Junos Space Network Director Reviews

It served as my main point of contact for banking and the central tool for managing a large network of switches across multiple locations. The network consisted of about 3,300 switches, with roughly 2,200 of them running a specific software version. It primarily functioned as a network management platform, enabling tasks like site supervision, upgrades, and software version checks. It was also used to monitor the operational status of each site within the network.

Within our organization, we manage around three hundred sites, and Junos Space enables us to easily determine the status of each site by checking the list of connected switches. Before addressing any site-related problems, I typically investigate and confirm with the Internet Service Provider to determine the most cost-effective and technically sound solution. This involves examining various aspects, such as technical engineering and plumbing. If I identify issues at a particular site, I need to investigate whether it's related to network switching problems or potentially other issues that need attention.

A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges. This unified dashboard simplifies tasks like simultaneous switch upgrades, streamlining the process. It enables us to create reports that monitor site statuses, including uptime and downtime, which helps us evaluate each site's monthly uptime and assess its revenue potential based on operational time.

Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing. It should provide the ability to modify interfaces, enabling actions like shutting them down, adding or changing lenses, and adjusting configurations.

I have been using it for two years.

I would rate its stability capabilities eight out of ten.

It provides good scalability. We simply incorporate new sites and connect their switches to Junos Space, which allows us to efficiently manage additional sites without significant complications, as the default settings are already in place.

I would rate its customer support five out of ten.

Neutral

I have experience with other devices like HPE and Cisco, we use different management tools. For example, we use HEC to manage FCDs, handle firepower for managing Cisco products, and manage iOS. In each vendor's case, we have specific tools for device management.

The initial setup was not overly complex.

It would be advisable to consider using it for a broader range of sites, especially when dealing with a larger network, such as in the banking or market sectors. If you have an extensive network with switches from various reputable vendors, deploying an internal solution like Junos Space is an effective approach for managing all these switches efficiently. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

We are internet service providers and when our clients subscribe to our services, we provide the features.

The most valuable feature is the technical support, as it is better than others.

I would like to them include network real-time performance and come up with a dashboard report. That is something that I would love to have.

We started using this solution two or three years ago.

This solution is stable and the performance is very good.

This solution is scalable if referring to our core network equipment. In terms of the CPE, customer premises, it works with 12 ports or sometimes 24 ports.

The technical support is very helpful. Any time we have a problem, they support us.

Previously, we were using Nokia and Huawei equipment. They are similar in terms of equipment, but the support is better with Juniper. Also, the packaging is complicated. They separate the support and other things, so it's a bit difficult because when we want support, we have to purchase that package or model. Juniper doesn't break it down that way and the support is included.

The initial setup is easy. It's not complex.

We would like the price to be reduced.

We are network providers for our clients.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

The most valuable feature is the management from a single pane of glass.

I think that the best thing is that they should keep working on Space. I feel like it's been taking a back burner to other things, and I think that they're trying to go different routes. Ideally, I would like to see Space created to fully functional, where it's got multiple modules, particularly SD-WAN working on Corporate, or maybe become part of the Orchestrator portion. Or, we could see it potentially go out and embed itself into some of the other services that they have to offer.

I have been working with Junos Space since its inception in approximately 2014.

Junos Space creates one pane of glass managing your switching, routing, and security infrastructure as long as you have the modules for it. Space is all about the modules that you import into it.

The modules include Security Director, Network Director, and ServiceNow.

The installation of Space has improved over the years.

The pricing of Juniper's products is always in the middle-range. Typically, Juniper is more expensive than Cisco in initial costs, but overall, the long-term licensing fees that you're going to pay for Juniper versus Cisco is going to be less. Ultimately, the total cost of ownership is less.

ServiceNow integration is really interesting because it generates tickets for you under J Tech. It creates a service portal that you can integrate problems before you might even know what's happening, direct to J Tech. This is nice.

Security Director has made great strides. With SRX models, in particular, a lot of the complaints at Alman have been their web interfaces, which they're redesigning. This is something that may be complete by now. Space got the first iteration and they were able to solidify that. SRX devices can be a pain to manage because just like any other firewall, they can have hundreds of thousands of rules. You've got different layers of those rules. You can have layer seven or layer four and they can all be put in different places. This is what makes having that one pane of glass paramount, especially for a large firewall deployment in the SRX line.

Space is only as good as how you get it to work with your environment. I've had clients who buy Space, implement it, think that they've got it installed, and then they don't use it at all. You want to make sure that you have it installed correctly and you have your devices imported efficiently, and you utilize Juniper's services or utilize a third party.

Even if you just want to install it, I would at least have them come in and validate the installation to make sure that you're utilizing it to its best of its potential.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

I use this product to manage my edge switching and my firewall environment.

For edge switching, this product is fantastic. It helps me deploy switches at a rapid pace.

It allows me to do more of the basic firewall features, like traffic management and others, in a single pane of glass.

The pain point with this product is always doing the upgrades. The upgrades are very time-consuming and difficult, and they often have to rebuild the product.

We have been using the Junos Space Network Director for seven years.

For the most part, this is a stable product. There have been a couple of releases that weren't stable.

This solution is extremely scalable.

The technical support staff is fantastic.

I found the initial setup to be straightforward but I do it for a living.

This product is set at a good price point. Compared with other similar solutions, it is extremely reasonable.

My advice for anybody who is implementing this product is that if you find it very difficult, then maybe you're in the wrong field. If you're going to be using this product then you'll have a deployment of more than 50 switches. Managing that kind of workload or higher with telco-class gear, you should know networking inside and out.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.