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Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches vs Meraki MS Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 4.0%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

PRADIPJOSHI - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtual chassis technology enhances connectivity and simplifies management
Juniper EX series switches offer great technology, particularly their Virtual Chassis technology, which is an excellent feature for stacking switches and functions like a single virtual switch. The EX series provides a separation of control, management, and data planes, reducing the attack surface area, ensuring a lesser extent of vulnerability. The PoE budget is commendable, and they manage connectivity effectively.
MajidKhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote access enhances troubleshooting with potential for more intuitive interface
We are working with Citrix and router, but in Cisco for Cisco vendor only. We are taking from them since 2015.  The main use case involves some small business customers needing one router, one switch, and two to three access points. It is easy to handle the devices with just a small knowledge of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Juniper EX series switches offer great technology, particularly their Virtual Chassis technology, which is an excellent feature for stacking switches and functions like a single virtual switch."
"Juniper Ethernet Switches' best features are the high packer sorting and throughput, good uplink port capacity, and virtual setup."
"In terms of performance, Juniper switches have a more user-friendly interface and more features than Cisco products."
"The product is flexible and easy to set up."
"What I like most about this solution is that it is secure."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Ethernet Switches is the public remote configuration option. If you make a mistake in the configuration you can roll it back to the previous configuration automatically after a set time frame increment, such as five or more minutes. In all the other competitors once you press to enter the new configuration is already written in. You cannot roll it back automatically."
"The Juniper Ethernet switch feature I find the most valuable is reliability."
"I would rate this solution a 10 out of 10 for scalability."
"Almost all of my functions perform very well."
"It makes the management of SSIDs fairly easy."
"The solution is very stable."
"With the license, you can manage and track all logs from the dashboard, making monitoring very easy."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the interface because it is very simple and easy to learn, even for somebody who hasn't seen it before."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to segment my infrastructure between phones, security systems, and other tasks."
"The performance is pretty good."
"The most beneficial features of Meraki MS Switches are the visibility and convenience they provide."
 

Cons

"The packet channelizing feature should be improved."
"Juniper should consider reducing its pricing. The Mist licenses are quite expensive and should be more affordable."
"The upgrading of the system should be simplified and made faster."
"The initial setup for Juniper switches is complex. Juniper has a new program that solves that problem a little bit, but it is expensive, so I don't use it. It is Juniper Mesh, Juniper Wire, or something like that where you plug in a switch, and it goes out to their cloud, finds a config, and brings it down. So, you can do everything cloud-based, but there is a fee for that. It is expensive, so I've never used it. If we were starting, we would try to do something like that. It is more for a large enterprise for managing hundreds of switches versus what we're doing. They should make its price more cost-effective or include it for new or smaller companies."
"Their web GUI interface needs to be a lot better, especially when compared to HP. The command line is good, but you have to know how to get around it. The GUI is clunky and very slow."
"The technical support from Juniper Ethernet Switches could be better."
"It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt. There is no local support available."
"You need to make a few local configurations to work with the solution. We have faced issues with the tool's stability."
"Tracking native ports with IP addresses is not currently possible in Meraki. This is a potential area of improvement."
"I don't think that the cost is a problem, but sometimes the price requires convincing the customer of the value."
"I've had some hardware failure issues on the POE side on several switches across the years. There seems to be a problem with the POE ports of their unit system."
"It would be good to include the command-line access someday."
"At times, we didn't know whether the switch was operating or not so we have to take the console and we have to do some troubleshooting."
"They're definitely missing some of the higher end data center Cisco features."
"The scalability and integrative abilities with on-premises systems could stand improvement."
"Less flexibility than in some other solutions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Juniper Ethernet Switches compared to equivalent switches from Aruba, Cisco, and others, Juniper Ethernet Switches are priced a little higher. They are approximately 20 to 50 percent higher. When we receive a new range of models, the prices can come down. The price can also vary by region."
"You don't need to license every switch. We only chose to cover support on core/key equipment and keep a cold spare available when needed."
"It is an inexpensive product."
"The initial cost of the solution can be expensive."
"The maintenance cost is approximately €2,000 ($2,200 USD) per year, including support, for our entire fleet."
"We had a leakage in the support process and decided to end the product's life in order to purchase a new product with support. We did not renew product support as a result."
"They offer a more competitive pricing structure compared to one of the competitors."
"The solution's pricing is cheaper than that of Cisco."
"This is not a cheap solution."
"The price of the solution has room for improvement."
"The only drawback is the cost — that's what kills them."
"Securing licenses and devices for more than a year can make the product expensive. In general, the product is expensive."
"The yearly maintenance fee is $100 and you can purchase the switches used for about $200 each."
"I rate the price of Meraki MS Switches a two out of ten."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"The tool is expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Ethernet Switches?
Juniper EX model is ok for the campus network as the ex4300 is EOL in a few years and the new ex4400 is the standard. Now for the QFX model, 5k/10k in CRB mode IP fabric Ethernet switching is horri...
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
I use the solution in my company for our customers in the retail and financial companies. We are using the switches in data center operations for our customer environment. We are using Juniper for ...
What do you like most about Meraki MS Switches?
The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are their reliability and simplicity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki MS Switches?
Meraki MS Switches, including their licensing, are somewhat expensive, particularly when compared with competitor solutions like HP.
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
The prices are a little higher than other vendors. However, within the Cisco customer segment, customers mostly recommend it because they are existing users, and they are satisfied with their curre...
 

Also Known As

Juniper Ethernet Switches
MS220, MS320, MS420
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches vs. Meraki MS Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.