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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access vs Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

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 FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper EX Series Ethernet ...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 4.8%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is 2.8%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Uri Harf - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration with cloud management simplifies network expansion
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is expensive, and this initial cost can be a barrier, especially for new businesses setting up from scratch. Although the machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues, the initial price can be high. Sometimes, I have to offer alternatives like Aruba or HP, which might be cheaper.
FauzanRahmanto - PeerSpot reviewer
Have achieved lower costs and gained reliability with some room for better scalability
The security capabilities of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches are comparable to other brands, so there are no additional points for Juniper regarding the security systems. I would rate the price of Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten. Regarding stability, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches a nine out of ten. I would recommend Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to other organizations because it is easy to use, the command is easy to learn, and it is very stable. I chose Juniper as my primary vendor because it is very stable, reliable, and the price is lower than competitors. I am the person who usually does the maintenance alone. In my office, my two colleagues and I are the network engineers directly responsible for the operation of the EX devices. The number of users in my organization who have access to Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is around 17 people. Overall, I would rate Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate the the ease of management and scalability within our network architecture an eight out of ten, with ten being best."
"The product is very secure."
"The most valuable feature is the security switch."
"It is easy to set up."
"Deploying the solution is a breeze, even a novice can do it."
"The solution is very simple, and it's very easily available."
"It is very user-friendly. There is no need to use command lines to configure it or to do anything in it. You hardly use command lines, which makes it different from Cisco. In Cisco, the CLI is your best friend. Fortinet has the lowest TCO, so you can use its integrated components without having to buy additional licenses. They provide centralized management without needing to buy or acquire additional licenses. You have an integral or complete vision through a single pane of glass, and you can see everything from one single console without having to buy additional licenses, which is a plus. It works the same way when you add wireless. You can see everything from FortiGate. It has a security processor, which is another plus. It does not have a standard desktop processor. It has a multi-threat security processor, and it is built by Fortinet. So, all the components that you include in a Fortinet solution are proprietary and work in an integral way. It has one single solution, whereas other brands, such as Palo Alto and Check Point, have been acquiring certain solutions, and they're not fully integrated. With Fortinet, everything is integrated. If you start building on Fortinet, everything that you expand to the local LAN or WAN is integrated. You don't have to pay for professional services and other things to do that. Their technical information is also very good. Most of their information is based on how-to, and it can be found online, which is something my clients like."
"The most valuable feature would be network management, separating the network management component from security. It can do both but we promote it on its own. It's a good solution to do network management."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"The Juniper Ethernet switch feature I find the most valuable is reliability."
"The security is good."
"It is a scalable solution."
"One of the most valuable features of Juniper Ethernet Switches is they are rugged."
"The combination of hardware and software makes it a very good solution. It is a modern protocol that they have supported in the switches. The solution has good performance."
"We have multiple cases of the customers trying to upgrade their network from Cisco, Aruba and Huawei to Juniper. They do this basically because they want to modernise their network and have an increased capacity. This shift improves their functionality because the Juniper Ethernet switches are more advanced. We provide them with assistance to configure switches, access points and Wi-Fi."
"I like that it's fairly easy to implement these ethernet switches."
 

Cons

"The range of products could improve from Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access."
"I would rate technical support at eight. It's a potential area for improvement, possibly in terms of response time or quality."
"I feel that the product's stability is an area where improvements are required."
"When we started using the solution, it was quite complex but then it became easier to use. It takes a while to get used to the interface."
"In Fortinet, the packet reconstruction in the SD-WAN solution needs a little bit of improvement. When it comes to the Secure Access to the switches or the mix of Fortinet solution, the very small ones do not have the capability to use fiber cables. So, the small FortiGates have to work with the copper cables and cannot use fiber cables. Even though they have the capacity and throughput on all technical connectors, they don't have the interfaces, which is one of the good things with Cisco. They just add models to it. You buy the independent models, and you add them."
"We had experienced downtime. I would like to see it to be improved."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is confusing with too many add-ons."
"More integration would be helpful, especially since we sometimes have devices from other companies. Improved interoperability would be very beneficial."
"Stability could be better, especially during a reboot. We have had some issues recently with the software getting corrupt on reboot, which causes a lot of downtime."
"They could improve the code, as there are some issues with it."
"The operating system could be better."
"Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches is not cheap. The tool needs improvement in UI."
"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."
"Juniper needs to get their code up to par because it isn't stable enough for a leaf and spine design."
"The protocols can be tunneled, but on a global basis, not on an interface, and this is a feature that should be added."
"More security could be provided, especially with the rising cyber-attacks in business organizations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to renew and pay for the licenses."
"The pricing for Fortinet FortiSwitch is not expensive."
"The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually."
"It's affordable compared to other switching products, like Cisco switches."
"The pricing is quite high."
"The cost appears to be high in comparison to other competing products although with this product you are paying for what you get."
"The price is good."
"The product's pricing is less compared to other enterprise solutions."
"The initial cost of the solution can be expensive."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"We had a leakage in the support process and decided to end the product's life in order to purchase a new product with support. We did not renew product support as a result."
"We purchased the box for a one-time charge, and we are paying a yearly support fee of several hundred Euros."
"The Juniper switches are less expensive than competing brands."
"The solution's pricing is cheaper than that of Cisco."
"There is a subscription payment model or you can purchase licenses on a one, two, and five-year basis. If you want decent support, the solution is not expensive."
"The pricing is very aggressive."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options. Although robust and rarely needs replacement, it can be overqualified for some jobs, which affects the re...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Ethernet Switches?
Juniper EX model is ok for the campus network as the ex4300 is EOL in a few years and the new ex4400 is the standard. Now for the QFX model, 5k/10k in CRB mode IP fabric Ethernet switching is horri...
What is your primary use case for Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches?
We deal mostly with Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches products, as we are partners with Juniper products. We work with Juniper wireless. We deal with all the Juniper products and also Cisco and H...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Juniper Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
BlackLotus, Staminus, Community Bank, BAS Group, Cloud Dynamics, Privalia, Fluidata, and Tesla Motors.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access vs. Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.