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Juniper MX Series Routers vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 9, 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

Juniper MX Series Routers
Ranking in Routers
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) (1st)
Juniper Session Smart Router
Ranking in Routers
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Juniper MX Series Routers is 13.7%, up from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Juniper MX Series Routers13.7%
Juniper Session Smart Router1.5%
Other84.8%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

Patrick Anaku - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Roke Telkom
Performance excels with reliable uptime and robust features
The best features of Juniper MX Series Routers include their performance, which is quite good for us in terms of hardware performance. The Junos OS, the software, is stable, and we don't have many issues with the Juniper system itself. They have numerous features that allow us to deliver services, be it Layer 2 connectivity to customers, Layer 3 connectivity, data center connectivity, or even security features. Hardware performance has been a top-notch reason why we chose Juniper in the beginning, especially the MX series, which performs well in terms of network uptime and we don't encounter many failures. We have had a bad experience here and there with the ACX series, and their network performance is not so great compared to MX, so we have mostly done away with the ACX and only use MX at some of the core sites. I have seen a return on investment from the solution. Initially, we deployed MX80s on the network, and since our company has been in operation since 2006, from that point we used MX80s until around 2016 when we upgraded most of them to MX204s. From our experience, once we buy an MX204, we don't have issues with it; we have never had to replace an MX204 on the network. Once we deploy it, it works until we decide to upgrade the capacity. The return on investment is significant, as once we buy it, we have no worries about performance.
SRI GANESH  PHANIYAPPA - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

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 feature is reliability."
"It is a very stable product."
"The functionality and stability are great."
"Users are able to easily configure the whole solution via simple data."
"I have found the most useful features to be layered VPNs, IPsec, VPLS, and firewall filters."
"We are able to easily build chassis with Juniper MX Series Routers."
"In our company, we are integrators who create solutions for our customers. I find Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches to be suitable as it allows for easy configuration and offers features like SNMP. Personally, I find it convenient to switch from Cisco to Juniper EX because of my experience with various vendors like Huawei and Cisco. It's easy for me to read configurations from Cisco and transfer them to Juniper. Mainly, we work with customers who want to change or upgrade their network infrastructure, moving from vendors like Cisco, Aruba, or Huawei to Juniper for modernization. Juniper's features are more advanced, and it helps us meet the diverse needs of our customers. My role involves helping with the deployment and configuration of switching, access points, and Wi-Fi, for building robust and modern networks."
"Juniper Enterprise Routers has a CLR and it's more reliable and faster than others."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."
"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."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"Customer service is very prompt."
 

Cons

"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."
"Enhancing the capacity would be a welcome improvement."
"Currently, I don't have specific concerns or ideas for improvement. Regarding functionalities, I appreciate the user interface of Juniper Elite. Additionally, I'm exploring the use of Juniper Routers in a Parliament environment, particularly with Baragon, and so far, I find it to be a valuable feature. We're currently facing an issue as we're in the process of building and dealing with the software, specifically transitioning from R2 to RC. It's like when there is an update in the routers, and in the process, there are chances to end up losing some of your settings. The challenge arises because the recommended configurations for RC do not align with our features, necessitating a reevaluation of many features. It would have been more efficient if the initial recommendation had been for RC, avoiding the need to redo our research. This has resulted in a loss of time for us, and we've encountered this situation multiple times."
"Automation can also be improved."
"There is room for improvement in pricing. The product could be cheaper for smaller networks."
"Better documentation to assist with implementation would be helpful."
"While it is challenging to pinpoint specific areas for enhancement, there is room for better support and updates for Ansible."
"The solution needs to offer SDN features."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"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 could be better in terms of software performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"$300 to $400 is the hardware cost and for licensing cost, it may be around, for support and all, $100 per year."
"We have to pay for the device and licensing. The support service requires additional costs."
"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."
"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."
"The prices for Juniper MX Series Routers are reasonable."
"The pricing of Juniper MX Series Routers is okay compared to other technologies."
"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
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise8
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 ...
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.
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...
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.
What is your primary use case for Juniper Session Smart Router?
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.
 

Also Known As

Juniper Enterprise Routers, MX Series, Junos Address Aware
128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, Atlantech Online, Availity, Baloise Insurance, Black Lotus, CATV, Blue Box
Revation Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper MX Series Routers vs. Juniper Session Smart Router and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.