Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Juniper QFX Series Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 10, 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

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
7th
Ranking in Data Center Networking
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
175
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Juniper QFX Series Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
19th
Ranking in Data Center Networking
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 1.8%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFX Series Switches is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Joshua Odunsi - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures efficient performance and supports network growth with optimal speed
Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization. I experience optimal speed and effective configuration, making them stand out compared to other switches. The PoE switches offer more ports on SFP, and it is efficient in use. Overall, the switches provide me with the value I expect in terms of speed and efficiency.
RafaelTorres - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers automation capabilities and good customer support
Juniper QFX Series Switches offer several features that contribute to improved efficiency. One key advantage is the automation capabilities. This allows us to automate network configuration and management tasks using scripting languages. In our case, at the bank, we use a script for automation to confirm the switch's scalability in the local data center. We expanded the environment to utilize the environment feature with AWS, creating connections between both data centers. This setup allowed us to extend our operations to another data center in Latin America, using AWS and Juniper together.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is highly reliable."
"Scalable, stable, and reliable product that's easy to install. Technical support is dependable and can be contacted in a variety of ways, e.g. through their ticketing system, hotline number, and community forum."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are easy to use, simple to configure, and straightforward to upgrade. Additionally, CDN has been very helpful for separation."
"The ability to configure throughput is very flexible and improved the performance of our systems."
"The most valuable features of the solution are BGP, VPN, and spine-leaf architecture."
"It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable."
"The product is reliable."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are the best overall."
"It's a stable solution."
"EVPN-VXLAN feature offers the most benefits."
"Juniper QFX Series Switches provide a good platform for all of our hardware and are easy to use."
"Support is good and customer-friendly"
"The most valuable features are the VxLAN and the EVPN."
"It's really easy to replicate rules. It's the one that I've used; it was CLI-based. You can implement a large set of rules with CLI. You can just copy a script and add additional changes to the source and destination on the part. And so it's easy to do large zone-based rules."
"The QFX series is a good choice for large data centers, particularly for Spine-Leaf architectures."
 

Cons

"All other modules have comparatively many more functions or power than regular Catalyst switches."
"The tool is not user-friendly."
"Pricing mainly is the only issue."
"The price could be improved."
"I think that the price should be cheaper and they should include at least one year of basic service for technical support for each product, and not just the 90 days from the time of purchase."
"The stability must be improved."
"Dell switching is coming up with a solution where you can put your own OS inside their switching infra. That is where they are talking about open networking. We can show that our Cisco is also an open-source. We are open to different switching operating systems if the customer is willing to put it in. We can support multiple operating systems inside the switching infrastructure. It removes the hardware and software dependency on each other. That is where I think there can be room for improvement. Then we can talk about open networking and that is where Cisco can also come up with open networking access."
"First of all, there are some features that take a long time to get implemented, and other vendors have them for a long time before them. For example, it took a long time to have a way to commit change with the timer, so it gets undone if the user doesn't accept the change after it's done. Like, having to say the changes be done, and everything works fine. In the end, everything works fine, but it didn't exist. That's just an example of stuff that came late to Catalyst."
"It is very costly."
"I faced issues with the deployment and upgrade. In the QFX5110 series, features like ISSU and DSSQ should be improved. Upgrades should be smoother."
"Integrating QFX switches was the first point of challenge."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model. It is too high."
"The price could be cheaper."
"There have been some issues sometimes. When you upgrade the device, it doesn't come up. It gets stuck."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Could always be cheaper."
"It is overpriced. Some devices can be very expensive. Most of the clients have a contract with Cisco for two or three years."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is an affordable solution."
"We love Cisco, but the price is very prohibitive."
"Pricing from Cisco is expensive but we pay for the reliability."
"The solution is probably the most expensive, but users who want the best need to pay the premium."
"I don't see any price issue with Cisco. Whenever you buy a quality product, you always have a mindset of paying the premium amount. For any good product, you pay a premium amount, but that also means you are going to recover that premium over a period of time in terms of performance."
"The price could be improved."
"The cost is expensive."
"The price of Juniper QFX Series Switches is expensive because we are running some enterprise hardware. However, they are less expensive than Cisco or HPE hardware."
"The solution is cheap, especially compared to competitors like Cisco."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
845,589 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
67%
Computer Software Company
6%
Government
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Although Juniper is cheaper, Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Linode, VPRO, West Chester University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
845,589 professionals have used our research since 2012.