Juniper MX Series Routers vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

Juniper MX Series Routers and Juniper Session Smart Router are both solutions in the Routers category. Juniper MX Series Routers is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Juniper Session Smart Router is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0. Juniper MX Series Routers holds a 13.2% mindshare in R, compared to Juniper Session Smart Router’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Juniper MX Series Routers users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper Session Smart Router users who would recommend it.

Juniper MX Series Routers

Read 34 Juniper MX Series Routers reviews

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1,462 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Juniper Session Smart Router

Read 4 Juniper Session Smart Router reviews

1,306 Views
65 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Juniper MX Series Routers

Juniper Session Smart Router

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2025

Juniper MX Series Routers and Juniper Session Smart Routers serve distinct networking categories, focusing on large-scale routing and secure, application-aware SD-WAN, respectively. Juniper MX Series Routers are favored for pricing and support, while Juniper Session Smart Routers are preferred for advanced features, demonstrating their overall value.

Features: Juniper MX Series Routers provide robust routing capabilities, high throughput, and extensive protocol support, making them suitable for service providers and large enterprises. Juniper Session Smart Routers emphasize application-aware routing, lack of encryption-based security, and reduced overhead, offering agility and security for edge deployments.

Room for Improvement: Juniper MX Series Routers could enhance ease of deployment and user interface simplicity. Further scalability in terms of SD-WAN specific functions is also desirable. Improvements in software updates and integrations could benefit customers. For Juniper Session Smart Routers, expanding protocol support and enhancing scalability for larger deployments are crucial. Better documentation and user training resources could improve user experience. Further advancements in real-time analytics and monitoring features are important.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Juniper Session Smart Routers offer straightforward deployment using a software-defined approach, simplifying configuration and reducing manual input with efficient support channels. Juniper MX Series Routers require more complex setups, benefiting from Juniper's comprehensive support services.

Pricing and ROI: Juniper MX Series Routers generally require a higher initial investment due to their hardware nature but provide substantial long-term ROI through their performance and reliability. Session Smart Routers offer a cost-effective setup focusing on operational savings and efficient scaling, delivering quicker ROI. MX Series attracts those prioritizing robust infrastructure, while Session Smart is appealing for budget-conscious and scalable deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed Juniper MX Series Routers vs. Juniper Session Smart Router Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Juniper MX Series Routers vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

July 2025

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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

Juniper MX Series Routers

Ranking in Routers

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) (1st)

Juniper Session Smart Router

Ranking in Routers

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Juniper MX Series Routers is 13.2%, up from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Routers

Featured Reviews

Kushtrim Arifi

Engineering Executive at Telos Labs

Highly scalable, especially suitable for complex and large-scale network deployments

The "Commit" feature stands out. When you try to commit commands, you have some options like sandbox config, leaving those temporary for 60 seconds. This feature allows you to commit configuration changes to the candidate configuration, and then review them for errors before committing them to the active configuration. Another feature that I like is the integration with Cisco routers. This allows you to connect Juniper MX routers to Cisco routers and have them work together seamlessly. We never have interoperability issues.

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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

"The most valuable features for us were related to our transition into MPLS technology, specifically for BPN and VPN services."

"It is a very stable product."

"The full Internet DGP is a valuable feature."

"I think that the extensions are very valuable. The way you can test the configuration before applying that configuration permanently is very helpful. The rollback configuration is also very useful."

"It's one of the more stable routers."

"I have found the most useful features to be layered VPNs, IPsec, VPLS, and firewall filters."

"It offers high protection and I like it."

"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. We never had any issues."

More Juniper MX Series Routers pros

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

"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."

"Customer service is very prompt."

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

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

Cons

"The web interface can be improved."

"In terms of what could be improved, they could extend the software warranty to be for its lifetime, as well. At the moment, the software warranty is limited, I think to one year."

"The security features could be better."

"We'd like them to be capable of adding firewall options to the license."

"The solution could improve by providing enhancements to built-in SDN or SDWAN."

"Enhancing the capacity would be a welcome improvement."

"The documentation needs to be updated to reflect the changes made in the latest update."

"The price of this solution should be improved."

More Juniper MX Series Routers 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

"An additional license can be purchased for support of a next-generation firewall."

"There is a license for this solution and the price is very competitive. The cost is less expensive than some competitors, such as Cisco. There are additional costs for support licenses."

"The solution is more expensive compared to other solutions."

"The prices for Juniper MX Series Routers are reasonable."

"I would rate it around a three. While I'm not deeply involved in pricing discussions, I believe it is comparatively more affordable than Cisco."

"$300 to $400 is the hardware cost and for licensing cost, it may be around, for support and all, $100 per year."

"I would rate the pricing model a seven out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. It is not cheap."

"The price of this solution is better than other competitors, such as Cisco. We receive a lot of discounts which make the price less expensive and attractive."

More Juniper MX Series Routers 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

13%

Comms Service Provider

11%

University

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper MX Series Routers?

For the Juniper MX Series Routers, it plays a crucial role in our network. They offer numerous features, enabling multiple connections and handling various reports. The routers efficiently manage ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper MX Series Routers?

I would rate it around a three. While I'm not deeply involved in pricing discussions, I believe it is comparatively more affordable than Cisco.

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What needs improvement with Juniper MX Series Routers?

The areas of Juniper MX Series Routers that have room for improvement include the port count; for instance, the MX204 has only four 40G or 100G ports, which is quite limited. While I know there are...

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What do you like most about Juniper Session Smart Router?

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

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

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A10 Networks Thunder CGN vs Juniper MX Series Routers

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs Juniper MX Series Routers

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 13% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 11% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper MX Series Routers

August 2025

Download Juniper MX Series Routers product report

Buyer's Guide

Routers

August 2025

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Also Known As

Juniper Enterprise Routers, MX Series, Junos Address Aware

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

Overview

Juniper MX Series Routers are designed for high throughput with flexible MPLS configuration and robust policy management, offering reliability and scalability for enterprise needs. They feature seamless Cisco integration, strong performance driven by the Trio chipset, and user-friendly management.

Known for their exceptional performance, Juniper MX Series Routers enable enterprises and ISPs to expand network connectivity and efficiency. Their reliable hardware supports tasks like border routing and internet connectivity, catering to high-performance networking and automation. Trio chipset technology ensures stability, while interchangeable line cards maintain top-level performance. These routers are favored for their easy configuration and robust support, though improvements in pricing, VPN compatibility, and stronger DDoS protection are needed. Users seek additional cloud integration, enhanced security features, and expanded port options on models like the MX204.

What are the key features of Juniper MX Series Routers?

High Throughput: Ensures fast and efficient network data transfer.
Flexible MPLS Configuration: Adapts seamlessly to varied network environments.
Robust Policy Management: Provides extensive control over network traffic policies.
Seamless Cisco Integration: Simplifies operations for mixed equipment environments.
Trio Chipset Technology: Boosts performance and ensures network stability.
User-Friendly Interface: Facilitates easy configuration and management.

What benefits should users evaluate?

Scalability: Supports growing network needs without compromising performance.
Reliability: Offers consistent and dependable network operations.
Support and Documentation: Access to comprehensive resources for efficient management.
Performance: Maintains high levels of throughput and stability for enterprise needs.
Automation Support: Streamlines network operations for greater efficiency.

In industries like telecommunications and data centers, Juniper MX Series Routers are widely implemented to manage complex networking tasks such as VPNs, MPLS, and BGP deployments. Service providers often rely on these routers for backbone roles, benefitting from their performance and scalability to maintain robust and efficient network infrastructures.

Juniper

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

AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, Atlantech Online, Availity, Baloise Insurance, Black Lotus, CATV, Blue Box

Revation Systems

Buyer's Guide

Juniper MX Series Routers vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

July 2025

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