Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.3%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is 7.2%, up from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 2.8%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.3%
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform	7.2%
Juniper Session Smart Router	2.8%
Other	71.7%

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

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.

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JOHN UNAMBA

Lead Regional Engineer at Weco Systems Group

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…

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SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Delivered tailored features and meets requirements effectively

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate is considered the best in the European market for security reasons."

"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."

"The most valuable features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."

"I've never had a problem with Fortinet FortiGate support, so I'd rate it ten out of ten."

"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."

"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the simple user interface."

"I rate this solution a nine out of ten."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The platform is valuable for bandwidth reduction."

"It is a scalable solution."

"At the moment, for us, it is a very good solution because it has all the features we need and it is not so expensive."

"The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization."

"The initial setup is very easy and not confusing."

"Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect has high availability."

"Many features are valuable for automation, connectivity, and throughput."

"I really love the auto-tunnel creation feature."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pros

"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."

"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."

"Customer service is very prompt."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."

Cons

"In FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), my concern regarding improvements is the licensing model."

"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."

"The technical support that Fortinet provides is not satisfactory. When we call Fortinet technical support, it takes too much time to connect with them."

"Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."

"I have to say that the initial setup was complex. The deployment took a few days to get set up. Initially, we were using an IPVanish. We switched to this tool since we thought it would be easier. But it turns out it wasn't easier to set up and run."

"Fortinet needs more memory to save the log files. We need it to save the logs on the hardware and not in the cloud. I know this feature is available in FortiCloud, but if we need this log locally, it is not available."

"You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution."

"With the standard support subscription, if the device goes down, the customer has to first ship the box, and then Fortinet sends the replacement. With the higher support, the customer has to ship the device after they have the replacement. It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"There are some functional limitations that could improve."

"The support from Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect has declined since Aruba acquired them. The knowledge and speed of the agents could improve."

"One area for improvement is the Intel support integration."

"Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform needs to improve integrations with other vendors."

"When comparing it with Fortinet and Palo Alto, which are top players in the Indian market, we are currently lacking in that aspect."

"I expect automation in the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform's next release."

"If compared with Cisco, then Aruba's pricing is very aggressive."

"We would like to have better features for path selection. For example, if we know the network is going to go down then we would like to set up an alternate route for data packets in real-time."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform cons

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."

"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."

"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."

"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive. I rate its pricing a six out of ten."

"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"It's one of the more expensive brands. The 100 series costs around $4,000. They are similar in pricing to what you might get from Cisco solutions and probably other similar ones. They're not more expensive than other similar solutions, but they're certainly not cheaper either."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."

"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."

"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"You can get both yearly and monthly options in licensing. It is not expensive."

"The license for Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect is paid annually."

"The licensing fees depend on the bandwidth. As an example of what we charge our customers, for 100MB without Boost, the price is approximately $2,000. That includes the licensing and the unit."

"The price of Silver Peak VX is expensive compared to competitors. There are licenses, renewals, and support that need to be paid."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high, I rate the pricing around five to six."

"The pricing for this product is good."

"The price of Silver Peak VX is reasonable but could improve."

"There is an annual license required to use Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pricing and cost advice

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."

"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

24%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Legal Firm

Manufacturing Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	10

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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 Session Smart Router?

The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Session Smart Router?

Juniper Session Smart Router is not significantly cheaper than, for example, Cisco.

What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?

I did not find any problem with Juniper. Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do.

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 9% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 8% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 27% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 10% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 7% of the time

Juniper MX Series Routers vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Download Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform product report

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform report

Routers

Download Juniper Session Smart Router product report

Also Known As

No data available

Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform secures and powers a self-driving wide area network for cloud-first enterprises.

In today’s edge-to-cloud enterprise, user experience and security are not optional

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN provides a secure network foundation for Zero Trust and SASE. It includes a first-class SD-WAN paired with a next-generation firewall delivering unmatched quality of experience and advanced security.

Best-of-breed SASE with no compromise

EdgeConnect SD-WAN enables a best-of-breed SASE architecture that meets the security requirements of today’s digital organizations. It provides comprehensive SD-WAN and security services including next-generation firewall, fine-grained segmentation, IDS/IPS, and tightly integrates with many SSE (Security Service Edge) solutions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

Juniper

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

Revation Systems

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Juniper Session Smart Router