Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

Ali Shan

Network Administrator at Virtual University

Apr 14, 2023

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I like the VLAN capabilities, and the interface is easy to use

Pros and Cons

"I like the VLAN capabilities, and the Junos interface is easy to use."

"EX switches take too long to boot when we restart them for maintenance. We need to minimize downtime. Another issue is the command line interface. Juniper's commands are different from other switches, so it's hard to remember them."

What is most valuable?

I like the VLAN capabilities, and the Junos interface is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

EX switches take too long to boot when we restart them for maintenance. We need to minimize downtime. Another issue is the command line interface. Juniper's commands are different from other switches, so it's hard to remember them.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used EX switches for about two or three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate EX switches eight out of 10 for stability.

Buyer's Guide

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate EX switches seven out of 10 for scalability. Sometimes the Junos OS hangs, and we need to restart the switch. It takes a long time to reboot after that.

How are customer service and support?

I rate Juniper support eight out of 10.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also deploy Cisco and Aruba switches. Our technical manager makes the decision depending on the price and the organization's needs.

How was the initial setup?

I rate EX switches seven out of 10 for ease of setup. Deploying the hardware takes about 15 to 20 minutes, but it takes one or two hours to configure the switches.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate EX switches six out of 10 for affordability. Juniper is more expensive than Aruba but cheaper than Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user5700

Engineer with 501-1,000 employees

Apr 4, 2013

I found it to be difficult to make the transition from Cisco to Juniper as far as the CLI goes.

Overall, the equipment is pretty good and more affordable than some other solutions. I found it to be difficult to make the transition from CISCO to Juniper as far as the CLI goes, maybe thats just me. I also had more than one instance where a switch would just stop working and I would have to reload the firmware on it and reconfigure it to get it back up and running. This caused me to purchase backup devices to minimize downtime and really cut into the cost savings over CISCO.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user88422Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Feb 13, 2014

There's a learning curve for sure but it's definitely a better CLI and it appears Cisco agrees going by the changes in IOS-XR. Once you get your heard round using a tiered structure it just makes more sense. Config tools that JunOS offers like copy, replace and move are really handy if you learn how to use them. These can save you a lot of time. What else...

Commit check / confirm / comment
rollback
traceroute monitor
monitor interface
stacking of pipe "|" commands for example: show interface | match xe | match error
Show configuration | display set

I strongly advise you start looking at and backing up configs using the later format. Sometimes the standard hierarchical display can be easier to read and spot mistakes but for copy and pasting config it's much easier to use the "set" display format. Avoiding using "load merge terminal" will save you headaches IMHO.

Once you learn the power of all the show and config command options start looking at JunOS Scripts - then you'll be blown away.

Also if you have access Juniper offer a IOS to JunOS conversion tool... i2j.juniper.net

Buyer's Guide

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches

December 2024

Free Report: Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.

DOWNLOAD NOW

824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

it_user1203708

Senior Network Engineer at Advanced Technologies

Oct 24, 2019

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Easy to use and has a feature to rollback to the previous configuration

Pros and Cons

"Juniper is the best when it comes to the core layer."

"The stability of this solution should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for our network in an on-premises deployment. We also provide this solution to some of our customers.

We have twenty-one switches that control our data center, MPLS, and access points.

What is most valuable?

This solution is easy to use.

There is a rollback feature available after you commit the configuration.

Juniper is the best when it comes to the core layer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

If you are using Juniper as a router then the stability is better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In the technical team, we have six users. In terms of end-users, we have more than sixty.

We have large, medium, and small customers who use this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have created only one ticket for technical support. The support was quick.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use HP switches.

I have used Cisco switches, but they do not have a rollback feature after you commit the configuration.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution is easy, although it takes a long time.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This solution is cheaper than Cisco or HP switches.

What other advice do I have?

The stability of this solution should be improved. We have a customer that is using Cisco switches, and they don't need to reconfigure it as often. It is less complicated to update or reconfigure, and we have had problems with needing to do so more than once.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.

reviewer1488462

Vice President, Network Engineering at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Oct 10, 2021

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Very good with MLPS

Pros and Cons

"Juniper switches are very good with MPLS."

"The Virtual Chassis Fabric is kind of complicated to troubleshoot sometimes. On the MPLS side, they're good — they're fine for the pseudo-wires and stuff—but they need more work on the LAN. It is difficult to troubleshoot their LAN technologies like Virtual Chassis."

What is most valuable?

Whether a feature is valuable really depends on what you need. The features you enable depends on the requirement. Juniper switches are very good with MPLS. I haven't tried EVPN on them. They've got Virtual Chassis Fabric, which seems okay.

What needs improvement?

The Virtual Chassis Fabric is kind of complicated to troubleshoot sometimes. On the MPLS side, they're good — they're fine for the pseudo-wires and stuff—but they need more work on the LAN. It is difficult to troubleshoot their LAN technologies like Virtual Chassis.

I'm not sure whether EVPN-VXLAN DCI is supported today on these switches. If it's not, then that's something Juniper could add. They support EVPN, but I'm still not sure about the DCI part. I probably need to understand how that is implemented to figure out if it's supported.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Juniper Ethernet Switches for about six years.

How are customer service and support?

I think Juniper support is good. They're responsive, so I can't really complain.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I believe Juniper is a lot cheaper than Cisco. Their price isn't that high if I recall correctly. I believe it's reasonable compared to Cisco, so I think they are good on the price end.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Juniper Ethernet Switches Seven out of 10.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

reviewer984912

Service Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Oct 14, 2019

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Easy to Setup Secured Networks, but local technical support is lacking

Pros and Cons

"What I like most about this solution is that it is secure."

"It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt. There is no local support available."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of this solution is for the internal network, covering our entire office.

The deployment model we are using is on-premises.

What is most valuable?

What I like most about this solution is that it is secure.

What needs improvement?

They need to have more marketing in Egypt.

The technical support in Egypt needs to be improved because I was struggling to get technical support.

Having documentation provided in Arabic would be nice, but not necessary, as most everyone speaks and understands English well enough.

I would like to have customer support on the ground.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable.

We have approximately twenty users, most of them are engineers.

How are customer service and technical support?

It was very difficult to get technical support, here in Egypt.

There is no local support available.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously we used Cisco. From my understanding and from what I was told, it was complex, hard to handle, not customer familiar or customer friendly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and it's easier than Cisco.

What about the implementation team?

We did not implement this solution through a vendor, we had one of the team members do it. It wasn't that difficult.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user82779

Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

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 make changes only in areas that concern me without necessarily impacting other areas.

3) Easier rollback when one makes mistakes

4) I think there are less bugs/vulnerabilities in Junos vs IOS.

5) iOS has too many flavors leads to confusion with deployment.

One more advantage of junos over iOS. Juniper adheres closer to the standards than Cisco. Epigraph is nice, auto rp is cool, but with the less protocols in the standards it's much earlier to configure junos.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user111156Consultant

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May 6, 2014

Either vendor has a switch that will do the job. However I perferer Juniper due to

a. rollback is quick and easy in the event of issues arising from chnages
b. easier fault finding (once you get your head around how its implemented)
c. no need check the switch to find which OS feature set is installed and if memory / flash upgrade is required - its all in the OS with very few licenses (usually none) required to get full functionality if you have select the correct product in the first place
d. Hierarchical config is much easier to follow - great concept that most programmers can pickup quickly
e. don't need to learn different variants of the CLI as is required on IOS (even HP manage to stay relatively consistent there)
f. decent speed stacking interfaces on enterprise grade switches (particular 4x00 series)
g. more function for $ (at retail prices)
h. closer to standards than Cisco - easier interoperability in multi vendor environment
i. does not have legacy protocols that are not used or so rarely used that they don't matter in the day and age

Purchase and implementation of Cisco maintenance process is MUCH simpler to the end customer

Worked on both brands for a number of years.

reviewer928518

Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Oct 27, 2021

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High-end performance, stable, and good support

Pros and Cons

"Juniper Ethernet Switches are high-end solutions."

"The difficulty of the installation of Juniper Ethernet Switches depends on the environment it is being implemented in. It is fairly straightforward in terms of being able to source the technical information as we need it. However, this process could improve."

What is our primary use case?

Juniper is a networking company that provides mainly WAN Switching.

What is most valuable?

Juniper Ethernet Switches are high-end solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Juniper Ethernet Switches for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In most environments, Juniper Ethernet Switches are stable and have good performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Juniper Ethernet Switches are scalable.

How are customer service and support?

We have been satisfied with the technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The difficulty of the installation of Juniper Ethernet Switches depends on the environment it is being implemented in. It is fairly straightforward in terms of being able to source the technical information as we need it. However, this process could improve.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Juniper Ethernet Switches could be less expensive. There is not a license needed to use the solution.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Juniper Ethernet Switches a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator

it_user1392807

Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 19, 2020

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Easy to install, easy to use, and there is a lot of documentation

Pros and Cons

"It's easy to use."

"The interface could be better. It needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of this solution is for routing.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The interface could be better. It needs improvement.

We do everything in configuration files and it is not simple. It is quite complicated when you configure some rules for the firewall because it has several firewall levels.

In some switches, at times we have some issues, but it's on the infrastructure part and it's not the latest hardware.

In the future, I would like to see more standardized software. For example, some of the switches use some features that should be implemented in Juniper.

The software should be more stable.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using these switches for more than four years.

We are not using the latest version.

We use Juniper MX960 and the QFX5100 for the core switch.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product.

We have millions of clients who are using this solution daily.

In our organization, we have 20 people who are using it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not contacted technical support.

There is a lot of documentation that you can read whenever required.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we used Cisco. We switched because we run 100 switches and started to use the IPv6 and we were told that we had to pay $100,000 for the IPv6 license.

In Juniper, you will not have this issue because many of the licenses and a lot of software are already included in the basic version.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was simple.

The configuration of the hardware took a few weeks because it was the first time we deployed it.

We have a team of two technical members to maintain this product.

What about the implementation team?

We completed the installation ourselves.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this product to anyone who is interested in using it.

We plan to continue using these switches in the future. It still works and it's quite stable.

I would rate Juniper Ethernet Switches a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.