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Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.7
Users find Fortinet FortiGate cost-effective, enhancing security and productivity while reducing operational costs and manpower needs.
Sentiment score
5.0
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN enhances performance and efficiency, offering varied ROI across different connectivity options despite higher costs.
Sentiment score
4.9
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN offers enhanced performance, faster deployments, cost efficiencies, robust security, and improved visibility, simplifying management and reducing errors.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
The SMB market is always price competitive. To penetrate the SMB market or middle segment, we definitely need to work on the pricing aspect.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiGate's customer support is generally positive but varies in responsiveness and expertise, influenced by region and support tier.
Sentiment score
7.1
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers excellent technical support, praised for responsiveness and problem-solving despite minor regional support issues.
Sentiment score
1.0
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN support is rated highly, with responsive service and effective assistance from Juniper and local partners.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Aruba's technical support is very responsive.
Technical support from Aruba currently rates at nine on a scale from 1 to 10.
I can harness the power of the teacher model without lowering my top and laser focus.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiGate effectively supports scalable deployments, offering adaptability despite potential hardware limits and integration and licensing concerns.
Sentiment score
7.2
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers scalable, seamless expansion and integration, efficiently supporting high traffic and numerous users.
Sentiment score
6.8
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN excels in scalability for large enterprises, despite security challenges and evolving competition from companies like Fortinet.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
FortiGate is praised for stability and performance, with minor challenges managed by updates, proper sizing, and support.
Sentiment score
7.9
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is stable, reliable with minimal disruptions, high ratings, and effective technical support for issues.
Sentiment score
6.5
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is praised for stability and reliability, with users favoring it over Cisco and reporting no performance issues.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
It is very stable, with no significant issues.
I have not observed any vulnerabilities in one year.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate struggles with integration, user complexity, support inefficiencies, high costs, and feature performance, needing improved documentation and security.
Enhance Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN with better documentation, security, vendor integration, training, cloud options, and competitive pricing for broader adoption.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN needs better training, user-friendly demo, improved support, integration, marketing, and optimized cost and UI/UX design.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
The constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment.
While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security.
I would also like the management of EdgeConnect appliances to be incorporated into Aruba Central Cloud Central.
The security could also improve.
In the Indian market, we need to design a solution with built-in security when considering areas of improvement for the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive, cost-effective pricing, appealing to small-medium businesses with flexible licensing and valued security solutions.
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers flexible pricing, negotiable discounts, but users desire improved licensing features and structures.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN offers cost-effective, flexible licensing with competitive pricing, ensuring excellent ROI for large enterprises.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It is about 20% cheaper.
The licensing is not too expensive, however, it is also not cheap.
The pricing is on the higher side compared to the competition when discussing experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing of the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform.
It is an affordable product and yet still a bit expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly, cost-effective, and offers high-performance comprehensive security with advanced threat protection features.
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers advanced routing, security, and management features, enhancing user experience with seamless integration and optimization.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN boosts security, visibility, and performance, excels in cloud integration, and simplifies operations through automation and acquisitions.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
Additionally, it integrates perfectly with Aruba ClearPass, offering a robust security solution, covering network admin, access control, authentication, and authorization.
The Zero-Touch Provisioning feature is one of the best features I have seen so far.
Many features are valuable for automation, connectivity, and throughput.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Pl...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
5th
Ranking in WAN Edge
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (2nd)
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
15th
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.9%, down from 21.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is 7.3%, up from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
JOHN UNAMBA - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrated security features and robust support improve network management
The solution was installed across two branches for a financial institution. One location had a data center, and the other was a branch office. For SaaS applications, traffic broke out from EdgeConnect directly to the cloud. Applications using the data center were channeled through the MPLS link…
Luis Corrochano - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and scalable solution that helps to cut cost by reducing MPLs
My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH.  The solution is expensive. Its support can be better.  The tool is stable.  The solution is more…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Legal Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Silver Peak NX?
The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak NX?
The pricing is on the higher side compared to the competition when discussing experience with pricing, setup cost, an...
What needs improvement with Silver Peak NX?
The room for improvement for the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is pricing, as people are purchasing this product ...
What do you like most about Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provis...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
My advice regarding setup costs, pricing, and licensing for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN would be to carefully evaluate an...
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
There might be additional features that would be beneficial to have in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution, includin...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect
Contrail SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Group Dekko, Kingston Technology, American Student Assistance, Ares Management, Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Colonial Savings, Community Bank, Denali Credit Union, Bed Bath & Beyond, Breweries of Cameroon, Carnival Australia, Coastal Beverages, Toshiba Electronics, Tru Blu Beverages, WAXIE Sanitary Supply, Charleston Area Medical Center, Community Health Plan, Healthcare Company, Mercy Health, Linklaters, Miles & Stockbridge, Thomson Snell & Passmore
Allied Pinnacle
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.