need improvement. I just want a good feature in the SD-WAN. Juniper should consider integrating its firewall experience with its SD-WAN devices to create a complete package. With everything moving to the cloud, companies require intelligence and security solutions for their on-prem infrastructure. Moreover, Juniper should integrate its SOC solution into its Mist portal and SD-WAN devices, including IPs, IDS, web and content filters, and messaging. This would provide a complete product and give Juniper an advantage over competitors such as Cisco. I believe that with a bundle that includes SOC and UTM flavors in their Mist portal, Juniper can make a significant impact in the market.
Daniel Brunnquell - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles key elements with Dynamic bandwidth allocation
Meraki did the job for what I needed. The key principle to follow is to let the problem drive the solution. Don’t pick a solution and try to force your problem into it. In our case, our needs drove the solution, and Meraki fit those needs best. If I were looking for more throughput, there would be better solutions. For example, Palo Alto and Fortinet can offer higher bandwidth capacities. I sized the solution based on the bandwidth available, which we likely won’t exceed. The main feature we needed was maintaining the system with minimal staff and without outsourcing support. Defining our needs led us to AutoVPN, which fits our requirement for minimal support. Meraki was the right product to meet these needs. If your priority is backend traffic and bandwidth, and you don’t need to filter traffic and scan for malware, geofence, or mesh networks, there are better options with more capacity. But that wasn’t our need. The real issue is that many people pick a solution and try to adapt their business model, which is the wrong approach. In the long run, that limits you.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Contrail automates the excellent communication between virtual appliances."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is a stable solution."
"After we finished setting Contrail up, it seemed stable enough. Still, we never tested it in a real environment, so we don't have enough information to say whether it's stable with a given number of users and appliances. We have tested it in a lab environment, but we haven't tested enough to say that the platform is stable."
"It provides proactive alerting in a single dashboard solution."
"Meraki can react fast to emerging trends."
"The solution is a whole vertical solution, so it doesn't need any other components in order to provide basic features."
"The solution's ability to prioritize traffic is its most valuable feature."
"In my experience, Meraki is very easy, simple, and clear to set up and use."
"The redundancy feature of Meraki SD-WAN has most significantly enhanced network performance."
"I appreciate the cloud-based management feature the most. It's a crucial aspect for me because it allows me to manage the configuration remotely without having to visit the on-premise location. The ability to do this from my home is a major benefit. Additionally, security is good."
"I'm not directly involved in SD-WAN monitoring and maintenance, but based on what I've heard from our infrastructure team, it's working well."
"The most valuable feature is the single management plane dashboard. Our organization has a global site, we have separated the area, and we have more than five hundred small sites around the world."
 

Cons

"Visibility, especially for the top of the platform, is a nightmare. The top was documented incorrectly and really complex to complete. In the end, it worked but only after several weeks of work with the support of a Juniper solution engineer in Holland."
"Concerns were raised about the complexity of involving networking components like MX routers, which often required expertise beyond the scope of software engineers. As a result, users encountered challenges in achieving comprehensive understanding and troubleshooting of networking issues within the Contrail environment."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is difficult if you do not have a certificate for Juniper. Juniper is a different type of configuration or operation than Cisco."
"Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch."
"The configuration from the firewall side could be improved a little bit more."
"A run optimization feature is needed to reduce the bandwidth for any uploaded content."
"The solution is scalable for mid-tier deployments, but not for major ones."
"We have a lot of problems with distribution. The late deliveries likely have to do with the time it takes for the fabrication of components. It is a principal problem at this moment."
"The port density should be improved because this solution is limited to two."
"They need to offer proper integration of the security features."
"The adoption of endpoint services or endpoint security should be developed in future releases."
"The solution could be improved if it added more features, especially monitoring and reporting features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Juniper Contrail Networking is low-cost for small and medium-sized businesses. Cisco and Palo Alto solutions are more expensive."
"There are many vendors in the wireless market that offer better pricing, solutions, and management skills compared to Juniper."
"If you purchase a Meeraki box, you have to purchase a license, and it's already the basic license, you will have you SD-WAN included."
"The product is not very expensive."
"This solution is more expensive than competitors."
"The product is not expensive."
"I am not aware of the licensing fees."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Meraki SD-WAN is the price. It is highly cost-effective."
"like everything else, it's negotiable."
"There are no licensing costs for the product subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Construction Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Contrail Networking?
It provides proactive alerting in a single dashboard solution.
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail Networking?
Juniper Contrail Networking enables the utilization of tier-two appliances and the creation of virtual networks or appliances. This is facilitated through the use of filtering devices. Additionally...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Contrail Networking?
We use the solution to host many services for multiple clients. We aim to transition from hosting Cisco clients to utilizing virtual appliances. Therefore, we intend to virtualize their infrastruct...
What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN is a little bit on the pricey side. However, it is still a valuable product despite the cost.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
Meraki did the job for what I needed. The key principle to follow is to let the problem drive the solution. Don’t pick a solution and try to force your problem into it. In our case, our needs drove...
 

Also Known As

Contrail Networking
No data available
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lithium Technologies, Orange Business Services, Cloudwatt, Symantec, Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds
École Jeannine Manuel
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper Contrail Networking vs. Meraki SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.