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Juniper Contrail Networking vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Juniper Contrail Networking
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (6th)
VMware NSX
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (10th), Network Automation (4th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Juniper Contrail Networking is designed for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and holds a mindshare of 7.6%, up 6.3% compared to last year.
VMware NSX, on the other hand, focuses on Network Virtualization, holds 28.5% mindshare, down 45.6% since last year.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Juniper Contrail Networking7.6%
Meraki SD-WAN11.7%
Cisco ACI9.1%
Other71.6%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX28.5%
Cisco ACI28.3%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization8.7%
Other34.5%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

TA
Solution Architect at ConnX Inc.
Smart configuration management eliminates the need to worry about managing the network's configurations
Based on my experience in the Indian market, there are four to five areas that need improvement. First, there is a lack of marketing and awareness about Juniper, making it difficult to reach end-users and deliver solutions. Second, Juniper's education and awareness centers are costly and not easily accessible like Cisco's resources and their understanding of users' requirements. The information is not easily available on online channels like Youtube. Third, Juniper needs to promote its Mist integration better, and pricing is also a significant factor. Finally, Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch. In summary, improving marketing and sales, education and awareness, Mist integration, pricing, and catering to specific market requirements are areas that need improvement. I just want a good feature in the SD-WAN. Juniper should consider integrating its firewall experience with its SD-WAN devices to create a complete package. With everything moving to the cloud, companies require intelligence and security solutions for their on-prem infrastructure. Moreover, Juniper should integrate its SOC solution into its Mist portal and SD-WAN devices, including IPs, IDS, web and content filters, and messaging. This would provide a complete product and give Juniper an advantage over competitors such as Cisco. I believe that with a bundle that includes SOC and UTM flavors in their Mist portal, Juniper can make a significant impact in the market.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"After we finished setting Contrail up, it seemed stable enough."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is a stable solution."
"It provides proactive alerting in a single dashboard solution."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is low-cost for small and medium-sized businesses, and Cisco and Palo Alto solutions are more expensive."
"Contrail automates the excellent communication between virtual appliances."
"After we finished setting Contrail up, it seemed stable enough. Still, we never tested it in a real environment, so we don't have enough information to say whether it's stable with a given number of users and appliances. We have tested it in a lab environment, but we haven't tested enough to say that the platform is stable."
"The organization of it is logical, useful, and intuitive."
"This is a good firewall and overall it is rich in features."
"You're building a scalable solution, a secure solution, and a stable end-to-end solution; these are the main measurable benefits VMware NSX provides to the users."
"Our clients are very satisfied that we can limit ourselves to NSX without the need to purchasing additional network systems and physical devices."
"NSX helps us by making IT management and operations more efficient. When VMs spin off from the DC to the DR site, all required settings on the network level are handled automatically."
"It's totally stable, because right now it's running version 6.3."
"The solution is robust as it covers everything we want to do and is stable, so we're happy enough with it. We have had no problems so far. Everything is great."
"NSX is good in managing security or controlling the security and the access control for each single VM."
 

Cons

"Concerns were raised about the complexity of involving networking components like MX routers, which often required expertise beyond the scope of software engineers. As a result, users encountered challenges in achieving comprehensive understanding and troubleshooting of networking issues within the Contrail environment."
"Visibility, especially for the top of the platform, is a nightmare. The top was documented incorrectly and really complex to complete. In the end, it worked but only after several weeks of work with the support of a Juniper solution engineer in Holland."
"Juniper needs to address the market's specific requirements, such as the SME sector, and offer more lower-priced products like a lower-end segment switch."
"Juniper Contrail Networking is difficult if you do not have a certificate for Juniper. Juniper is a different type of configuration or operation than Cisco."
"Going through and getting more features sets from the routing protocols is definitely necessary for the future."
"The response time of the technical support team could improve. We also sometimes had the feeling that they didn't properly understand the issue."
"Tech support is nice. It could be a little bit better."
"I want to see the solution expand to more than just the network, for example, perhaps it could provide some VLAN technologies."
"I have concerns on the stability of VMware NSX, because it breaks multiple times in customer environments, especially when you scale it across a big data center."
"The solution is quite complex. You need to keep your thinking cap on and know what you are doing: Go to the training and listen to the solution architects when they come in because they have a lot of knowledge."
"Our technical team is always looking for the solutions that they work with to offer more convenient integrations."
"It still needs to grow. There are still some features that it doesn't do, like it doesn't do multicasting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Juniper Contrail Networking is low-cost for small and medium-sized businesses. Cisco and Palo Alto solutions are more expensive."
"There are many vendors in the wireless market that offer better pricing, solutions, and management skills compared to Juniper."
"The price of VMware NSX is optimal. Additionally, the price of the solution can be negotiated with the vendor. Many areas of the solution can impact the cost, such as features, time for onboarding, and support needed."
"The solution is free and the price for the support can be expensive."
"The price of VMware NSX is reasonable."
"The price of this product is too high."
"All the institutions have to pay monthly for the services in the cloud. They have to pay $30,000 every month for this service every three years."
"The subscription is on a yearly basis."
"The licensing fees are expensive and we pay on a yearly basis."
"The price is significantly high and it can be a hurdle for many potential users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

Contrail Networking
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lithium Technologies, Orange Business Services, Cloudwatt, Symantec, Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Aviatrix, Megaport and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: May 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.